Seven-figure gift establishes Abbey Arboretum at Wooster
A seven-figure gift from The College of Wooster alumnus Paul Abbey ’73 and his wife, Constance Norweb Abbey, has established the campus-wide Abbey Arboretum at Wooster. The College was awarded level I accreditation by ArbNet, a global arboretum accreditation program. The recognition of Wooster’s campus as an arboretum accentuates Wooster’s long commitment to trees — an inventory of about 2,800 — and the research, educational programming, and conservation efforts happening on Wooster’s 240-acre campus and golf course.
“What an honor it is for our community to learn, work, and play in the middle of an arboretum. Paul’s inspiring support and enthusiasm for this project show his devotion to Wooster,” President Anne McCall said. “Beautifully maintained by our campus grounds department, the Abbey Arboretum at Wooster provides a nourishing learning environment that fosters community, scholarship, research, and innovation. Paul’s gift honors that stewardship and adds to our ability to preserve that enriching environment for Wooster’s future.”
Paul Abbey ’73
For the Abbeys, committing their support to the Abbey Arboretum at Wooster is part of an ongoing tradition. Paul Abbey founded Rooted in Trees, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring the Northern Ohio tree canopy and environmental preservation, and the value arboreta bring to the community in perpetuity is also meaningful to his wife, Constance Norweb Abbey whose great grandfather, Albert F. Holden, founded Holden Arboretum.
“We’re building on a historic tree community already in place at Wooster,” said Abbey, an emeritus trustee of the College and past president of the Alumni Association. “It’s a living laboratory, and our support adds to the research, learning environment, and educational opportunities for our community about how trees benefit us all. Through partnerships with local arboretums, strong governance, and local volunteers, the Abbey Arboretum at Wooster will support our beautiful campus in more intentional and new ways.”
Arboretums specialize in trees and woody plants, and as a member of Tree Campus Higher Education for more than 16 years, the College already meets many of the criteria of a level I arboretum including a labeled and cataloged collection of at least 25 different tree species. Wooster’s TreeKeeper system, developed 25 years ago in collaboration with Davey Tree Expert Company, tracks not only the number of trees on campus but also their ecological and economic benefits. In just the past five years, calculations estimated the value of trees on campus at more than $63,000; benefits include carbon dioxide removed from the air (more than 820K pounds), storm water mitigation avoiding runoff and collecting rainfall (more than 12M gallons), and air pollution removal including carbon monoxide, and other gases (more than 100K ounces). Over a span of 20 years, the value rises to $260,000 for the nearly 180 different species of trees on campus.
“The strength and support added through the Abbey Arboretum honors the hard work of our grounds department to maintain the urban forest on campus,” said Phil Olsen, manager of campus grounds and a certified arborist. “Sustainability and preserving and protecting our environment mean so much to our students and community. The partnerships through accreditation reaffirm our commitment to providing students a beautiful campus underneath our tree canopy.”
Abbey will serve as founding director and chair of an advisory committee that will include faculty, staff, students, and members of the local community. The committee will offer perspective on how the Abbey Arboretum at Wooster will expand student and community engagement, strengthen and grow the tree collection, and broaden academic research and educational development opportunities, over the next three to five years. Already, in addition to environmental research on campus, students and faculty often collaborate with the Secrest Arboretum in Wooster and Holden Arboretum, just east of Cleveland. “These partnerships strengthen Wooster’s value as a member of ArbNet’s network,” said Abbey, noting that as a student, he was involved with a project at Secrest.
Coming to Wooster from Pennsylvania, Abbey said going to school in what felt like a woodland helped him “feel at home” on a campus, and it was a meaningful place for his family. His great-grandfather, Dwight C. Hanna, who graduated from Wooster in 1883, was the first of five generations in Abbey’s family to “walk under the same oak trees,” also including his daughter, Kendall Abbey ’09, who earned her degree in anthropology. Abbey, a political science alumnus, sees the education he received at Wooster as a “jumping off point” regardless of vocation.
“Wooster gave me the confidence to face the future as a strong thinker and problem solver,” said Abbey, who later founded Fairport Asset Management LLC, a wealth management company in 1988 (now Hightower Signature Wealth). “Insights into the macro-economic environment, global politics, and the inner workings of government, strengthened our investment strategy for our clients.”
Investing in trees reflects Abbey’s enduring connection to the College, one that still draws him to the woods alongside the campus golf course, where he once roamed as a four-year member of the Fighting Scots men’s golf team. Working closely with Olsen and being involved in nurturing Wooster’s tree canopy is nothing new for Abbey. His support extended to the planting of 21 black gum trees, celebrated in the fall, involving many volunteers from the community. To him, the event signified an example of the educational value promoting the long-term health of the campus landscape can bring to the community, and the Abbey Arboretum at Wooster underscores that impact into the future. “What we’re doing today will benefit students for generations,” he said.
The College’s commitment to its urban forest is also supported by the Tree Conservation Endowment and the Grace Tompos Endowed Tree Fund, and the Abbeys’ gift of the Abbey Arboretum at Wooster helps position the College for its upcoming comprehensive campaign.
The Abbey Arboretum at Wooster encompasses the College’s 240-acre campus and golf course including about 2,800 trees in an urban forest where the College community lives and learns.
Posted in Homepage Featured, News on April 2, 2026.
