Allegheny College Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED)

Goal: Evaluate the structure, effectiveness, and long-term sustainability of the Allegheny College Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED) as an interdisciplinary hub for experiential learning and community-based environmental and economic development.

Founded in 1996 within Allegheny College’s Department of Environmental Science and Studies, the Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED) was established to expand experiential learning opportunities for students while helping community and regional leaders integrate economic development with environmental stewardship in support of northwest Pennsylvania’s revitalization.

Building on the French Creek Environmental Education Project, CEED developed a diverse portfolio of initiatives, including environmental curriculum development, strategic environmental management, ecotourism, art-and-environment programming, the Meadville Community Energy Project, sustainable forestry and agriculture initiatives, the French Creek Visioning Project, and the Enterprise for Sustainability Program.

CEED was managed by an Environmental Science faculty member and an administrator, with individual projects led by faculty across multiple disciplines. Despite its strong programmatic reach, CEED faced ongoing challenges related to limited faculty time, reliance on short-term student participation, and the difficulty of maintaining continuity across projects. These structural constraints raised questions about long-term institutional sustainability and integration within the broader college mission.

TerrAqua and Colby College professor David Firmage conducted an on-site evaluation involving interviews with faculty, staff, students, and community stakeholders. Based on these findings, the team developed recommendations in ten key areas: organizational development; faculty and community engagement; creation of an external advisory committee; project continuity; community liaison functions; CEED’s relationship to the broader college; faculty evaluation; academic quality; strategic implementation planning; and expansion of CEED’s base of support.

Client: Allegheny College

TerrAqua’s role: Evaluation team member