Allegheny College will receive a $2 million grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to help renovate Reis Hall and construct a new home for the Center for Business and Economics, State Senator Michele Brooks, (R-50) announced on Wednesday.
In an email to the campus community Thursday, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Matthew Stinson hailed the announcement as, “exciting news.”
“Provost Angela Haddad will lead a collaborative process so that the implementation of this initiative aligns with the vision of our faculty, staff, students, and administration,” Stinson wrote. “More information will be shared about opportunities to participate in this process soon.”
According to the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget, the grant is part of the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program and awards funding for projects that, “have a regional or multi-jurisdictional impact, and generate substantial increases or maintain current levels of employment, tax revenues, or other measures of economic activity
Allegheny is no stranger to RACP funds. The college received $4 million from the program to help construct the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts in 2004 and nearly $1.75 million to revitalize North Main St. and expand civic engagement in 2010.
Originally built in 1902 to house the college’s library, Reis was converted to administrative offices when the Lawrence Lee Pelletier Library was completed in 1976. The hall has stood mostly empty since 2018, when it was vacated as a part of the renovation of Bentley Hall.
“It’s just a beautiful old building that I think represents the long legacy of learnedness that the college has, and devotion to books as artifacts and vessels of thought,” Associate Professor of English Matthew Ferrence told The Campus in October 2021.
In-depth coverage will be in a future edition of The Campus.