Allegheny College: President's Office

“It is my pleasure to introduce to you a person whose life so far has been relatively free of accomplishment.”

That reminds me of the days when I wrote letters of recommendation for weak chemistry students, trying to make the best of a bad situation, for example: “I cannot say enough good things about this candidate.”

Founding president Timothy Alden’s portrait over the mantle in my office usually looks down upon me quite sternly, but I noticed that he seems to be smiling today. And why not? Consider just some of the things we are doing this week:

Celebrating the construction and renovation of three critically needed facilities and dedicating an heroic world-class sculpture

Announcing our innovative Center for Political Participation

Conducting panels of distinguished alumni and other guests on various topics and convening our board of visitors for our new Managerial Economics Program

Announcing the public phase of our largest fund-raising campaign ever--$105/66/42

And offering an enjoyable set of events related to our annual Homecoming, including fireworks by world-renown Zambelli Company of nearby New Castle.

Why all this fuss about a college that accounts for just 1/100th of 1% of college enrollments in the United States?

Because this isn’t just any college -we are among a leading few. Consider some of our distinctions and successes:

Allegheny is among the oldest 1% of some 3500 American institutions of higher education

Of those 3500 institutions, we are one of about 150 liberal arts colleges considered selective in their admissions practices and national in their impact.

We are the only college in the country included in this combination of Who’s Who lists:

Pope’s Forty Colleges That Change Lives

Peterson’s Top Colleges for Science

Wilson’s 100 Best Colleges for African American Students

Yahoo’s Top 85 Most Wired Colleges

And the Templeton Guide of Colleges That Encourage Character Development

And there are still many other distinctions. For example:

We are one of only ten colleges nationally invited to be a founding member of Project Pericles

Allegheny-affiliated initiatives have won three Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence

Last year, we had four Fulbright Faculty Scholars -unprecedented as far as we know even at institutions many times our size. Our faculty are master teachers and accomplished scholars

Allegheny has long been among the leaders in production of Ph.D.’s in sciences and of leaders in business

We have had an Honor Code for over forty years and a required Senior Comp for over fifty years

With all these successes and distinctions, we have good reason to celebrate! But there is more.

Educational researchers have long known and demonstrated that learning is best achieved through academic challenge, time on task, peer interaction, frequent demonstration of skills, and plenty of prompt feedback and support from instructors. These are precisely the things that happen at Allegheny.

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) shows that Allegheny students report levels of academic challenge and faculty-student interaction at the top of the charts in comparison to the large number of colleges and universities surveyed nationally -precisely the sort of factors that educational researchers know are correlated with effective learning.

Beyond pedagogical considerations, what do employers and post-graduate institutions say they value most in college graduates?

Good communication skills -both writing and speaking

Motivation, independence, and the ability to work effectively on project teams

Well-developed analytical and problem-solving skills

The ability to work in rapidly changing environments and fields

And a system of values and ethical judgment -a need that these post-Enron times have emphasized rather painfully to all of us.

These are the very features and outcomes of a high-quality liberal arts education.

Allen Salikof , CEO of Management Recruiters International in Cleveland, says, “The higher you go in the executive ranks, the more the benefits of having a liberal arts background really come into play. With the liberal arts…you have a wider range of skill sets and attributes you need to move up the ladder.”

His observations are confirmed by an extensive study sponsored by AT&T that shows that liberal arts graduates are more likely to rise higher in corporations and other organizations to positions of responsibility and leadership.

The nation’s independent liberal arts colleges, virtually unique in the world, have long been considered a distinctive and critical part of the mix of a diverse higher education. Given this historical fact and all of these indications of quality, effectiveness, and success, you might be surprised to learn there are serious threats to institutions like Allegheny on the near horizon .

Listen to what Moody’s Investors’ Services has to say:
For some private colleges, there may be trouble ahead. Modestly endowed colleges and universities are most likely to see some of their student market share shift toward public universities.

This assertion is borne out by experience. Several independent colleges annually close their doors or merge with other institutions, losing their identity and most elements of their historic mission.

Over the past several decades, independent colleges and universities with an emphasis in the liberal arts have gone from representing approximately 50% of undergraduate enrollments to something now less than 15%--a huge decrease in market share, making liberal arts colleges less of a factor on the higher education landscape.

Colleges like Allegheny work harder and harder each year to attract and retain students, employing extensive and sophisticated marketing and recruiting techniques to attract the attention of prospective students and their parents. This year, Allegheny will send thousands of targeted mailings to prospective students and will market the College in numerous other ways. As a result, we will receive some thirty-seven thousand inquiries of one sort or another, eventually resulting in an entering class of 550.

Furthermore, colleges and universities are engaged in virtual bidding wars to attract students of desired quality and sufficient numbers. Allegheny awards over $16 million annually in institution-financed need-based and merit-based financial aid (this is in addition to government scholarships, loans, and work-study and outside private scholarships). Most of the Allegheny-based aid simply represents a discount on formal tuition, which represented foregone revenues of 47% for the incoming class this fall. We are not atypical. Even at that, many of our peer institutions offer more attractive financial aid packages.

Why aren’t students knocking down our doors to get in given what we know about the effectiveness of our educational experience and the increasingly essential college degree in the world of work? The answer lies in a combination of perception, preferences, and affordability.

Let’s deal first with perception. Consider the following newspaper headline, which appeared when the “new economy” was still roaring along (remember the “new” economy?):

“Job Market So Strong Even Liberal Arts Graduates Securing Employment”

This is just one of many specific examples that could be advanced to illustrate the current image of the liberal arts among a significant portion of the population -and with headlines and stories like this one, is it any wonder?

Beyond the anecdotal, there are more quantitative indications that the liberal arts and the liberal arts college could be in trouble.

A study commissioned by Hobart William Smith Colleges showed that:

Colleges like us could well be in jeopardy if we don’t do something dramatic to correct these types of misperceptions and to promote awareness of Allegheny and our advantages.

Illustrating this point about awareness is another list that Allegheny is on: Newsweek/Kaplan’s “Hidden Treasures.”

While are pleased to be recognized as a treasure by the surveyed high school counselors, we really don’t want to be hidden -that’s part of the problem. We are doing everything we can with the resources we have to be more recognized. Wouldn’t it be terrific to be as well known and respected in other parts of the country as we are in the Pittsburgh region, for example?

Macalester advertorial in Sunday New York Times.

We have to use less brute force because we don’t have the resources -for example, Renda Broadcasting and NPR sponsorship of popular programs.

News releases and promoting them are also important. Take the example of recent graduate Jen Zewatsky, a chemistry major, who received front-page attention in the Wall Street Journal for her student project at Channellock. Jen’s research on aqueous cleaning agents to replace problematic chlorinated solvents for degreasing has led to millions of dollars in savings for the company and to a Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award.

Our marketing plan will further develop consistent, well-known, and compelling institutional images and messages.

But effective promotion and other aspects of marketing will be essential but not sufficient.

We need to be sure we are developing and delivering the very best educational experience we can -the best undergraduate education we can imagine -or even the best marketing plan will soon fail for failure to deliver what we promise.

Tradition & Transformation: Allegheny 2010 is our just-released strategic plan. It builds on our earlier plan known as New Century Connections. Under this new plan we will initiate innovative and distinctive programmatic offerings such as Managerial Economics, the Center for Political Participation, and ACCEL. We will also improve our campus through projects like the Campus Center, the theater/communication arts facility, the alumni center, and attractive residence hall options.

But in order to succeed in carrying out our mission and to thrive in this century, an Allegheny education must not only be distinctive, desirable, and widely known, it must also be affordable. And in many ways, achieving desirability and affordability depend critically on the same thing: adequate resources.

Correlation between “peer assessment”/academic quality and resources represented by endowment size -use US News example.

Affordability will depend on our being able to offer first-rate opportunities on a high-quality campus for less than the cost of doing business. That’s right -the cost to Allegheny and most higher education institutions of offering an education is more than the price -currently $29,000 less the financial aid given. Gifts, grants, and earnings from endowment make up the difference -currently ranging from $12-17 million annually.

So both in institutional image and reputation and in the actual quality of the experience we are able to offer, it is vital that we increase the resource base of Allegheny.

That is why we are announcing the public phase of our comprehensive fund-raising campaign this week--it is absolutely vital to our future.

Those colleges that have endowments and operating budgets to sufficiently fund student scholarships, professorships, programs, and campus maintenance have the financial flexibility and wherewithal to meet the needs of a changing world and student market.

Allegheny is at a critical turning point in its history. We have positive momentum that we must capitalize on -alumni good will, a dedicated and generous board, innovative program development, good will and high morale on campus, positive town-gown relationships, and much more.

I have said this before, and I’ll say it again: we are not talent or idea limited -we are resource limited. And with our Tradition & Transformation campaign, we will take an important step toward ensuring Allegheny’s future.

Our vision is clear: we intend to be widely recognized as one of the nation’s foremost liberal arts colleges, providing an absolutely first-rate undergraduate education.

What could such an Allegheny look like in 2010? Allegheny would have:

Wider name recognition, especially in markets such as suburban Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Chicago

A national reputation in selected signature programs such as neuroscience, political science, and communication arts

A much larger application pool, greater selectivity, lower discount rate, higher graduation rate, and greater ethnic and geographic diversity

Campus buildings and grounds that are stunningly attractive and maintained and facilities and equipment that are state of the art

A residential college that offers attractive living areas and programming that complements the academic offerings

Attractive and affordable off-campus domestic and international offerings for the vast majority of our students

An endowment at least double our current level to help support the features above and improved operational budgets from tuition and auxiliary income to ensure competitive compensation to attract and keep the best faculty and staff

In closing, let me remind you of why everyone here believes so strongly in this remarkable college. A few days ago, I sat in McKinleys over lunch with several students. They were simply remarkable -articulate, thoughtful, circumspect -clearly headed for success in whatever their chosen fields.

One is a Rhodes Scholar nominee and is returning to Russia to do research for her comp; another is performing surgery and neurological studies on laboratory rats in preparation for graduate school; a third not only is the editor of the CAMPUS but also writes for Allegheny magazine and the Meadville Tribune; another is a national NCAA track and field champion and record-holder who plans to be a surgeon. These students assured me that their experiences and successes are not that unusual at Allegheny, a place filled with opportunity.

With these students in mind, and the many they represent, let us rededicate ourselves today to ensuring that future students who otherwise would not have the unusual opportunities that an Allegheny College education offers will continue to have them. Let us celebrate our tradition as we aspire toward transformation of this institution and its students in preparation for the critical needs of our country and our world