History

Dixon University Center was once the home of the Harrisburg Academy, whose leaders built the five historic structures on the grounds today. The Academy maintained the location until 1941, when the War Department took over the facility. Since 1956, the Center has functioned in various configurations as an educational consortium. In 1987, the Center's Board of Directors - a community corporation - invited the State System of Higher Education — the 14 publicly owned universities — to lead the University Center at Harrisburg consortium and insure continuation of its higher education mission. PASSHE began operating the six-and-one-half-acre site under a lease/purchase agreement in 1988, and purchased the site in 1991. In 1993, the PASSHE Board of Governors acknowledged the leadership and generosity of its founding chairman, F. Eugene Dixon, Jr. , by renaming the Center in his honor.

PASSHE's acquisition of the early twentieth century facility demonstrates a commitment to bring educational programs and opportunities to the Harrisburg area that the 14 universities have provided throughout the Commonwealth for over 150 years. Under PASSHE's stewardship, the five original structures were renovated and an Administration Building constructed to make the facility adequate for classroom instruction and business purposes.

Dixon University Center is foremost an academic and governance center, providing area residents the advantages of a public university. Five undergraduate and 10 graduate degree programs are offered on-site by a consortium of System universities and affiliate members Elizabethtown College , Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine , and Saint Francis University for adult students, in the evenings and on weekends. The Center also is a cultural resource, a testing ground for new technology, and a community gathering place.