Atherton Hall is a dormitory on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. It is named after Frances Washburn Atherton, who was the wife of George W. Atherton, a former president of the university. Atherton is one of eleven buildings that make up the South Residence Halls. About 60% of Atherton's residents are members of the Schreyer Honors College, a selective organization that admits students whose SAT scores are greater than 1350 and who have excellent high school records. Rooms in Atherton tend to be larger than in other dorms, and its centralized location, 24 hour computer lab, and many study rooms make it among the more desirable on-campus housing choices. After a recent expansion, the residence hall now also houses the offices for the Schreyer Honors College.

The residence hall became well-known after a 2004 incident involving a stopped elevator. After the elevator stopped, the students inside were instructed to wait for fifteen minutes for assistance by maintenance staff. Instead, the occupants pried the door open and two jumped down to the third floor safely. The third to jump, Katherine Ibanez, lost her balance and died after falling forty feet down the shaft.

Pennsylvania State University