Distinctive and innovative programs. Although the values and goals of a liberal arts education are enduring, curricula and programs must evolve to meet the needs of an ever-changing world. We pride ourselves on innovative thinking, and creative, ambitious approaches to challenges. In fact, other colleges often try to duplicate our programs and approaches.
When the Department of Economics, in collaboration with the Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED), developed the managerial economics program, they created powerful synergies among programs on campus, including communication arts, international studies, and environmental science. The result? New courses in entrepreneurial economics and on issues related to globalization are helping to create opportunities for more internships, as well as for business roundtables and an Executive-in-Residence program. Increased funding for academic programs on campus will help bring many more such initiatives to life.
"Eugene Lang, noted philanthropist and founder of the I Have A Dream Foundation, mentioned our faculty-initiated Values, Ethics and Social Action (VESA) minor at a meeting of college presidents and board chairs in New York. Lang talked at some length about the innovative nature of the VESA program and how it expressed a creative commitment to citizen education and student engagement. Allegheny was the only college he mentioned, and VESA was the only program. The colleges represented at that meeting are all known for their strong programs and commitment to social and civic action. You can imagine how proud I was of Allegheny and VESA." - President Richard Cook
Visiting scholars and artists. Small colleges in rural areas are enriched immeasurably when they can bring world-class scholars and performers to campus to interact with students and faculty. When artists such as blues singer Guy Davis, the classical musicians of the Alexander String Quartet, or the cast of the Aquila Theatre of London come to campus, they bring an energy and vision that cut across disciplines and electrify the entire campus community.
Similarly, with every visit to campus by a renowned scholar, students learn about the latest research and glimpse the possibilities inherent in a given field of inquiry. When scholars such as Nobel Prize-winning chemist Dudley Herschbach present lectures and workshops on the Allegheny campus, they not only teach, they inspire. These visitors also become important ambassadors for us as they take news of our people and programs back to their own institutions and organizations.
Experiential learning. Experiential learning can take a student almost literally next door to an internship in the local community, or to the other side of the globe, through programs like the College's popular three-week study tours in such countries as China, the Ukraine, and Austria. Whether short-term or long-term, near or far, these real-world experiences complement and shape our students' classroom pursuits.
The Allegheny College Center for Experiential Learning (ACCEL) - a program that has earned national acclaim - helps students gain the practical knowledge that brings theory to life and that employers value so highly. Increased funding for experiential learning will open ACCEL-sponsored opportunities to students who could not otherwise afford to participate in unpaid or underpaid internships as well as to students who need financial help to take advantage of study tours and similar programs.
"The study tour to South Africa was one of my most worthwhile experiences at Allegheny. I was able to experience a new culture and make connections between what I learned there and what I learned in class. It was incredible." - Sarah Lloyd '01
