Tradition & Transformation: Making a Difference

Staying Connected

by Linda Palmiero '66

When I retired from working at Allegheny in 1992, I did so with mixed emotions. I looked forward to being a "snowbird" and leaving the Meadville winters behind to head south, but I also knew that I was going to miss the daily interaction with colleagues and, particularly, with students. I loved the exchange of ideas, development of projects, and, most satisfying, the opportunities to support, challenge, and advise students. When I walked on campus the year following my retirement, I felt disconnected.

I quickly learned, however, that regardless of my residence, I could stay connected and continue to make a difference for Allegheny. A sorority was the first to call. Soon I was going to chapter meetings, baking cakes and cookies, and speaking at meetings and recruitment parties (known as "rush" parties to us older alumni). The Admissions Office then asked for help with recommending students to Allegheny and identifying alumni who could staff college fairs. Without a doubt, that disconnected feeling I had upon retirement had started to subside.

When Dick Stewart retired in 1999, I was asked to fill in as interim director of alumni affairs. That was an incredible opportunity to have it all: to be part of the campus with students, faculty, and staff but also to reach out to alumni. I then had the privilege of being elected to the Alumni Council, the governing board of the Alumni Association. The Council has partnered with various offices on campus, including Admissions and Career Services, on initiatives that strengthen the connection between alumni and the College.

One of the most rewarding benefits in working on these projects has been the opportunity to speak with fellow alumni. Council members have called hundreds of alumni, seeking their opinion and guidance on topics that include the Tippie Alumni Center, Alumni Office mission and programming, and internships. Without exception, Council members have enjoyed those conversations, and we are so appreciative for the new ideas you give us and your willingness to suggest ways that you might help.

Each passing year presents another opportunity, and I was recently in the throes of one that is available to every one of us, no matter our class year or where we live-serving on your reunion planning committee. For me, it was the 40th year since graduating (to my utter amazement!). Alumni involvement is critical to the program's success, and the experience reconnected me to classmates and friends whom I have not seen in years. Conference calls with classmates yield campus visits with old friends; the joy of a casual acquaintance becomes a frequent e-mail contact. I highly recommend getting involved with your reunion planning and attending your reunions.

We are all at different stages in our lives that influence how much time we can commit to volunteering. But there are many ways to give back and make a meaningful difference that aren't difficult and don't demand a lot of time-see page X of this magazine for ten simple ways you can help Allegheny. You can also go to GatorLocator.org, Allegheny's on-line password-protected alumni database, and offer to be a mentor to current students or alumni.

I assure you that the willingness of our graduates to help their alma mater is noticed by prospective parents and students, corporations, and foundations, and it makes our college vibrant and strong. And the added bonus is that, invariably, you discover another Alleghenian and make a new friend.

Linda retired in 1992 as assistant dean of the College and registrar. She is immediate past president of the Alumni Council.

Tradition & Transformation Campaign Raises $115.2 Million

Allegheny College has completed the largest fund-raising campaign in its 191-year history, raising $115,245,902 in gifts and pledges. Launched publicly in October 2002, the Tradition & Transformation: Making a Difference campaign surpassed its goal by more than $10.2 million.

"We knew when we began the campaign that $105 million was an ambitious goal but one that was necessary to keep Allegheny College vibrant in a competitive environment," says Tom St. Clair '57. "That we exceeded the goal is a testament to the generosity of Allegheny's supporters and their loyalty to the college." St. Clair served as campaign co-chair along with David Hoag '60. Hoag, a College trustee, died in August 2004.

More than 25,000 donors-including alumni, parents, friends, corporations, and foundations-gave to the campaign. Tradition & Transformation received support from 59 percent of Allegheny's graduates.

Gifts supported extensive renovations to the Henderson Campus Center, funded by several Allegheny trustees, and the opening of the Tippie Alumni Center in a completely restored Cochran Hall, funded by former trustee Patricia Bush Tippie '56 and her husband, Henry B. Tippie, and other alumni. Donors also established new financial aid funds and supported academic programs, student-faculty collaborative research, and technology-enhanced learning spaces across campus. In addition, gifts supported the College's Annual Fund, which has set a new record in each of the past ten years.

Members of Allegheny's board of trustees contributed $53,638,334 to the campaign. "Our trustees gave selflessly of both their time and their resources," said Allegheny president Richard Cook. "Their early and ongoing support was inspirational and provided the foundation for our success."

Why We Give

Eighty-five percent of Allegheny College employees gave to the Tradition & Transformation fund-raising campaign, with their gifts totaling $2.1 million. To recognize this generous support, we recently asked two College employees to share why they choose to give to Allegheny.

E. Lee Coates

I started at Allegheny in a temporary faculty position in 1992 and thought that my time here would be short. After spending a year teaching and advising a few students in independent research projects, I realized that there was something unique about Allegheny, its students, and faculty and decided that this is where I'd like to stay. Fourteen years later I'm still impressed by how genuine and hardworking our students are and how well we prepare them for life after Allegheny. It's very rewarding for me to hear back from alumni that they feel Allegheny gave them a solid education and that their success in graduate school, medical school, or their job is due, in large part, to the skills they developed at Allegheny.

Coates in associate professor of biology and chair of the neuroscience program at Allegheny.

Nancy Sheridan

While I am not an Allegheny graduate, my husband, Jim, was; in 1965 he returned to teach philosophy at Allegheny—and I came with him! I immediately became involved in the College in a few different roles, and forty years later I can say without exception that Allegheny thinks of its students as its treasures and treats them accordingly. That is such an affirming attitude to be greeted with as a new student as well as a returning student!

In my positions at the College, I have had the pleasure of carrying out that affirmation. I have met with students on a daily basis, helping them to be successful in their academic pursuits. This means that I assisted them individually as they learned all about the huge amount of time available to them and how they could the make healthy decisions about what do with it, remembering to have time for fun too.

I adore the way that Allegheny reveres its students; students are treated as adult individuals, as I think they should be. I want to do everything in my power to help keep that going--forever. That's why I want to continue to support the College as long as I am able.

After forty years of service to the College, Sheridan retired in 2006 as director of student support services and associate director of the Learning Commons.

"I'm Not Going to Let Them Flounder"
Alleghenian Helps Fellow Alumni Launch Their Careers

by Josh Tysiachney

Jim Gossweiler '85 and Clarissa Donnell '05 both majored in biology at Allegheny and even had a few of the same professors. After four years in college, both wondered what exactly they were going to do upon graduation. And thanks to their Allegheny connection, both now work at the same firm.

But the paths they took to get there were quite different.

"When I left college, I floated around," says Gossweiler, who worked in various jobs, including stock trading and tire sales, after graduation. "It was like sticking a square peg in a round hole."

Gossweiler eventually found his niche working with an environmental inspection firm. He later started his own company, Federated Environmental Associates, in Baltimore. When he found himself in a position to hire employees, Gossweiler recalled the uncertainty he faced after leaving Allegheny.

"I thought, 'I'm going to do now what I wish someone had done for me,'" he says. "I wanted to give Allegheny graduates a toehold in a white-collar position-actual experience using their natural science skills."

Over the years, Gossweiler has hired three Allegheny alumni at his small firm, giving them what he calls the "right of first refusal" if they are qualified for an opening. "There's a whole world of opportunity available to them here," he says. "When I look at them, I see me twenty years ago. I'm not going to let them flounder."

Last summer, Donnell became the latest Alleghenian to join Federated Environmental. She's a project manager, conducting on-site environmental assessments, preparing technical reports, and working with clients and major lenders throughout the United States.

Like Gossweiler, Donnell wasn't initially sure where life would take her after Allegheny. She started looking for a job a few months before Commencement last year, but "nothing was panning out," she said. "Those weeks after graduation were excruciating."

About a month after graduation, Donnell attended a reception during the College's Reunion Weekend and had what she calls a "spontaneous random meeting" with Tim Brady '92, who works in Allegheny's development office. Donnell explained to Brady and other alumni there that she was searching for a job.

Brady had just traveled to Baltimore and met with Gossweiler. During their visit, Gossweiler requested a list of recent Allegheny science and mathematics graduates with the hopes of using it to fill a position at his company.

Following Reunion Weekend, Brady connected Gossweiler with Donnell.

Gossweiler's company paid for Donnell to travel to Baltimore from her home in Erie for an interview, and then covered her moving expenses when she accepted the offer.

"To be young and not totally know where you're going-and then to have someone extend their hand and help-that was wonderful," says Donnell. "I'm getting so much out of this experience career-wise. It's taught me a lot about who I am and what I'd like to do in the future."

Gossweiler is clearly pleased with the performance of Donnell and the other Alleghenians whose careers he has helped to launch. He says that, when his firm has another position available, he'll look back to Allegheny to fill it.

And he encourages fellow alumni to do the same.

"Can you imagine the impact if all alumni in hiring positions look first for Allegheny graduates?" he said. "You always have the connection to Allegheny. Once you get the sheepskin at graduation, it shouldn't end there."

Corrections to the Report of Gifts

Following are corrections to the 2004-2005 annual Report of Gifts, which was included in the previous issue of Allegheny magazine. We regret the errors:

Alumni Donors
Roderic P. Terry '53

Gifts Made in Honor of:
James T. Pool '52
Molly Wood Pool

William Bentley Society
John S. Culbertson '51 & Margaret Seib Culbertson '52
Jane P. Springer '55 & John K. Springer
James R. Lauffer '56
Marilyn Brewster-Lauffer '57 & James R. Lauffer '56
Lawrence C. Levine '76
Tony Powell '90