Alliance College was a private, co-educational liberal arts institution in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1912 by the Polish National Alliance (PNA), it was created to allow Polish-American youth to connect with their heritage through education in Polish history, language, and culture. The PNA’s 90,000 members funded the school’s purchase by contributing just five cents each—a powerful testament to community investment.

The PNA purchased the opulent  Rider Hotel —once the crown jewel of the Cambridge Springs resort scene—as the home for the new school. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Cambridge Springs attracted up to 80,000 annual visitors eager to “take the waters” from its famed mineral springs. Built in 1897, the Rider stood on 200 acres and boasted 500 rooms, plus a pool, gymnasiums, and a grand lobby that could accommodate 1,000 guests. The PNA transformed the shuttered resort into a school dedicated to academic and cultural advancement. A speech from President William Howard Taft marked the dedication ceremony. 

Originally a high school-level academy, Alliance added junior college programs in the 1920s and became an accredited four-year institution in 1948, opening enrollment to women. Throughout its 75-year history, it remained deeply rooted in its Polish-American mission while expanding to offer a full liberal arts curriculum and technical training.

Alliance College was home to the country’s first Polish Museum of America. It became nationally recognized for its Kujawiaki folk dance ensemble and a robust study-abroad exchange with Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. During World War I, the college even served as a U.S. Army mechanical training center, with an ROTC program continuing until 1965.

After decades of serving Polish-American communities, the college closed in 1987 due to financial difficulties and declining enrollment. In 1990, the campus was sold to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and later became the State Correctional Institution – Cambridge Springs site.

Today, its spirit lives on through its dedicated alumni, who make up the Alliance College Alumni Association (ACAA). The ACAA continues to celebrate and preserve the proud legacy of this one-of-a-kind institution. It works to preserve the memory, cultural legacy, and mission of a school that stood as a beacon of opportunity and cultural pride for generations of Polish-Americans.