College Town Pittsburgh Part 4

Editor’s note: We thank the top leaders of this region’s universities for penning a response to the following question: Given continuing enrollment declines and our civic need to attract and keep young people, is it desirable to significantly build on fledgling programs to get students off campus and engage them in this region’s amenities, thus building our College Town dynamic as well as a stronger long-term connection with our area? If so, in what ways could you envision contributing to such a project?
Previously in this series: College Town Pittsburgh Pt. 3

Father Paul Taylor, Saint Vincent College
With community as a core Benedictine principle, we believe in extending that community beyond our campus borders, as well as in the benefits this extension offers our students. In particular, Saint Vincent College and the Latrobe community have a great history together that is built upon people who took risks and invested in relationships. We build these relationships in keeping with a simple truth: People do not invest in institutions … people invest in people.

Accordingly, Saint Vincent’s monks, faculty and administration have built and continue to build strong friendships with the community around us. Fred Rogers and Arnold Palmer always shined the light on Latrobe, and they also were good friends of Saint Vincent. Their legacies are an integral part of our community, both within and beyond campus borders.

Today, we continue to make friends, continuing our investment in people. Through our downtown partnership efforts and the Latrobe community’s support of our students, we are creating a synergy that has economic, cultural, educational and historic impact. Students tell us that they love our beautiful campus and want to be with our strong academic community, but we also want them to see the world. Latrobe is the first step of many to see the world and continue to build more relationships, investing in people wherever they go.

Rhonda Phillips, Chatham University
Local universities can play an essential role in encouraging young people to participate in programs and activities that engage our college students in the region’s amenities, experiences, and opportunities. Whether college-themed nights at sporting events or formal programs like the Pittsburgh Passport, these experiences connect students to our region and improve overall well-being. Importantly, they also help attract more college students from outside the area, retain them while in school, and build a desire to work here upon graduation. At the individual level, Chatham has developed High-Impact Learning Practices with community-based learning experiences incorporating the region’s amenities, such as an immersive Fallingwater experience for interior design students or learning about sustainable development from kayaks on Pittsburgh’s rivers. These experiences enhance learning, establish a deeper connection to the local community, and open students’ eyes to the opportunities to make a difference in Pittsburgh. A combination of these types of individual and collective efforts by organizations to increase the engagement of local college students in our region’s life, culture and amenities is necessary and effective, and will have an impact for years to come.

Elizabeth MacLeod Walls, Washington & Jefferson College
As I take office as Washington & Jefferson’s 14th president, the college is poised to welcome one of the largest classes in history. There are three key drivers for our success. First, we are investing in Washington County through new, robust scholarships thanks to a $50 million gift from the estate of our first female trustee, Anica Rawnsley. Through this profound gift in support of students, W&J’s incoming first-year class will include 74% more first-generation — which means we are changing the trajectory of our students’ lives and the generations that will follow. Second, we lowered tuition almost by half going into the 2022-2023 academic year. We want the highest quality liberal arts education in Pittsburgh to be accessible to all students who can thrive at W&J. Finally, we specialize in professional readiness at W&J, ensuring that all students have a customized pathway to internships, mentors, experiential learning opportunities, and preparation for job interviews. Coupled with our Ignite incubator, the Pathways program invests students’ intellectual capital into the larger Pittsburgh community while also fostering unique learning experiences that prepare our students for a dynamic professional future. At W&J, we are innovating our way through the national enrollment crisis — and fueling the economic vitality of Pittsburgh as a result.