Lycoming College history

The Charter described the initial educational focus as the study of “English and other languages” and “the useful arts, sciences and literature.” In 1841, the curriculum included English, Writing, Arithmetic, Geography, Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, Mathematics, Latin, and Greek.

The slavery question caused a larger disruption, and in 1845 in Louisville, Kentucky, southern Methodists organized the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

By 1847, Williamsport had a public school system in place.

The school was sold to the Methodist church in 1848, and it became Dickinson Seminary and offered college preparatory courses.

By 1921, the seminary had gained a reputation for excellence, when Doctor John W. Long took office as its ninth president.

In 1929 it became the first junior college in Pennsylvania and was renamed Williamsport Dickinson Junior College.

In 1939 the Methodist Church was organized by union of the Methodist Episcopal Church; the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; and the Methodist Protestant Church.

When the school began offering four-year degrees in 1947, it was renamed Lycoming College.

In 1948, it officially changed its name to Lycoming College, taking the name from that of the local county.

The name "Lycoming" comes from the Native American word lacomic meaning "great stream." In 1949, the college conferred its first baccalaureate degrees.

United Methodist Church, in the United States, a major Protestant church formed in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by the union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

In 1980 the United Methodist Church elected its first woman bishop, and it has elected more since.