Allegheny College was founded in April 1815[8][9] byTimothy Alden, a graduate of Harvard'sSchool of Divinity. The college has been affiliated with theUnited Methodist Church since 1833 but does not integrate religion into the classroom or pedagogy.
William McKinley, Allegheny student for one year, eventual President of the United States
The first class, consisting of four male students, began their studies on July 4, 1816, without any formal academic buildings. Within six years, Alden accumulated sufficient funds to begin building a campus. The first building erected, the library, was designed by Alden himself, and is a notable example of early American architecture.Bentley Hall is named in honor ofWilliam Bentley, who donated his private library to the college, a collection of considerable value and significance. In 1824,Thomas Jefferson wrote to Alden, expressing the hope that hisUniversity of Virginia could someday possess the richness of Allegheny's library.[10] Alden served as president of the college until 1831 when financial and enrollment difficulties forced his resignation.Ruter Hall was built in 1853.[11]
Allegheny College in 1909Allegheny graduateIda M. Tarbell, crusading muckraking journalist who exposed abuses byStandard Oil. Allegheny began admitting women in 1870
Allegheny began admitting women in 1870,[12] early for a US college; a woman was valedictorian of the Allegheny class of 1875.[12] By the timeIda Tarbell, future journalist, arrived in 1876, nineteen women had attended Allegheny and only two had graduated. Tarbell described Ruter Hall in her writing, "...looking out on the town in the valley, its roofs and towers half hidden by a wealth of trees, and beyond it to a circle of round-breasted hills. Before I left Allegheny I had found a very precious thing in that severe room--the companionship there is in the silent presence of books."[13]
In 1905, Allegheny built Alden Hall as a new and improved preparatory school.[8] Over the decades, the college has grown in size and significance while still maintaining ties to the community.
While the word "Allegheny" is a brand for the college, it is also the name of a county, a river, and a mountain range, and the school has tried to prevent other entities from using this word. For example, Allegheny objected in 2006 when Penn State tried to rename one of its campuses "Allegheny".[16][17] Allegheny president Richard Cook said 'Allegheny' was "our brand."[16] It sued the Philadelphia's Allegheny Health and Research Foundation in 1997 to change its name.[18]
Under president Richard J. Cook, Allegheny was reported to have had a "stronger endowment, optimal enrollment, record retention rates, innovative new programs and many physical campus improvements."[19] These years were marked by significant growth in the endowment, marked by a $115-million fund-raising drive, bringing the endowment to $150 million.[20][21] In 2008, James H. Mullen Jr. took office as the 21st president of Allegheny.[22]
The college and the town cooperate in many ways. One study suggested the Allegheny College generates approximately $93 million annually into Meadville and the local economy.[23]
The campus has 40 principal buildings on a 79-acre (32 ha) central campus located just north of downtown Meadville, a 203-acre (0.82 km2) outdoor recreational complex north of campus, called the Robertson Athletic Complex, and the 283-acre (115 ha) Bousson nature reserve, protected forest, and experimental forest.[24][full citation needed]
The Pelletier Library (in 2008) had 922,540 volumes (491,284 microform titles).[25][full citation needed] Another estimate was that the library had 420,000 bound volumes, 227,000 microform titles, 1,000 periodicals, and 261,000 U.S. government and Pennsylvania state documents.[6] The library has noteworthyAmericana andIda Tarbell collections,[6] as well as materials concerningabolitionistJohn Brown's years in Crawford County.[26] computer lab, audiovisual center, and music listening system are there too.[6] It is named after past president Lawrence L. Pelletier who served from 1955 to 1980.[27] The Learning Commons, which is located in Pelletier Library, assists students with writing, research, public speaking and study skills, and also offers disability services.[citation needed]
Newton Observatory houses a nine-inch refracting telescope and a computer-interfaced 10-inch Meade LX200 telescope with CCD camera. The Office of Public Safety and Security is also housed in the Newton Observatory.[28]
The Allegheny College Center for Experiential Learning (ACCEL) coordinates career internships, off-campus study programs, service-learning, pre-professional advising, and leadership development.[25]
A Counseling Center, which has joined the Winslow Health Center in Schultz Hall, offers guidance for students in adjusting to student life. The center is staffed by registered therapists and provides crisis and walk in hours to students, free of charge.[25]
Winslow Health Center is staffed by a registered nurse and offers routine diagnosis and treatment. The center also offers freeSTI testing to students on a monthly basis.[25]
The main dining facility is in Brooks Hall, and students can also dine at McKinley's Food Court in the campus center. There have been efforts by students to support the relationship between food services and local farmers.[29] Allegheny won a $79,545 grant in May 2009 to buy equipment to help with compostingfood waste, including a shredder mill, screening plant, conveyor, skid-steer loader and leaf collection system.[30]
The Center for Political Participation was founded at Allegheny in 2002 by political science professor Daniel M. Shea, following concerns about low youth voter turnout in the 2000 presidential election.[31] The CPP conducts scholarly research related to youth political participation; sponsors on-campus events related to politics and the electoral process, such as panel discussions; and conducts community-outreach efforts, including the Model Campaign USA program, a campaign simulation designed to get high school students interested in electoral politics.
Henderson Campus Center was recently renovated and includes McKinley's food court, the bookstore, the game room, Grounds for Change—the student-run coffee house, the post office, and campus offices of college departments as well as student organizations.[32] Also included in the Henderson Campus Center are the Bowman, Penelac & Megahan Art Galleries.[6] Allegheny has auctioned art at times to raise money to renovate other projects, such as the college's Doane School of Art.[33]
Sports facilities include the $13 million David V. Wise Sport & Fitness Center, which opened in 1997.[6]
A Women's Center which is located in the basement of Walker Hall was established in 2003 to be a resource for research on gender issues and women's history.[34]
The college established the Center for Economic and Environmental Development in 1997.[35]
Allegheny College's majors and minors fall into three spheres: Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. There are some majors, such as Environmental Studies or International Studies, which fall into the interdisciplinary category. The college requires students to choose a minor as well as a major[36] and encourages "unusual combinations" of majors and minors.[36] A student's major can be in the humanities, social sciences or natural sciences, but that student's minor must be in a different division than their major.[37][36]
About 30% of the college's 2,100 students graduate in one of theSTEM disciplines—science, technology, engineering, and math.[37] Students must take at least two courses (8 semester credit hours) in a discipline other than their major or minor.[38]
The most popular majors, in terms of 2021 graduates, were Biology/Biological Sciences (35), Psychology (34), and Environmental Science (33).[39]
Total credits for graduation are 128 semester credit hours and no more than 64 credit hours can be from any one department.[38] Almost all courses carry four semester hours of credit.[40]
The college requires all students to take a three-seminar series which "encourages careful listening and reading, thoughtful speaking and writing, and reflective academic planning and self-exploration," to be completed in their first two years.[41] Sophomores typically meet with faculty advisers eight times a year.[42]
Allegheny requires seniors to complete asenior project in their major.[38] Some senior projects can be quite ambitious; in 2007, one senior project involved comprehensive instructions for installing solar panels on the roof of a campus building.[43]
Allegheny divides its academic calendar into two 15-week semesters. The school year typically runs from the last week of August to mid-May, with a short fall break in mid-October, a Wednesday-to-SundayThanksgiving break, a month-long winter break from mid-December to mid-January, and a week-long spring break in the third week of March.[44]
It formerly had aChinese language minor, which was discontinued with the Chinese program itself in 2022.[45]
Four faculty won Fulbright Awards in March 2001.[47] Faculty sometimes focus on the local area; for example, economics professor Stephen Onyeiwu conducted a study of manufacturing in the northwestern Pennsylvania region.[48] Ninety percent of faculty have terminal degrees in their respective fields.[6] Books by faculty includeCongressional Women andComedy from Shakespeare to Sheridan.[6] Faculty actively publish on a wide range of subjects from the biology of woodpeckers,[49] to structural features of ribosomal RNA,[50] to freshwater invertebrates.[51] In 2018, Professor Shannan Mattiace won aFulbright Award to teach and conduct research in Chile.[52]
There were 5,479 applications for admission to the class of 2022 (enrolling fall 2018): 3,485 were admitted (63.6%) and 474 enrolled (an admissions yield of 13.6%).[53] The average high schoolGPA of enrolled freshmen was 3.51, and 35% had a high school GPA of 3.75 or higher.[53] The middle 50% range of enrolled freshmen onSAT scores was 560–680 for reading and writing, and 560-660 for math, while theACT Composite middle 50% range was 24–30.[53]
U.S. News & World Report ranked Allegheny as tied for 80th among liberal arts colleges, 16th in "Best Undergraduate Teaching," tied for 38th in "Top Performers for Social Mobility", and 58th in "Best Value Schools" in the United States for 2025.[59]
Washington Monthly, which rates schools based on the degree to which they "contribute to the public good" by improving social mobility, producing research, and promoting service, ranked Allegheny 42nd among 203 liberal arts colleges in 2022.[60]
One of many war memorials on campus (some dating back to the time of the Civil War). This memorial honors Allegheny students who fought in the Vietnam War
Students generally are required to live on campus for all four years, and may reside in traditional dormitories, apartment-style housing, or college-owned houses.[24]
The demographics of students as of fall 2015 were: White (non-Hispanic) 75.9%; Hispanic/Latino 7.0%, Black (non-Hispanic) 5.9%; Two or more races 4.7%, Non-resident alien 2.8%, Asian & Pacific Islander 2.4%; American Indian or Alaskan native 0.1%; Unknown 1.2% .[4]
Allegheny students in 2008 come from 33 states and 25 other countries.[6] Allegheny had a "diversity index" of .15 on a scale of .99=extremely diverse to .01=not diverse.[61]
Students participate in volunteer activities: in the fall semester of 2011, the student body contributed 25,000 hours of volunteer service to the community.[62] Some Allegheny students volunteered to help restore businesses inhurricane-ravished New Orleans.[63] Residence halls and classrooms are closed during summers.[25] An Allegheny Student Government has an active role in formulating college policy, curriculum choices, personal conduct, promoting cultural programs, and making decisions about the school's calendar.[6]
Information about students is generally kept private in keeping with the 1974 "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act" which prohibits colleges from releasing information about their students without student permission.[64] Accordingly, parents can not learn about their son's or daughter's grades unless a waiver is signed permitting release of such information. The privacy policy can sometimes lead to problems, particularly when students have mental health problems but the school is prevented legally from contacting parents. In 2002, one Allegheny student committed suicide, and his parents sued the school; a jury in 2006 found that the school was not liable or negligent.[64] This case helped focus national attention on the competing issues of student privacy and parental rights.[65]
Official college policy is to discourage underage drinking, although there have been incidents of violations at off-campus parties.[66] Incoming students are required to take an online course about the dangers of alcohol abuse.[66] The school punishes transgressions with disciplinary action.[66]
Students run a campus radio stationWARC 90.3 FM and a publication called "The Allegheny Review" of undergraduate literature.[67] The college hosts outside speakers.[68] Allegheny has numerous student groups and organizations such as an astronomy club, a College Choir, an Outing Club, and a Peace Coalition.[69] There are over 100 clubs and organizations offered at Allegheny.[6] The Allegheny newspaper is calledThe Campus. It is distributed weekly at locations all over the college. It covers campus news, features, opinion and a wrap-up of the college sports.The Campus is entirely student-run, with an editorial board of students in charge of making all executive decisions for the publication. The Allegheny alternative magazine is calledOverkill. It is tri-semester student publication distributed in unconventional locations around campus, such as in vending machines, fireplaces, and chandeliers. It features student editorials, poetry, non-fiction and fiction pieces, art, and photography with a highly distinctive design and attitude.
Allegheny athletics wordmarkThe Allegheny Gators men'slacrosse team in 2020
Allegheny, known athletically as the Gators, belongs to thePresidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) and hasNCAA Division III teams.[75] The Gators returned to the PAC in 2022 after a 38-year absence spent in theNorth Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC); the field hockey team remains in the NCAC because the PAC does not sponsor that sport.[76] Men's sports are baseball,[77] basketball,[78][79] cross country, football,[80] golf, soccer,[81] swimming and diving, tennis,[82] and track & field.[75][83][84] Women's sports are basketball,[78][79] cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer,[81] softball, swimming & diving, tennis,[82] track & field,[84] and volleyball.[75] Sports facilities include the Wise Center and the Robertson Complex.[85] 75 percent of students play intramural sports.[6]
Branch Rickey was Allegheny College Athletic Director from 1904 to 1905, and coached baseball, basketball, and football. Rickey also served as instructor of Shakespeare, English, and History.
Allegheny College has undertaken several projects to become more a sustainable campus. One such project is the October Energy Challenge,[87] in which students are encouraged to save electricity for a one-month period. The difference in cost between that month and the previous month's electrical power is then reinvested back into sustainable campus infrastructure. Previous energy challenge have resulted in the addition of water-bottle stations to encourage use of reusable water bottles and solar panels on the biology building.
Other projects include the Carrden, a student-lead garden that grows organic produce, multiple rain gardens, a green box program for reusable takeout containers, as well as the college itself becoming the first college in Pennsylvania to achieve Carbon Net-Neutrality[88]
There are multiple student groups dedicated to environmental protection including SEA (Students for Environmental Action), AC Food Rescue, and Creek connections.[89]
One tradition is that a female student is not a "real co-ed" until she's been kissed on thethirteenth plank of the Rustic bridge over the stream.[90][91] Legend states that there is a competition among residence halls during Orientation Week to steal the thirteenth plank and display it, though this rarely happens today;[92] random students take the plank instead, with maintenance keeping a supply of replacement planks on hand.[90]
The acting president since September 2022 is Ron Cole, the college's former provost and Dean of college. There are approximately 150 administration and staff personnel in 2008.[25] The staff breakdown is as follows: 157 full-time employees doing instruction, research, and public service; 43 executive, administrative, and managerial personnel; 103 other professionals (support/service); 9 technical and paraprofessionals; 68 clerical and secretarial employees; 12 skilled craftspersons; and 27 service & maintenance staff.[94] In addition, part-time staff included 36 instructors, 23 other professionals, 10 secretaries, and 4 service and maintenance staff.[94] Of the 157 full-time faculty, 87 have tenure, and 41 are on a tenure track.[94] The average salaries of professors (in 2007) was $83K, associate professors was $63K, assistant professors was $51K, instructors was $38K.[94] Allegheny is a member of theHigher Education Data Sharing Consortium, or HEDS, in which member institutions share information relating to improvement of higher education.[95]
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