When Sally and Tom St. Clair considered establishing an endowed professorship at Allegheny, they looked beyond the traditional.
Rather than focusing on a specific department, they chose to support the College's comprehensive
program encompassing the First-Year/Sophomore (FS) Seminars, the Junior Seminar, and the Senior Project. This program is designed to ensure that all Allegheny graduates are equipped to think critically and creatively, to communicate clearly and persuasively, and to meet challenges in a diverse, interconnected world.
"This is a unique and distinctive program that emphasizes skills across disciplines and across the curriculum," says Dean of the College Linda DeMeritt. "It is extraordinary yet appropriate to have a professorship to focus on the contributions of a program that is key to making an Allegheny education a transformative experience. We are so grateful for Tom and Sally's vision and support. Their professorship will have a profound impact on our faculty and students, now and for generations to come."
The gift will most immediately impact Professor of Physics Dan Willey, who was named the first St. Clair Professor by President Richard Cook. "I was so surprised and of course honored," says Professor Willey. "I am really pleased that someone wants to support a role that emphasizes the FS Program and Senior Projects. I consider promoting this area very insightful."
Willey says that, teaching in the sciences, he sees many incoming students who don't enjoy English classes or writing. "I try to impress upon my students that you have to be able to communicate effectively to be successful, whether in writing grant proposals or papers, or defending your ideas at a conference," he explains. "Critical thinking and communicating well are basic to all we do here."
DeMeritt adds that Willey has served as chair of the physics department and has taught regularly in FS Seminars. And, throughout his seventeen years at Allegheny, he has worked with numerous students on summer research and Senior Projects, sometimes leading to professional presentations or publications. "Dan is known across campus as an excellent teacher and a caring and effective academic advisor," says DeMeritt.
Thomas M. St. Clair '57 says that he and his wife, Sarah Stewart St. Clair '59, wanted their gift to support the entire academic mission of the College. "Both Sally and I benefited greatly from the liberal arts experience, as did two of our daughters, Susan St. Clair Biery '87 and Carol St. Clair Chlystek '90," says Tom St. Clair. "We consider ours an Allegheny family, and we wanted to enhance what we know is a vitally important program of this very special place."
