Office Hours with John Gardner
We are searching for big ideas that inspire hope and action in higher education around institutional transformation and innovation to advance student success and more equitable student outcomes. Joining John Gardner are higher education leaders and other relevant persons of interest who will discuss innovation and strategies that improve higher education.The Gardner Institute, a 24-year-old non-profit, has been at the forefront of innovation in higher education; our mission very clearly connects us to the broader societal efforts to increase social justice.The Gardner Institute connects with thousands of professionals in the higher education ecosystem; through a wide array of activities such as Transformative Conversations, the Teaching and Learning Academy, and the Socially Just Design Series, and through our work as an Intermediary for Scale supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As a leader in the student success movement in higher education, we strive to provide support for institutions interested in social justice and institutional transformation.
Office Hours with John Gardner
Episode 144- Ron Cole- Sharing Innovation Goals
Ron Cole, Ph.D., is the 23rd president of Allegheny College. As president, he leads the senior leadership team of the College to drive holistic student success and an interdisciplinary, 21st century education.
Under his direction, the College has implemented a bold Strategic Pathway that emphasizes five primary goals focused on academic excellence, broadened academic offerings with an emphasis on student engagement, community and economic development, a vibrant and inclusive campus and financial sustainability. The message has boosted student enrollment and resonated with benefactors, as Allegheny College’s largest and most ambitious campaign ever, “In for Allegheny: Our Pathway Forward,” launched in the 2024-25 semester has already shattered records for donor support in the College’s 210-year history.
After serving as a faculty member for 20 years, Dr. Cole became provost and dean of the college in 2015. He held a range of leadership positions (including department chair, faculty moderator and a member of the trustee diversity task force), and he chaired the natural science division, faculty council, the faculty review committee, and finance and facilities committee. As chief academic officer, Dr. Cole promoted data-informed change to improve student success that led to revisions to first-year curriculum and course sequencing in STEM and humanities fields and new structures to unify and advance holistic student advising.
He established student retention as a top collaborative priority at the College through the Gardner Retention Performance Management program, achieving a five percent increase in first-to-second year retention within two years. Dr. Cole planned and led strategic work to achieve operational savings while investing in new programs including Informatics, Business, Art/Science and Innovation and the Allegheny Lab for Innovation and Creativity.
Dr. Cole advanced diversity of faculty and the curriculum with an interdisciplinary cohort program in race, gender and/or social justice. He was recognized in 2021 by the Council of Independent Colleges with their Chief Academic Officer Award. As a teacher-scholar, Dr. Cole received the Allegheny College Thoburn Award for Excellence in Teaching and established an active student-focused undergraduate research program in the geosciences with more than $500,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society and the American Chemical Society. He was named by City & State PA to their 2022 Power 100 list and Trailblazers in Higher Education in 2023. He is a sought-after speaker and has authored more than 100 published articles and book chapters.
Dr. Cole is a proud alumnus of Allegheny College, having earned a B.S. in Geology in 1987. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of Rochester (NY).
