This photograph illustrates an early campus entrance sign, ca. 1966.

Located on the north complex of the former Olmsted Air Force Base in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Penn State Harrisburg quickly grew out of the creative thinking and collaborative actions of Dr. Eric A. Walker, Penn State President Emeritus (1956-1970), and the Honorable William W. Scranton, former Governor of Pennsylvania (1963-1967) and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (1977-1977). On November 19, 1964, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara issued a Pentagon economy order calling for the phase out of operations at 96 military installations, including the Olmsted Air Force Base, by 1969. When Governor Scranton received the news of the Olmsted Air Force Base’s imminent closure, he immediately recognized the economic devastation that it would have upon Middletown, Harrisburg, and surrounding communities. At the height of its operations for the U.S. Air Force, the Olmsted base employed over 11,000 civilians and nearly 2,000 military personnel. Despite several months of lobbying to save the Olmsted base, civic and community leaders and the Harrisburg Area Chamber of Commerce reluctantly accepted its gradual shut down. However, Governor Scranton did not accept this fate.

In July 1965, he contacted Dr. Walker to inquire whether or not Penn State University might consider repurposing the Olmsted Air Force Base by creating a graduate school and thereby lessen the economic impact of the base’s closure in the region. It did not take very long for Dr. Walker to craft a response to Governor Scranton’s proposal. In August 1965, Dr. Walker suggested the combined upper-division undergraduate and graduate school that still exists today. The first classes at the newly-created Capitol Campus were held on October 3, 1966, on the first floor of the base’s former headquarters, the Olmsted Building. The student body comprised 18 undergraduates (juniors and seniors) and 165 graduate students. Most important, the mission of the campus was always unique, rooted in interdisciplinary studies as well as focused upon balancing traditional courses with practical field work.