In similar fashion, Forbes recognized the institution for its stellar quality of education, price, and return on investment. There is little doubt that Allegheny College is a special place, one that fosters excellence in all facets of campus life.
Recently I sat down with two key members of Allegheny College’s leadership, Bill Ross, director of athletics and recreation, and Matthew Stinson, vice president for institutional awareness. What perhaps resonated most in our conversation concerning an exciting new campus-enhancing project—the upgrading of the Robertson Athletic Complex—is how both leaders at the college model a core mission at Allegheny, one stressed in its Statement of Community: “[The encouragement of] individual growth by promoting a free exchange of ideas in a setting that values diversity, trust and equality.”
The college has flourished during the tenure of Ron Cole, president of Allegheny College, whose leadership has set the tone for a culture of collaboration and inclusivity—precisely “the free exchange of ideas” embraced by campus leadership and the student body. The upgrading of the Robertson Athletic Complex, a multimillion-dollar project soon to begin and targeted for completion by 2025, would prove far more challenging without Cole’s example. Stinson is quick to emphasize, “Bill (Ross) and I are on an amazing leadership team with President Cole, and every one of the folks who reside on the president’s cabinet have in some way made a significant impact. And I cannot overstate how much our passionate, dedicated alumni and our campus at large are responding favorably to President Cole. I’ve been in higher ed for 15 years now and I’ve never experienced anything like this.”
The current project at the Robertson Athletic Complex, which stands as one of several ongoing projects and campus initiatives at Allegheny College, is emblematic of the institution’s spirit of collaboration. The projects, Stinson explains, are a vital component of Allegheny’s “strategic pathway”: “President Cole has guided our leadership team. With the assistance of the board of trustees and collaboration across campus, we’re identifying how we can move forward to be the amazing institution we know we are and can be.” From a building perspective, this translates to investing in athletic facilities and residence halls, as well as updates to academic buildings. The recent national recognition for excellence at Allegheny signals the obvious—that the institution is on the right path. But campus leaders are not content with simply maintaining the status quo. To the contrary, they’re taking a balcony view. Upwards of $80 million dollars have been raised during Cole’s tenure, a figure Stinson shares with an expression of gratitude and awe. Campus leadership has set their sights on maintaining this positive momentum, on growing the institution and providing the best experiences possible for its student body.
The Robertson Athletic Complex Project
With updates to the Robertson Athletic Complex, Allegheny College has set out to create a premier athletic center in NCAA Division III and the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. The initial funding for the project is a gift from Kevin Baird and his wife, Lisa Fiedor Baird, both 1984 Allegheny College graduates—itself a testament to how meaningful experiences and fond memories at the college continue to resonate with alumni. As a former student-athlete at Allegheny, excelling at both football and baseball, Kevin Baird must be especially excited about the renovations to come. The Bairds’ support will go toward the construction of a 10,000-square-foot facility which will house new coaches’ offices in addition to locker rooms for the football program. It will also serve as an expansive meeting space for alumni events and customized visit experiences with prospective student-athletes. Team meeting rooms will be made available for academic services, including study hours, tutoring, and player support. That these resources will all be located under one roof is a wonderful advert for Allegheny College, serving as a major asset in student-athlete retention and recruitment.
Our conversation shifted to how the upgrades to the Robertson Athletic Complex will serve enrollment. Ross explains, “We know that enrollment is a concern in higher ed. Athletics plays a big part in the small liberal arts college setting, in the overall enrollment picture. Since 2018, we’ve added two new sports: field hockey on the women’s side and men’s lacrosse. [The Robertson Athletic Complex] allows us to accommodate the new sports, and we want to make sure we’re keeping up with the times and offering a positive student-athlete experience. This is their home. We want to make sure they continue to have a sense of pride in it.” Ross goes on to describe the “domino effect” of the complex’s renovations: “We want to increase the size of some rosters, which means we need more space. The additions allow us to do that. The football program will transition to its new space, and we can then relocate all the sports teams currently sharing locker rooms in overlapping seasons to their own dedicated locker rooms. In my coaching days and traveling around college campuses, offices and everything are under one roof. Our building will be unique and distinctive. We’ll have the ability to house locker rooms for teams, study and meeting spaces, places for alumni to gather with recruits. This isn’t often found at the Division III level.”
Like Stinson, Ross marvels at the teamwork required for such a project to come to fruition. He’s proud of the collaborative effort. “It’s been wonderful to work with Matt and his team, to witness how they collaborate with any department, especially athletics. They’re accessible and eager to help figure out how to solve fundraising. [Allegheny’s] ‘Day of Giving’ has blossomed thanks to Matt and his team. He’s driving excitement, showing that it can get done. We have the right people in place. We have the passion, and we just need to get everyone connected. Matt makes this happen for us.”
Attention assigned to functionality has influenced renovation efforts—details that could be lost without interdepartmental collaboration. Stinson notes, “As athletic director, Bill is working with our [football] head coach very carefully and with the design team. How is that building going to be utilized? What’s the flow of gameday like? What’s the flow of admission recruiting events? What’s the flow for alumni events taking place? How can other teams utilize these spaces for recruitment and retention efforts? We’re just putting a lot of careful thought into place-making on campus.”
Using Place and Space to Create Memories
The concept of “place-making” is an intriguing one, and it speaks to one of the many reasons why Allegheny College is readily recognized as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the nation. In one respect, place-making can be understood in a literal sense, as physical spaces designed to fully utilize the goals for which the environments are intended. This applies not only to athletics but learning and social spaces, as well. “Students coming to Allegheny,” Stinson points out, “know they’re signing up for an academic experience that’s rigorous. We’re serious about competing on the courts and the fields, and we’re also very serious about our commitment to academics in the classroom.”
Place-making can also be understood figuratively, as spaces—or places—where meaning and memories are made. “This ties in full circle,” Stinson observes. “Our alumni are very successful. Many come from hardworking families, and Allegheny is a financial investment. Our alumni remember the support they received while they were here. So many were student-athletes, and now they’re in a position in their career where they’re achieving great success—and they want to pay that forward.”
Consider what Allegheny College currently offers: over 40 principal buildings on a 79-acre central campus, one within earshot of downtown Meadville; a 203-acre outdoor recreational complex in the Robertson Athletic Complex; and the 283-acre Bousson nature reserve, protected forest, and experimental forest. These are not simply spaces designed for functionality or even beautification. Taken together, the campus of Allegheny College is a site of meaning and memory-making. The campus is home for its student body. It belongs to the past, the present, and the future. The Robertson Athletic Complex is no different—and thanks to the remarkable contributions of alumni and the spirited, collaborative efforts of its leadership teams, it will continue to stage memories for generations to come.
