Allen Community College’s board of trustees welcomed back Becky Nilges, Jenny Spillman and Jessica Thompson at their first meeting of the new year Tuesday evening. All three were reelected to their positions in November.
In the same spirit of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” trustees began the meeting by ratifying the same board appointments as last year for 2026. Nilges will continue to serve as chair; Spillman is vice chair; Gena Clounch continues as secretary; and Thompson will serve as treasurer.
Allen President Dr. Lyvier Leffler briefed trustees on plans to look for a downtown office space for the college.
“There’s a perception, whether it’s true or not, that we’re not as engaged in the community as we can or should be,” Leffler said. “We’re doing a lot of work at the leadership level to be more visible and engaged.”
A DOWNTOWN office location would be part of that effort, Leffler said. She has already looked at some rental properties and told trustees she spoke with Thrive Allen County’s CEO Lisse Regehr about the unoccupied office space in Thrive’s building on South Jefferson.
Leffler stressed that nothing’s yet been decided and that conversations are still in the early stages, but, she said, “I think it would be good to have some presence downtown so that when people are walking the square, they can just pop in,” mentioning that representatives from admissions, workforce development and other departments could be available to engage with community members.
Nilges was all for it. In fact, the idea sprang from a prior conversation she had with Leffler. “There’s a perception that we’re disconnected,” Nilges said, noting that more office space could also alleviate a shortage of space on campus.
SONIA GUGNANI, grant administrator and government relations officer for the college, approached the board with an update on her progress applying for a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The EDA has made $1.45 billion in disaster funding available to communities affected by disaster declarations, and Gugnani is hopeful the college can secure funding for a new building that could house CDL and diesel training programs. She asked trustees for permission to engage with an architectural firm to obtain blueprints that are a required part of the grant application.
Trustees unanimously approved spending up to $20,000 to do so and plan on reviewing designs at their Jan. 22 special meeting.
PLANS FOR a new residential hall continue to progress, as trustees indicated they supported an effort by Matthew Gleason, vice president for finance and operations, to gather estimates on the costs of a dormitory able to house 400 students.
The new residential hall would take the place of the existing dorms used by the college. Student housing at the college is currently maxed out, with 304 students living in space designed for 300. (Some dorm rooms designed for two students have been remodeled to fit three.)
Horton Hall houses 96 students; Winter Hall has 54, and Masterson Hall has 56 students. The college’s duplex units across from Cottonwood Street currently have 38 students there, while nearby Herynk Hall houses 24 students. Ballard House, a small dorm refurbished in 2017, has space for eight residents; it is located west of Taco Bell on Patterson Ave.
The college currently has 28 students living in Parkford Apartments; Allen pays $65,000 a year for renting those units and shares the costs of repairs and renovations.
All those residences would be replaced by a new facility — a significant investment, but one trustees see as wiser than spending millions to repair aging residence halls. Those buildings could be used for classrooms, office space or storage.
“We won’t be able to cash fund it all,” stressed Gleason, who mentioned a variety of options for financing a new building, including talking with a municipal advisor. Trustees were in full support.
