[8] Atherton enlisted in 1861 and fought on the Union side in the Civil War, reaching the rank of captain in the 10th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry.

As he took the position, the government of Pennsylvania was skeptical of the institution and disinclined to grant it appropriations, in spite of the school's status as the state's only land-grant university.

To improve the institution's image, Atherton supported a public relations campaign designed to accurately project the school's purpose.

This position was not held by Governor Robert E. Pattison, as he maintained that the school should not stray from its origins in agricultural education.

Pattison's proposal to reorganize the college and make it exclusively agricultural was rejected by the board of trustees in 1884, giving Atherton the chance to continue in his mission of providing a technical education at a low cost that would strengthen Pennsylvania's position as one of the country's leading industrial states.

Undeterred by Governor Robert E. Pattison, he came across an article about a congressional bill introduced by an Iowa representative.

Further funding in 1889 and 1891 reflected Atherton's success in improving the institution's image among the legislature and the general public.

[15] Atherton did much to strengthen other areas of the curriculum, supporting improvement of the liberal arts education around the start of the 20th century.

He supported the expansion of the library, which in 1899 benefited from a gift from Andrew Carnegie after the general assembly refused to provide the necessary funding.

This allowed greater coordination between programs and added deans as an additional level of authority between departments and the university president.

As a result of these reforms, enrollment in the school increased to 800 by the time of his death, with the majority of students studying in baccalaureate degree programs.

This presented a financial strain on the school since the size of appropriations was reduced due to government budgetary constraints.

Room inspections and artillery drills were common, as a result of provisions in the Morril land grant act.