Bucknell Bison History

Established in 1846 by Pennsylvania Baptists as the University at Lewisburg; renamed Bucknell University in 1886 in honor of William Bucknell, a major benefactor. The university is highly selective, private, nonsectarian, coeducational (since 1883), residential, and undergraduate, with a limited graduate program.

Bucknell rises on a hill overlooking the Susquehanna River in central Pennsylvania, a site chosen by the Pennsylvania Baptists who founded the university in 1846 but opened the school to students of all religions. First called the University at Lewisburg, Bucknell was renamed for its benefactor, William Bucknell, a Philadelphian whose generosity bolstered the university during the post-Civil War depression. Like other colleges of that period, we began as a liberal arts school, but before the century was out, we were listing engineering and business courses in our curriculum. Today the university is highly selective, private, nonsectarian, coeducational (since 1883), residential, and undergraduate, with a limited graduate program.

The Fight Song

'Ray Bucknell, 'Ray Bucknell,
'Ray for the Orange and the Blue!
'Ray, 'Ray, 'Ray, 'Ray,
'Ray for the Orange and the Blue!