As early as 1934, the Pennsylvania State College offered technical courses in various locations in Pittsburgh and McKeesport to train industry workers. In 1948, The Penn State McKeesport Center opened in Dravosburg to provide occupational training and self-enrichment courses for returning veterans. The Center moved to McKeesport in 1952, established associate degree programs and graduated its first students in 1955. That same year a group of area businessmen formed the Penn State McKeesport Advisory Board to begin a search for a permanent location for the McKeesport Center. William L. Buck, a local realtor and philanthropist, donated a ten-acre tract of land adjacent to Renzie Park to Penn State in 1956. The following February, the Center moved into the first permanent building on the site, the Main Building, and officially became "The Pennsylvania State University McKeesport Campus." In 1959, the campus began to offer the first two years of baccalaureate degree programs. In 1997 after the reorganization of the Penn State Commonwealth system, it became Penn State McKeesport and in 2007, the name of the campus was officially changed to Penn State Greater Allegheny to better reflect the campus' expanded mission.
From the description of Pennsylvania State University, McKeesport Campus records, 1959-1994. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 591409828
