On the Allegheny College campus, across North Main Street from Lord’s Gate, Cochran Hall has been through a lot of changes since builders laid the cornerstone in 1907. It’s been a dining hall, a residence hall, a student union and a bowling alley.

MEADVILLE, Pa. — Oct. 9, 2002 — As alumni return to visit their Alma Mater for Homecoming this month—reuniting with professors and friends, celebrating the kinship of a shared liberal arts education—they will hear a most sincere, “Welcome home!” from longtime friends of the College, Patricia Bush Tippie ’56 and her husband Henry B. Tippie, who will help the College dedicate the site for Allegheny’s new alumni center.

During the ceremony, the College will dedicate plans, made possible by a $5 million gift from the Tippies, to completely renovate Cochran Hall, turning it into a new alumni center—a place for returning alumni to feel welcome at special campus events and during everyday connections.

Patricia Bush Tippie has served as a Trustee of the College since 1992. A native of New Castle, Pennsylvania, she is currently Vice President and Secretary of Tippie Services, Inc. Henry B. Tippie grew up on a farm near Belle Plaine, Iowa and graduated from the University of Iowa in 1949. His current business affiliations include positions as Chairman of the Board of Dover Motorsports, Inc., Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., and Tippie Services, Inc. He is also a member of several boards, including Rollins, Inc., RPC, Inc., and Marine Products Corporation.

“Through the Tippies’ generous gift, Allegheny College looks forward to providing a home away from home—a place of distinction and elegance—for our alumni to use and enjoy,” Allegheny College President Richard Cook says.

Named in honor of the College’s first female Trustee, Sarah B. Cochran, Cochran Hall is located at the center of campus, across North Main Street from Lord’s Gate. Its purpose has changed many times since builders laid the cornerstone in 1907, at various times accommodating a dining hall, a residence hall, a student union and a bowling alley. Today, among other things, Cochran Hall is home to the Post Office, the College Bookstore and the English department and is the most heavily traveled building on campus.

None of its past modifications will compare, however, to the transformations planned for this historic hub in the years ahead. Built of brick, with light terra cotta trimmings and a tile roof, the building is reminiscent of the Italian villa style, though over the years many aspects of the building’s fine historic architecture have become obscured.

Thanks to the Tippie gift, as early as the fall of 2003, the splendid woodwork and other architectural features of the original building will begin to be uncovered and restored. Plans for the project call for a large reception area and formal dining room on the first floor for alumni and Trustee events. Alumni Affairs and Development offices, which provide a wide variety of alumni services, will be housed on the second floor.

While reflecting on the restoration project, Mrs. Tippie said, "I think Sara Cochran would be happy that we are restoring her building to its original beauty and I am happy that we will have an alumni center where classmates will be able to reunite."

This gift is by no means the first time the Tippies’ philanthropy has benefited Allegheny College. Other gifts include endowed Patricia Bush Tippie Allegheny College Scholarships for students from New Castle, Pennsylvania; an endowed chair in English; funding for the College’s new science facility, in which the Tippie Lounge is named in their honor; and support for the College’s Sport and Fitness Center.

The Cochran Hall Renovation Ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, October 18, 2002. For more information about this and other activities planned for Allegheny College’s Celebration of the Liberal Arts, call (814) 332-2764.

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Established in 1815, Allegheny College is a nationally recognized, selective college of the liberal arts and sciences in northwestern Pennsylvania.”