THIEL'S SOCIETY OF
1866 WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS
For immediate release May 17, 2001
GREENVILLE, Pa. - Thiel College's Society of 1866
expectancy values are nearing the $50 million mark, according to John R. Hauser, the college's director of development
and alumni services.
 The announcement was
made during a May 4 ceremony at Thiel honoring three of the organization's newest members in attendance, Charles
Brockmiller of Beaver Falls, Pa., Betty Lou Artman, class of 1943, of Greenville, and George T. McKinstry, class
of 1939, of East Palestine, Ohio.
The Society of 1866 is a recognition society honoring donors who have included Thiel in their estate planning.
"These people ensure that Thiel remains strong to its mission of providing a values-based liberal arts education,"
he said, adding that estate gifts support the college's educational programs including scholarships, faculty salaries,
departmental funds, co-curricular activities, athletic facilities and building projects.
The society's current expectancy value is at $45,401,564. Over the past two years nine new members have joined,
bringing total membership to 320 people.
"The strength of Thiel's programs and the vitality of Thiel's growth over the past several years have been
significant factors in donors' decisions to include Thiel in their estate plans," said Hauser. "They
see what Thiel is doing now and want to make sure that this growth continues."
Those interested in being a part of Thiel's Society of 1866 should contact Hauser at (724) 589-2022 or jhauser@thiel.edu.
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CARDINAL CASSIDY TELLS
THIEL GRADUATES TO BE OF SERVICE TO OTHERS; 109 STUDENTS EARN DEGREES
For immediate release May 13, 2001
GREENVILLE, Pa. - Cardinal Edward I. Cassidy urged Thiel College
graduating seniors to be of service to others and to live the Christian life during Sunday's 127th spring commencement
at the William A. Passavant Memorial Center.
"We all want to succeed, but the important question is: What is success?" said keynote speaker Cassidy,
president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for promoting Christian Unity. "This is your millennium. It is
you who will set the standards."
Cassidy urged the students to embrace individualism by living a moral life. "Don't be a conformist. It is
much more difficult to stand up and conform to what is right." Cassidy said when searching for what is "right,"
the answers will be found in the word of God.
"Thiel has placed in your hands a torch - hold it high and lead the world," Cassidy said. "Strive
to make this world a real civilization of love. Be messengers of hope, love and peace."
Cassidy, who also received an honorary doctor of humane letters during the ceremony, also served as the keynote
speaker at Saturday's Christian Unity Forum at Thiel College.
Thiel College conferred 109 diplomas during the commencement ceremony - six of which were associate of arts degrees,
while the remaining 103 were bachelor's degrees.
Welcomes were given by Thiel College President and CEO Dr. Lance A. Masters and 2001 Class President Kristin Fulton
of Hanover, Pa. Fulton presented Masters with an engraved brick, symbolizing the class gift - funds to build three
brick barbecue pits on campus.
Heather Achenbach,
Greenville, Pa., called for her classmates to "remember the little and big things" during the senior
address.
While Achenbach - who is the 17th member of her family to graduate from Thiel - said
she will always remember and treasure the "little things" about Thiel, the "big things"
learned at Thiel - truth, beauty, goodness and unity - will carry her through life and forever connect her with
her alma mater.
 Three Thiel College
students shared valedictorian honors with perfect 4.0 grade point averages. Lisa
Marie Kirschner, an accounting and business administration
major from McKeesport, Pa., Suzan Marie Taylor, an accounting major from Greenville, and Traci A. Marriott,
a December 2000 graduate from Altoona, Pa., shared the top academic honors.
Ivan Cilik,
an accounting and business administration major from Cambridge Springs, Pa., and the Slovak Republic, earned salutatorian
honors with a 3.97 grade point average.
Also honored during the ceremony were retiring faculty members Nancy
E. Harig, professor of nursing, and Wayne E. Petrarca,
associate professor of health and physical education.
Harig, of Stoneboro, was presented with professor emerita status. She joined the Thiel faculty in 1984, and has
been a nurse for over 40 years.
Petrarca, who was not present at commencement, began his Thiel career in 1966. He was also well known for his coaching
duties at Thiel. He resides in Greenville.
Ruthanne Beighley, chairman of the Thiel College Board of Trustees and a 1973 Thiel graduate, assisted Masters
and Dr. Robert Olson, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, in distributing diplomas.
Dr. Christopher Moinet, English professor, served as faculty marshal. The invocation was given by the Rev. Julia
Fraser, Thiel College interim pastor. Bishop Donald W. Trautman of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie, gave the
benediction.
Members of Thiel Choir and Raymond H. Ocock, adjunct music professor and college organist, provided special music
throughout the ceremony.
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THIEL PHIS RECEIVE CITATIONS
FROM WILT, ROBINS
For immediate release May 9, 2001
State Sen. Robert Robbins, R-50, and State Rep. Rod Wilt, R-17,
presented citations to brothers of the college's Phi Theta Phi fraternity on Friday, May 4, recognizing them for
the success of this year's Walk-a-thon to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
 The
Phis raised over $48,000 on the 34th annual walk, held in December, bumping the group's total giving to the facility
to over $1 million.
"You should be extremely proud of your accomplishments," said Robbins, who has accompanied the Phis to
Pittsburgh on 10 different occasions.
Proceeds from the walk benefit the hospital's Free Care Fund, a fund that ensures children in western Pennsylvania
never will be deprived medical care.
The fraternity raises money for Children's Hospital by accepting donations prior to the walk and at intersections
and house stops along the walk.
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PITTSBURGH RESIDENT
EARNS SCHOLARSHIP TO THIEL COLLEGE
For immediate release May 6, 2001
GREENVILLE, Pa. - George Kum-Nji, a senior at Taylor Allderdice
High School in Pittsburgh, has been named the winner of the William B. Frank Minority Scholarship in Physical Sciences,
a comprehensive four-year tuition-free scholarship to Thiel College.
George Kum-Nji, center,
earned the William B. Frank Minority Scholarship in Physical Sciences and will attend Thiel College in the fall.
Allderdice High School Principal Dr. F. Robert McMurray, left, and Allderdice Guidance Counselor Lynn Warner, right,
congratulate Kum-Nji on his accomplishments.
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The award is given to minority students who intend to major in chemistry, physics or mathematics at Thiel. Kum-Nji,
who will be a freshman in the fall 2001 semester, plans to major in biology and chemistry at Thiel.
Mr. William B. Frank, a 1950 Thiel graduate who was raised outside of Youngstown, Ohio, created the minority scholarship.
After graduating, he completed graduate work in chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, and then served in the
U.S. Army Chemical Corps in Maryland. Following his military service, he joined the Research and Development Laboratories
of ALCOA, the Aluminum Company of America in New Kensington, Pa. He retired in 1994.
Applicants are evaluated on academic preparation, commitment to the study of science and financial need.
Kum-Nji, of Pittsburgh, has been named to Who's Who Among American High School Students and received the Citizenship
Award. He was also named to the All-City Academic Football Team. At Thiel Kum-Nji intends to participate in the
football team and the Organization of Black Collegiates.
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THIEL TO HOST
ARMED FORCES DAY CEREMONY
For immediate release May 3, 2001
GREENVILLE, Pa. - The community is invited to attend
an Armed Forces Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 19, at Thiel College.
Thiel President and
CEO Dr. Lance A. Masters dusts off a plaque he discovered in the basement of Roth Hall. The plaque, which lists
names of students killed during World War I, is one of two plaques found. The other plaque is in remembrance of
those students who died during World War II and the Korean War. Both will be displayed at the community Armed Forces
Day ceremony at 11 a.m. May 19 at Thiel College. Also pictured from left are Thiel employees Marcia de Kramer,
Tina Grayson and Lynn McClimans.
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The ceremony, which will be held on the lawn in front of Roth Hall, will remember those who have served in the
Armed Forces, and will feature retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. James Smartz, the current director of the Mercer
County Department of Veterans Affairs, as keynote speaker. Smartz is a resident of Sharpsville.
Greenville resident the Rev. Harry B. Wood Jr., a member of Thiel's class of 1947 and a veteran of the U.S. Navy,
will provide the invocation and benediction.
Retired U.S. Army Sgt. Tim McCall of West Middlesex will perform a musical salute following a brief missing man
ceremony in honor of prisoners of war and those missing in action. Members of the Mercer County Vietnam Era Veterans
Association will post and retire the colors.
The ceremony is free and open to the public. A reception will follow on the Howard Miller Student Center terrace.
For more information, please contact Tina Grayson at (724) 589-2145.
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MASTERS
ELECTED TO PLN ADVISORY COUNCIL
For immediate release May 3, 2001
GREENVILLE, Pa. - Thiel College President and CEO Dr.
Lance A. Masters was recently elected to the advisory council of the newly formed Pennsylvania Lutheran Network
(PLN).
Masters will represent the Lutheran colleges of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Seventy individuals representing 34 of the ELCA colleges, seminaries and agencies of the state created the PLN,
established for the mutual benefit of the organizations as they seek to accomplish ministry, education and service
in the church and in society.
The PLN is to be a planning mechanism through which synods, institutions, and organizations related to the ELCA
can maintain relationships, cooperate and collaborate in new ways.
The proposed mission statement being considered by the council is "The PLN is committed to cooperation, collaboration
and support for mutual benefit in ministry to insure that no part of the church need stand alone in our calling
to be faithful to the mission God has entrusted to us."
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THIEL EXPECTED
TO GRADUATE 108 STUDENTS AT MAY 13 COMMENCEMENT
For immediate release May 2, 2001 Commencement Schedule
GREENVILLE, Pa. - One hundred and eight Thiel College
seniors are expected to graduate at the college's 127th commencement ceremony, which will feature Cardinal Edward
Idris Cassidy, former president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, as keynote speaker. Exercises
begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 13, at the college's William A. Passavant Memorial Center.
Heather M. Achenbach,
daughter of Donald and Susan Achenbach of Greenville, will serve as senior orator, providing the address "Little
Things, Big Things."
A 1997 graduate of Greenville High School, she is a business communication and communication major. She has been
active with Thiel Players, Student Government Association, the danceline, Thiel Choir, Chamber Singers and the
Thiel Activities Board.
She has received dean's list honors, serves as the senior class treasurer, and is a member of the senior class
gift committee. She also belongs the senior honorary Les Lauriers and the national dramatic honorary Alpha Psi
Omega, as well as serving as the social chair of her sorority, Chi Omega.
Senior class president Kristin M. Fulton of Hanover, Pa., will provide the class greeting and present the
class gift.
The daughter of Robert N. and Judith A. Fulton of Hanover, she is a 1997 graduate of Southwestern High School.
A business administration and business communication major, she has been a member of the Thiel Band, Thiel Handbell
Choir, and has been named to the dean's list.
She has been active with the sophomore honor society Lambda Sigma, the foreign language honor society Alpha Mu
Gamma, and the Alpha Chi honor society, the highest academic honor a student can receive at Thiel. She has also
been named to "Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges."
Cardinal Cassidy will provide the keynote address "Duc in altum! The Christian in the Third Millennium."
Cassidy, who will serve as the keynote speaker at the Thiel Forum on Christian Unity on Saturday, May 12, will
also receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree during the ceremony.
Two retiring members of Thiel's faculty - Wayne R.
Petrarca, associate professor of health and physical
education and Nancy E. Harig, professor of nursing - also will be recognized during the commencement program.
The commencement ceremony is open to the public. For tickets or more information, please contact the office of
special events at (724) 589-2028.
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