Our Community
Our Commitment to Community
On a daily basis, we strive to foster a sense of community and mutual support between and among faculty, students, and staff, and in our interactions outside the Law School. We not only view community as a proper ethos but also believe that cultivating the interpersonal skills, respect, and tolerance that promote community will enable our students to more professionally and sensitively counsel their clients and accomplish their professional goals.
Where Penn State Dickinson Law Lives
Penn State Dickinson Law’s historic home has been completely renovated and rebuilt to bring together students, staff, and faculty on a daily basis. LEED-certified and boasting one of the largest green roofs in central Pennsylvania, Lewis Katz Hall has been intentionally designed and located to further our commitment to community. Our state-of-the-art building features classrooms and seminar rooms, the 200-seat Apfelbaum Family Courtroom and Auditorium, a legislative hearing room, the three-story H. Laddie Montague Jr. Law Library, a courtyard, a café, and the Ridge Commons area. All of our classrooms are equipped with sophisticated audiovisual technology that lets students and professors communicate in real-time with colleagues and professionals around the world.
Penn State Dickinson Law’s University Park home, the LEED-certified Lewis Katz Building, was completed in 2009 and features a glass walled library with spectacular views of the Penn State Arboretum, Beaver Stadium, and Mount Nittany, a courtroom technologically equipped to display evidence electronically, a café, comfortable classrooms, and student meeting and study spaces. Specifically designed to accommodate global legal education, including state-of-the-art AV equipment that allows real-time audio connection to programs and speakers anywhere on the globe. The Katz building is adjacent to Penn State’s Arboretum, across the street from a recently renovated student intramural sports and fitness center, and a few blocks from central campus and downtown State College.
Experience the Region
Just outside the Carlisle campus sits a region of unparalleled beauty, culture, and opportunity for personal and professional growth. Carlisle exudes charm, featuring our valued neighbor Dickinson College, a variety of restaurants, shops and galleries, an independent movie theater, downtown farmer’s market, and much more. In fact, Forbes Magazine/Forbes.com recently ranked the Harrisburg-Carlisle region as one of America’s most livable cities. Plus, we’re just a short drive from Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and New York.
You’ll find plenty to do around here: A wide array of local and ethnic restaurants; art galleries, and museums (The Whitaker Center and Hershey Theatre feature nationally renowned performers); multiplex cinemas; shopping at boutiques, malls, and outlet villages; and wine tasting at local vineyards. Nature lovers can hike the Appalachian trail, or enjoy a horseback ride or bike ride on the 11-mile Cumberland Valley Rail Trail — all within a 30-minute drive from campus.
Just slightly farther away but no less accessible are the towns of Hershey, featuring world-famous HersheyPark; the historic town of Gettysburg; and State College and Nittany Lion football.
Those in need of a big city fix can easily get to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. within two hours. Even New York City is only about 3 ½ hours away by car or train.
In University Park, the region is better known as Happy Valley. State College is a quintessential college town that offers students many of the amenities of a larger urban environment in a clean, safe, and welcoming setting. State College is consistently ranked among the nation’s smartest, safest, and most livable cities by a variety of organizations and publications. In addition to Big Ten athletic events, Penn State students enjoy a lively music and arts community and a wide range of other things to do. The campus is pedestrian- and bike-friendly with an eclectic mixture of historic classroom buildings, cutting-edge, modern architecture, and beautiful urban landscape.
State College is within a few hours’ drive of New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh. The University Park airport, located 10 minutes from the law school’s Lewis Katz Building, offers direct flights to Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., with convenient connections to other major cities.
Take a Virtual Tour
Walk the halls of each of our locations. See each of our buildings from every angle. Familiarize yourself with our community and all it has to offer. Experience Penn State Dickinson Law today by taking our virtual tour.
A History of Greatness
Founded in 1834, Penn State Dickinson Law is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldest in Pennsylvania. Over the years, our graduates have included the nation’s finest attorneys, judges, government and corporate leaders, and legal educators. Our 1997 merger with Penn State expanded our reputation, network, and joint degree programs — complementing Dickinson Law’s legacy as an innovative leader in experiential education.
Learn more about the Law School’s history by visiting Insight@Dickinson Law, an institutional repository containing faculty scholarship, archival material about the law school, law school publications, and more.