Rooted in Excellence: An Institutional History of The Arboretum at Penn State

Rooted in Excellence tells an improbable Penn State success story: how an idea that failed for nearly a century finally took root and flourished, against all odds.

The Arboretum at Penn State is one of the University’s most cherished spaces. In this book, Kim Steiner, the Arboretum’s founding director, traces the long, uncertain path to its creation. Steiner documents early twentieth-century aspirations and repeated false starts up through the planning, design, and construction of the 370-ac...