Edinboro University has sold its former Porreco College property to the Erie-based Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM). Sale price for the 28-acre property on West 38th Street, about seven miles outside of Erie, was $3.2 million.
Silvia M. Ferretti, D.O., Provost, Senior Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs for LECOM, intends to utilize the campus as a place for academic instruction and for student gatherings.
“LECOM will use the classrooms for small group study for the medical school’s Problem Based Learning and Directed Study programs,” said Dr. Ferretti. “The spacious outdoor spaces will be used for wellness and recreational programs by the students. LECOM has always been on the cutting edge of education in health care. The addition of the Porreco campus is a new venue for expanding our educational programs in creative ways.”
“The Porreco family is very pleased with the plans for the property,” said Denise Benim, family spokesperson and longtime friend and associate of the late Louis Porreco. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with Edinboro University through the Porreco Promise endowed scholarship. At the same time, knowing that the property will be used for educational purposes brings us great comfort and satisfaction. That was the wish of Lou Porreco, who gifted his farm to Edinboro 35 years ago.”
Lou Porreco, who had purchased the buildings and grounds at an auction, was a friend of then-Edinboro University President Foster Diebold. He gifted the acreage with 11 buildings to Edinboro in 1986. His aunt, Mary Porreco, had taught him the importance of education. A 1922 alumna of Edinboro, she had been a teacher in the Erie School District. Her “profound and positive influence” in his life resulted in the dedication of the farm’s main house as Mary Porreco Hall, according to Roy Strausbaugh’s “Edinboro University 1963-1993, An Administrative History.”
Edinboro used the Porreco property as a satellite campus, serving mostly Erie-area residents, beginning not long after the University assumed ownership. The site became Porreco College in 2014 and was operated by the University until April 2020, when the campus was closed.
In addition to gifting the property to Edinboro, Lou and Debbie Porreco helped to establish the Porreco Promise to provide scholarships to students at the Porreco campus. Many community members also supported this endowed fund through generous contributions and attendance at galas held on the property. Edinboro is working with the family to reshape and reinvigorate the Porreco Promise with a portion of the proceeds from the sale.
Edinboro University is exploring ways to honor the Porreco family on its main campus.
