Western University (PennWest) is a public university in Pennsylvania, United States. It has three campuses in the Pennsylvania boroughs of California, Clarion, and Edinboro.
The university was created by the 2022 merger of the California University of Pennsylvania, the Clarion University of Pennsylvania, and the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Western University is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
== History ==
=== Pre-PennWest ===
California University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1852, when the town of California started an academy for kindergarten to college-level courses. In 1864 the school relocated to a new location, now the center of the campus' present location, the following year it was chartered as a normal school. In 1914 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bought the school, renamed it to California State Normal School, and converted it to a two-year school for training elementary school …
