Academics > Majors and Areas of Study > English > Faculty > Hall

Professor of English

Department Chair

   Contact Information

   Office:   305 Greenville Hall

   Phone:  1-724-589-2154

   Fax:      1-724-589-2021

   E-mail:  mthall@thiel.edu

Spring & Fall 2011

Office Hours:  MWF 8:00-10:00 A.M. and 1:00-3:00 P.M.

                     TTH   8:00-9:30 A.M. and 11:00 A.M.-1:00 P.M.

Biography

Dr. Mary Theresa Hall, Professor of English at Thiel College, enjoys the teacher-student exchange and the research and critical inquiry that prompt learning and scholarship.  A native of Pittsburgh, Dr. Hall received the B.A. degree in English and secondary certification in English and French from Seton Hill University; the M.A. degree in Literature from Carnegie Mellon University; and the Ph.D. from Duquesne University.  She teaches a variety of courses, including: Honors Oral and Written Expression I and II; Oral and Written Expression; Introduction to Literature; Survey of British Literature I and II; The English Language (Linguistics); The Development of the Novel; and Seminars in The Tragic Spirit in World Literature, The Bible as Literature, and Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales. 

Her publications and research interests include medieval literature, with an emphasis on Geoffrey Chaucer; Renaissance literature, with an emphasis on Ben Jonson and George Herbert; early 20th-century literature, with an emphasis on Gerard Manley Hopkins, T.S. Eliot, and Virginia Woolf; biography, and autobiography.  Her doctoral dissertation was published as Country Parsons, Country Poets: George Herbert and Gerard Manley Hopkins as Spiritual Autobiographers.  Her passion for teaching and lifelong learning prompts her to present at conferences and write articles and reviews in her discipline and on educational leadership, and motivates her students to deliver papers at annual English Majors conferences as well. She serves as advisor of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honorary society, and as advisor of The Phoenix, the creative arts and literary journal.  In 2002, she was chosen as Thiel College’s Distinguished Faculty Scholar; in 2003, as the Professor of the Year; and in 2006, she was awarded the Distinguished Faculty Service Award. 

“A work in progress” aptly describes Dr. Hall, who invites her students into the classroom of life where together they explore a new world of discovery and creativity.

Alpha Iota Kappa Honorary Society

The Thiel College English department has an active chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society. The local chapter is known as Alpha Iota Kappa.  In order for a student to become a member of Sigma Tau Delta, he or she must have completed three semesters of college course work; a minimum of two college courses in the English language or literature beyond Oral and Written Expression; maintain a 3.0 in the English courses; and a ranking in the highest 35 percent in general scholarship.  “The students at Thiel who are English majors and minors or have an interest in English language or literature deserve this honor and recognition,” said Dr. Hall, advisor of the honorary.  “Each spring, we induct dedicated students who contribute significantly not only to the Thiel community but also to Greenville.  Our students serve on the editorial board of The Phoenix, the literary publication, and as tutors in various disciplines, especially English, at Thiel and in Greenville.”

A member of the Association of College Honor Societies, Sigma Tau Delta is composed of over 56 chapters located throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Caribbean.  Its central purpose is to confer distinction upon outstanding students of the English language and literature in undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies.