Dear Friend,

Welcome to Safeguard Old State. We’re excited that you’ve found your way to the home of the movement to rediscover the spirit of the classical university at Penn State.

The Pennsylvania State University — proud in tradition and blessed in its history — has made Central Pennsylvania truly a special place to live for more than a century and a half. Every generation of Penn Staters contributes to the unique legacy that makes our reputation one of excellence and renown on a national scale.

As we enter the 21st century, though, questions have arisen over the nature of the modern university — not just here in the Nittany Valley, but nationally — and the character of the student body at Penn State. What distinguishes a real university from being just another “big box” college? What is the character of a real, thriving student body?

In part as an attempt to answer these questions — and also as a means to re-establish a long overdue dialog over the future of higher education in American — Safeguard Old State was founded to rekindle the spirit of the classical university at Penn State.

Safeguard Old State, since its founding in 2007, has become an increasingly effective force in promoting a constructive conversation over modern higher education as it exists at Penn State University.

We reject the notion that a college degree should represent merely a ticket into the workforce. We embrace the ideal that higher education should fundamentally form the minds of the young in how to think, how to reason and, ultimately, how to imagine a world better than it is today.

In other words, we firmly believe that those with the daring to imagine a better tomorrow are almost always the ones who stand and make their vision a reality. The idea of a university is to form citizen leaders and public intellectuals.

That special quality of the university educated man or woman, though, is threatened by the modern conception of higher education at Penn State as nothing more than a job ticket.

Thus, Safeguard Old State exists to preserve the rights and traditions of all Penn Staters as a means to renew the vision of the real university. We must remember that our traditions are sacred because they are our way to communicate to the outside world what it means to be a Penn Stater.

So, as we strive to foster a renewed dialog toward this vision of renewing the spirit of the university at Penn State, please consider becoming a part of this movement. Whether through a financial investment, regular readership or contacting your legislators, we appreciate your joining with us to rediscover our past as a way to chart a course to a better future.

We at Safeguard Old State thank you for your interest and dedication in preserving and promoting the best of our proud institution. With your help, I’m confident we can work to honor the legacy of our special community in this Nittany Valley while working to reinvigorate the pioneering student spirit and alumni pride here at our Pennsylvania State University.

Thank you, deeply, for your readership and support for enriching and invigorating the future of the Pennsylvania State University.

Thomas A. Shakely

Founder, Safeguard Old State

President, The Other Half, for Renewal in American Higher Education