$1M gift establishes Treiber Center for Curricular Innovation to fuel major college initiative, RC-RV

As his high school years wound down, Peter Treiber ’79 decided he didn’t want to go away to college; he wanted to work for the family insurance firm and take classes on the side.

“My father said no,” Treiber recalls. “He sat my twin brother and me down in the spring of ’75 and said ‘Well, where do you want to go?’ and I said, ‘Roanoke College.’”

Decades later, retired and living the dream on a 60-acre Long Island farm that serves his community, Treiber says attending Roanoke was one of the best decisions he ever made — and so was taking continuing education courses to advance his career. Now a proponent of lifelong learning, Treiber and his wife, Irene, recently committed $1 million to Roanoke College to create the Treiber Center for Curricular Innovation, which will be an integral part of the college’s new partner endeavor, RC-RV (Roanoke College-Roanoke Valley).

“My family and I are very proud to be associated with this project,” said Treiber (at left). “Everybody needs continuing education, and becoming a resource for the valley is a positive thing for Roanoke. It raises the college’s profile, making it a hub.” 

RC-RV creates a bridge between Roanoke College and the wider community, allowing the college to adapt quickly to the educational needs of employees in Roanoke Valley industries. It will offer workplace development, continuing education and flexible learning opportunities for people and employers across the valley, coordinating with business, industry and nonprofit partners on programs customized to their needs. Early possibilities include online and hybrid programs, weekend and evening courses, professional certificates, dual enrollment or even an accelerated three-year bachelor’s degree option.

RC-RV is a direct outgrowth of the first imperative in the college’s new strategic plan, “Imagine Roanoke,” which is “to become the Roanoke Valley’s most sought-after educational partner by industry, entrepreneurs and community leaders.” The college is working to establish a board of advisors for RC-RV, and later phases of the endeavor may include transforming the historic Main Street Post Office into the future home of RC-RV and re-envisioning Salem’s Main Street corridor as a live/learn/work/play hub that further integrates the college and the community.

"From the first time I visited with Peter, he emphasized the importance of the college taking bold steps to serve the community and compete in the 21st century learning environment" said President Frank Shushok Jr. “He wasn’t just offering advice, he wanted to support, invest and champion our first steps. We could not be more grateful for Peter and Irene. Their commitment to our collective future is both humbling and an inspiration.”

These plans may be new to some in the Roanoke College community, but they’ve been on Treiber’s mind for years. He underwrote a $25,000 project that had Roanoke College business administration students conduct research on the viability of the RC-RV initiative. The students, whose findings supported Treiber’s idea, presented their research to college leaders in spring 2024. 

For Treiber, sponsoring the student work brought back memories of his days as a business administration major at Roanoke, where he played lacrosse as part of the college’s 1978 National Championship team. Born and raised on Long Island, he came to Roanoke College sight-unseen and was charmed by Salem’s quaint downtown, mountain views and friendly people. 

“I still have a lot of friends from Roanoke,” he said. “It was a great experience for me, because when I got out of college, all good things happened.” That included meeting his wife through friends from college, raising a family and helping grow the family firm, Treiber Insurance Group. When he and his brothers sold the company in 2009, it had 230 employees.

After Roanoke, Treiber went on to earn his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) credential and several special insurance licenses. He ultimately became president of his local CPCU chapter. Those classes propelled him forward in his career, he said, which is one of the reasons he suggested Roanoke consider a plan like RC-RV.

“Liberal arts colleges have to change, adapt and come up with new ideas,” he said, “and this whole center for curriculum innovation is a little piece of the pie.” 

In September, the college announced that Lisa Stoneman, who was most recently chair of the college’s Education Department, will be RC-RV's first staff member, serving as executive director for Curricular Innovation and Digital Learning.

“We are constructing RC-RV as a new ecosystem adjacent to the college; a partnership that operates agilely to make decisions about meeting the current and future needs of the Roanoke Valley,” said Stoneman (at right). “The Treibers' generosity allows us to hit the ground running with programming in our first few months and to grow the Treiber Center’s offerings strategically and quickly. I am honored to be leading the charge.”

Treiber said he hopes to see other benefactors match his enthusiasm and support RC-RV in any way they can.   

“This is not just a Roanoke College initiative; this is a valley initiative,” he said. “Down the road, I hope RC-RV and the Treiber Center will be a vibrant, community-supported resource.”

To learn more about RC-RV and opportunities to get involved, email rc-rv@roanoke.edu.