Over winter break, Wabash College received a $25 million grant from the Lilly Endowment for the Wabash Campus and Community Initiative. Following the announcement, Head Soccer Coach Chris Keller has been named the Assistant Director of Latino Partnerships.
Chris Keller (right) embraces Justin Kopp ’21 during the Annual Day of Giving on April 10, 2019. Keller has head coached the Little Giants soccer team since 2012, in which time he has gained a reputation for passionately caring and advocating for his student athletes.
“I am feeling very excited and hopeful that I can positively impact our college and community further and with a larger footprint,” said Keller. “I’m thrilled to work with the Latino community in our town and help better their experiences while also building partnerships with our college.”
In this new role, Keller will work closely with La Alianza, the Crawfordsville community and first generation students as they transition to Wabash. The $25 million grant will be used to found an early childhood development center, help fund the campus center and improve relationships between Wabash College and the local Latino community.
“We hope the new initiative will work to foster a bridge of trust between Wabash and the Crawfordsville community,” said La Alianza President Jacob Ramirez ’25. “There’s no denying the lack of trust for both sides has lingered on for years, but with initiatives such as the funding from the Lilly Endowment grant, we are able to form a much stronger relationship with Crawfordsville that creates opportunities for better insight.”
Keller has coached at Wabash since 2012 and will continue in that capacity along with this new role. He is known for his commitment to students and his strong ties to the Crawfordsville community, where his wife teaches in the Crawfordsville school system.
“I feel there’s so much to accomplish as a college and as a community together,” said Keller. “What La Alianza, Dr. Jill Lamberton and others have already done on campus will be the foundation of so many more projects. We are excited to hire a full-time Director, open the Latino community center, work closely with current students’ families and Admissions to recruit more students to Wabash, build partnerships with local Crawfordsville schools amongst many other things.”
Advocacy for stronger, tangible support for Latino students has been echoing for years. La Alianza, previously Unidos por Sangre, has continued to gain prominence on campus and become a staple of Wabash, as well as a place for Latino students to feel at home.
“Many have advocated for a physical institution for Latino students long before I came to campus,” said Ramirez. “Seeing this come to fruition shows the commitment members of La Alianza have put in, along with support received across campus. It’s inspiring to see Latinos receive an official support system.”
On the horizon, Wabash can expect a full-time Director of Latino Partnerships, another step that will only grow the administrative support for Latino students and the greater Crawfordsville community.