Allegheny College - Campus

Campus

The campus has 36 principal buildings on a 77-acre (31 ha) central campus, a 182-acre (0.74 km2) outdoor recreational complex, and a 283-acre (115 ha) nature reserve and protected forest.

• The Pelletier Library (in 2008) had 922,540 volumes (491,284 microform titles). 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. The library has noteworthy Americana and Ida Tarbell collections. A computer lab, audiovisual center, and music listening system are there too. It is named after past president Lawrence L. Pelletier who served from 1955 to 1980.

• There's a planetarium and observatory.

• Allegheny has a campus-wide computer network including Intel-based PCs, free Internet access, email accounts.

• The Allegheny College Center for Experiential Learning or ACCEL coordinates career internships, off-campus study programs, service-learning, pre-professional advising, and leadership development.

• A Counseling Center offers guidance for students in adjusting to student life.

• Winslow Health Center is staffed by a registered nurse and offers routine diagnosis and treatment; "when necessary, students are referred to specialists in Meadville" – it's located in Schultz Hall.

• 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. Allegheny won a $79,545 grant in May 2009 to buy equipment to help with composting food waste, including a shredder mill, screening plant, conveyor, skid-steer loader and leaf collection system.

• A newly built Vukovich Center for Communication Arts featuring a garden roof for energy efficiency and beauty was completed in 2008 at a cost of $23 million. Robert Vukovich (1965) and Laura Vukovich made a substantial donation of $22 million in February 2001, part of which was used to construct the building. Allegheny has its own cable TV channels and a state-of-the-art television studio.

• Center for Political Participation. In 2007 there was controversy when Allegheny professors started the Soapbox Alliance to oppose politicians of any political party from using colleges as a backdrop for their rallies. Allegheny enacted a policy in 2006 "requiring any political candidate or a surrogate such as a spouse, son or daughter, to provide an equal number of tickets to supporters and students." The initiative grew out of discontent over a speaking engagement at Allegheny in 2004 by then Vice president Dick Cheney which only allowed GOP-supporters to attend.

• 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.

• Also included in the Henderson Campus Center are the Bowman, Penelac & Megahan Art Galleries. Allegheny has auctioned art at times to raise money to renovate other projects, such as the college's Doane School of Art.

• Sports facilities include the $13 million David V. Wise Sport & Fitness Center, which opened in 1997.

• A Women's Center was established in 2003 to be a resource for research on gender issues and women's history.

• The college established the Center for Economic and Environmental Development in 1997.

• The Learning Commons, located in Pelletier Library, has a staff to help students with research and study skills as well as disability services. Peer consultants help with writing, public speaking, and technology projects. Tutors are available in biology, chemistry, economics, languages, math, physics, psychology and statistics. The Learning Commons also helps with new student orientation and advising.