During this period, the college was financed by tuition and the sale of the land scrip which Pennsylvania received from the Federal government under the Morrill Act.
He commissioned Reber to expand the mechanical arts program, who in 1884 proposed the construction of a building dedicated to the teaching of mechanic arts and filled it with carpentry and metalworking equipment obtained primarily through the donations of local industry.
Atherton also expanded the liberal arts and agriculture programs, and as a result, was rewarded with regular appropriations from the state beginning in 1887.
Around this time, Commonwealth campuses were started by President Ralph Hetzel to give an alternative to Depression-era students who were economically unable to leave home to attend college.
Under his leadership, which lasted from 1956 to 1970, the university added hundreds of acres of surrounding land, and nearly tripled enrollment to 40,000.
In recent years, Penn State's role as a leader in education in Pennsylvania has become well-defined.
In 1989, the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport affiliated with the University, and in 1997, as did the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle.