Allegheny's Successful Campaign Strengthens Us For the Challenging Work Ahead

by President Richard Cook

Being here for the conclusion of the Building for New Generations Campaign was a great "perk" for a new president. Thanks to all of you who participated, and congratulations! This is clearly a college on the move. The progress on the Wise Sport and Fitness Center and the College Court residential complex are merely the most visible signs. Advances are occurring in the curriculum, in finding new talent to follow retiring senior faculty, in residence life, and in the way Allegheny relates to the Meadville community.

Of course, the base on which we are building is strong indeed. I now have met hundreds of alumni, both on campus and around the country. Your accomplishments, character and passion for Allegheny all speak well of alma mater, and your appreciation for this college is one of Allegheny's distinctions. This doesn't happen by chance; rather, it is a reflection of the challenge and support provided for decades by talented faculty, and of students' long-standing determination to make the most of the opportunities that they have been presented.

But Allegheny and all of higher education face enormous challenges. Through careful use of our resources and thanks to the good efforts of all, we are operating within a balanced budget. But even with our larger endowment, the cost of producing the type of education for which we are known threatens to outrun the revenues we are able to generate. Closely related is the growing view of a college degree as a commodity -- a generic certification to be obtained in the most convenient way, at the lowest possible cost.

We have a three-fold obligation to counter these trends and to preserve Allegheny's traditional offering of top-quality educational experiences. First, we must redouble our efforts to educate the public and our current and prospective students about the liberating and life-shaping nature of our education. Second, we must find ways to control our costs and increase our non-tuition revenues so that Allegheny remains accessible and affordable to students of a wide range of backgrounds and interests. Finally, we must respond in the academic program to a changing world and new ways of teaching and learning, even as we preserve timeless values and characteristics of a liberal education.

Summer Working Group

We currently are forming a Summer Working Group that will engage in intensive fact-finding and creative thinking -- something possible only outside the demands of the academic year. With recommendations from various constituent groups, I am appointing a task force of faculty, staff, trustees, alumni and students. This group will develop recommendations to the wider community for consideration and action this fall, including those related to administrative improvements that will lead to better service and greater efficiency. The work of this committee will set the stage for building balanced budgets for the fiscal year 1999 and beyond.

I will encourage the Summer Working Group to explore and suggest initiatives that will maintain and increase Allegheny's effectiveness and distinctiveness in the global information age. For example, I hope the group will consider ways in which we might offer every student at least one opportunity for a meaningful internship or other opportunity in the world of work and service during his or her four-year stay with us. I also will challenge the group to propose ways that a residential campus known for its early, cutting-edge application of information technology for teaching and learning can regain its leadership position as others around us catch up.

The end of the summer's activity will mark the beginning of campus-wide engagement in the planning process. Our goal will be to have the summer work launch an effective and continuous process of planning and improvement that will be shared with and owned by faculty, staff, students, alumni and the Board of Trustees.

This is an ambitious goal, but I am convinced that it can and will be achieved. Our campaign success is an important step toward continuing Allegheny's distinctive approach to education and a sign of wide commitment to that end.