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WING
Program is Tuesday, April 4
For release March 30, 2000
 GREENVILLE, Pa. - The Thiel College Center for Women's Leadership
will host the sixth annual Women Inspiring the Next Generation (WING) program from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday,
April 4 on the college campus.
About 50 female high school students from Greenville, Reynolds,
Mercer, West Middlesex, Kennedy Christian, Sharon and Commodore Perry school districts will participate.
"The WING program is a chance for high school students
to expand their horizons, as well as an opportunity for our women of the center to show leadership," said
event coordinator Vicki Poe.
The program will begin with a keynote address by Dr. Joyce
Cuff, professor of biology at Thiel College, who will speak about individuals who have inspired her throughout
her lifetime. A video presentation will follow. Residents of the Center for Women's Leadership will share their
life stories and discuss inspirational women. The day will conclude with a journaling and collage workshop led
by Thiel creative writing professor Lillian Reeher.
The WING program is one of the major community service projects
of the Thiel College Center for Women's Leadership. All of the center's residents have been involved in the planning
and implementation of the conference.
For more information, please contact event coordinator Vicki
Poe at (724) 589-2756.
The Thiel College Center for Women's Leadership, a living-learning
program for Thiel women students, was founded in 1997. The goal of the center is to better prepare Thiel women
students for leadership roles in government, business, research and medicine.
Program objectives include strengthening women students'
participation in the sciences, encouraging enrollment in professional and graduate school programs, increasing
participation in cooperative education and
internship placements and increasing participation in international exchange and study-abroad opportunities.
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Thiel College to Host Earth Week 2000 Celebration April 3-5
For release March 27, 2000
 GREENVILLE, Pa -- Thiel College will host its second annual Earth Day celebration
with "Earth Week 2000-For the Beauty of the Earth" April 3-5.
The Earth Week 2000 celebration is a three day event, featuring
speakers and workshops focusing on how we can be active participants in preserving the environment.
Monday, April 3 starts off with "Earth Learners Workshops,"
a series of three workshops. Workshop I is "A Seasonal Approach to Environmental Experiences," a multimedia
presentation by 6th grade students from Jamestown Elementary School. Workshop II is "The Rainforest,"
an interactive play about biodiversity presented by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Workshop III is "The
Beauty of Insects," a hands-on workshop presented by the Thiel College biology honorary, Beta Beta Beta.
Also on Monday, April 3 join students and faculty in the
Howard Miller Student Center dining hall as Thiel College kicks off the "Earth Celebration." There will
be special music by Megan Speer and an announcement of the Leadership in Environmental Awareness Award. A "Tree
Planting Ceremony" will be held at Brother Martin's Walk to continue a 126-year tradition. In the evening,
there will be the "Rainforest Canopy Coffeehouse," a Thiel coffeehouse dedicated to the beauty of people
and their music. Also embark on a fantastic global adventure filled with antelope, caribou, geese, hippopotami,
jaguars, seals, and more in the "Savage and the Beautiful." This National Geographic film is presented
as part of the Science and Our Global Heritage film series.
On Tuesday, April 4, Christopher Bache, Ph.D., professor
of philosophy and religious studies at Youngstown State University, presents "The Eco-Crisis and Spiritual
Rebirth of the World's Religions." Bache will argue that non-Western religious traditions present resources
and values for dealing with the environmental crisis.
On Wednesday, April 5, several speakers will present workshops
and forums. Regional Lutheran pastors are invited to participate in a special clergy workshop led by The Rev. H.
Paul Santmire titled "Ecology and Liturgy: Beyond the Gothic Spirit. This workshop is followed by a luncheon
for participating clergy.
Colorado State University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy,
Dr. Holmes Rolston III, author of Science and Relgion: A Critical Survey, Philosophy Gone Wild, Conserving Natural
Value and Environmental Ethics, will present "Value in Nature and the Nature of Value." Rolston will
argue that there are strong philosophical and religious grounds for finding value in nature.
H. Paul Santmire, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America will present "Reclaiming the Christian Story from its Ecological Critics: The Case of Matthew Fox."
Santmire will challenge critics who claim Christianity should be held responsible for the environmental crisis.
Dr. Gayle Woloschak, molecular biologist at Argonne National
Laboratory, will present "The Beauty and Unity of Creation." Woloschak will present an alternative view
that emphasizes the beauty to be found in biochemistry and biological evolution.
Available throughout the week of April 3 along Brother Martin's
Walk is "A Walk Through Time," a series of displays designed by Thiel biology students. These displays
explore the beauty of the Earth through time from the formation of the solar system to the emergence of humans.
Click here for a Schedule of Events.
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English Visits Thiel to Discuss Education Bill
For release March 27, 2000
 GREENVILLE, Pa -- U.S. Rep. Phil English, R-21, visited the Thiel
College campus Monday to discuss the Education Savings and School Excellence Act of 2000 (HR 7).
The bill, which passed the House Ways and Means Committee
last Thursday, would aid students and families with the rising costs of higher education. The bill is expected
to be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives as early as this week.
English, who voted in favor of the measure, held a press
conference in Thiel's Greenville Hall Monday afternoon, discussing why education should be made more affordable
to students in the United States.
"Education is the key for Americans to achieve the American
dream of personal success and a better life for themselves and their children," said English. "I am fighting
to keep educational opportunities open for all Pennsylvanians."
The bill will increase the annual contribution to Education
Savings Accounts (ESAs) from $500 to $2,000 per beneficiary and allow corporate contributions to the accounts.
In English's 21st Congressional District, 107,696 students would benefit from ESAs and statistics show that of
those children, 61,387 are likely to attend college.
The bill extends the ESAs to include not only qualified higher
education expenses but also qualified elementary and secondary education expenses such as tutoring, tuition, books,
fees, computers and special needs services. It also makes prepaid savings plans such as Pennsylvania's Tuition
Assistance Program tax free instead of tax deferred.
Under the bill, private colleges would also be eligible to
participate in the prepaid plans.
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Thiel College Performing Arts Department Presents Pianist James Tannenbaum
For release March 22, 2000
GREENVILLE, Pa -- The Thiel College performing arts department
will present pianist James Tannenbaum at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 24 in the William A. Passavant Memorial Center,
Thiel College.
Tannenbaum, an instructor at the Cleveland Institute of Music
and artist in residence at the Willoughby School of Fine Arts, will perform the music of Chopin, Beethoven and
Moussorgsky. Each year for the past 26 years, he has prepared one public recital program.
Tannenbaum annually tours in the Midwest, performing solo
concerts and piano concertos. A winner of many competitions, he has participated in the Blossom Chamber Music Festival
and has appeared frequently with the Cleveland Institute of Music Artist Series.
Tannenbaum has been acknowledged by the Ohio House of Representatives
with a special proclamation honoring him for 25 continuous years of outstanding performances as a concert pianist.
The concert is free and open to the public. For more information,
contact Dr. Michael Bray at (724) 589-2149.
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Kathleen Daugherty '67 will present options for extinguishing prejudice on March 28
For release March 22, 2000
GREENVILLE, Pa -- The Thiel College office of campus ministry
will host speaker Kathleen Daugherty at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28 in the college's Bly Lecture Hall.
Daugherty, who will present "Be Impatient with Prejudice,"
is a 1967 graduate of Thiel College and the executive director of the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania.
She will discuss issues related to hate crimes and prejudice, with special emphasis on Christian attitudes about
sexual orientation.
This discussion is part of "Bridging the Gap/Valuing
Diversity Week." The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact the office of campus
ministry at 589-2130.
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A
trip to Durango, Mexico is being planned by Spanish professor Taryn Butenschoen
For release March
22, 2000
GREENVILLE, Pa -- The trip, set for May 8 to 19, is open
to any Thiel student or employee. Students may earn four credits in Spanish at any level. A $600 fee will cover
program costs - classes, meals, and housing with a host family.There will be an additional $600 fee for airfare.
For more information, please contact Butenschoen at extension
2081, Professor Barb Hassel at extension 2082, or speak with last year's participants Tim Goetze, Melissa Gregory,
Mark Russell, Kim Brouse, Misty Becker or Cat Sulc.
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$1
Million Gift to Thiel Will Establish Endowed Chair
For release March
15, 2000
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Retired cardiologist Dr. Paul Miller Rike
and his wife Hazel have donated $1 million to Thiel College for the creation of an endowed chair in the Life Sciences.
"Thiel is indeed blessed to have friends like the Rikes,"
said Thiel College President Dr. Lance A. Masters. "This generous and thoughtful gift will ensure that our
top students in the sciences will have the very best professors as they prepare for careers in this most important
area."
Rike, a renowned cardiologist, research scholar, teacher,
and consultant, earned an honorary doctor of science degree from Thiel College in 1970. The Rikes have remained
financial supporters of Thiel over the past 30 years, and this year wanted to ensure continued study in the field
of medicine by establishing the endowed chair.
"We wanted to give something to Thiel College that would
remain," Rike said of his contribution, adding that the endowed chair will enable Thiel to attract and retain
exceptional professors in the field of biology, thereby creating better scholarship opportunities for students.
Rike earned his bachelor of science degree in 1937 from the
University of Pittsburgh and his doctor of medicine degree in 1938.
Rike, a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, completed his internship
at Western Pennsylvania Hospital in 1939 and his residency in internal medicine at the University of Pittsburgh
in 1940. He completed additional postgraduate training in cardiology as a Mellon Fellow in 1942.
In his 50-year career as a cardiologist, Rike has practiced internal medicine at Magee Women's Hospital and served
as consultant at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. He received a faculty appointment at the University
of Pittsburgh School of Medicine as a clinical assistant professor of medicine.
Rike has been active in many professional societies including
the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Internal Medicine, the American College of Cardiology,
the American College of Angiology and the International Society of Internal Medicine. He was awarded a fellowship
in each of these organizations in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the practice of medicine.
In November 1999, the American College of Physicians-American
College of Internal Medicine honored Rike with the Laureate Award, and in February his colleagues at the University
of Pittsburgh School of Medicine recognized his achievements and years of dedication by honoring him with the Minutemen
Award.
Rike and his wife, who have been married for over 50 years,
are active members of the Christ Lutheran Church.
Thiel College will appoint an individual to the endowed chair
at spring commencement.
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Thiel
Choir to perform locally on Friday, Mar. 17
For release March
15, 2000
GREENVILLE, Pa. - The Thiel Choir will present its home concert
at 8 p.m. Friday, March 17 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Penn and Clinton streets, Greenville.
The choir recently returned from its annual spring tour after
singing concerts in the greater Pittsburgh area, Weirton and Wheeling, W. Va., and Canfield, Ohio.
Many of the works featured on the home concert will be part
of the repertoire the choir will sing while touring Germany May 22 to June 1.
Dr. Michael Bray, the director of the choir, is enthusiastic
about the home concert because the annual tour "enables the choir to bring our program to a very high level
of performance."
Bray said this year's tour "was particularly rewarding
because of the unity experienced between choir members and the clear sense of purpose and mission which unfolded
as we sang at Lutheran churches which support the college," Bray said.
The concert, which will feature contemporary sacred choral
works as well as spirituals and hymn settings of this Lenten season, is free and open to the public. A freewill
offering will be taken in support of the choir.
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Thiel
College establishes English honorary charter
For release March
14, 2000
GREENVILLE, Pa. - The Thiel College English department has
been granted permission by Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, to establish a local chapter,
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 English
language or literature beyond the freshman requirements, have obtained a ranking in the highest 35 percent of the
class in general scholarship, and be an English major or minor with a 3.0 QPA in English, according to Dr. Mary
Theresa Hall, a member of Thiel's English department. The department requesting a chapter of Sigma Tau Delta must
also obtain a letter of support from the college president.
"The students at Thiel who are English majors and minors
certainly deserve this honor and recognition," said Hall, adviser for the charter group. "My experience
here is that our students are highly motivated and excited about having a chapter of Sigma Tau Delta on campus."
A member of the Association of College Honor Societies, Sigma
Tau Delta is composed of over 560 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.
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Honduran
political activist, Irma Acosta de Fortin, to speak on Mar. 16
For release March
14, 2000
Greenville, PA - Irma Acosta de Fortin, president and founder
of the first private university in Honduras, will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at Thiel College's Bly Lecture
Hall.
De Fortin, who founded the Universidad Jose Cecilio del Valle (UJCV) in 1970, will speak about Honduran culture,
politics and education.
The 1970 establishment of the UJCV - named after the author of the Declaration of Independence in Central America
- was the subject of public debate and more than 600 newspaper articles. It rivaled the country's only university,
the 130-year-old National University of Honduras.
De Fortin, who is active educationally and politically, holds the first engineering degree awarded to a woman in
Honduras. She serves as a consultant to and co-proprietor of the bilingual Mayan School, is a coordinator of the
International Cooperation for Development with an ambassador's ranking, and is the director of the University Center
for General Studies, National University of Honduras.
In the political arena, her activities include: candidate to the vice presidency of the Republic for the National
Party of Honduras, president of the National Party of Honduras, and National Party representative to the National
Congress.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information,
contact Mark McGrath at (724) 589-2007.
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He
LiYi internationally recognized author of Mr. China's Son will share insights on the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
For release March
14, 2000
Dr. Joyce Cuff, He LiYi, and Prof. Joan Heald
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GREENVILLE, Pa. - Chinese author He LiYi will speak at 7 p.m.
Monday, March 20, at Bly Lecture Hall, Thiel College.
He is the author of "Mr. China's Son," an autobiography
chronicling a villager's life during China's Great Leap Forward, the Anti-Rightist Movement and the Cultural Revolution.
He, who lives in Dali, Yunnan Province, China, studied English
and took a job with the Chinese government. In 1957, just prior to Mao Tse-tung's Cultural Revolution, He was among
many educated Chinese citizens sent to labor camps to be "reeducated."
The event is free and open to the public. For more information,
please call Joan Heald at (724) 588-7616.
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Speaker
Laura X to Discuss Marital and Date Rape on Mar. 23.
For release March
14, 2000
 GREENVILLE, Pa. - The Thiel College Center for Women's Leadership
will host speaker Laura X at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23 in the college's Bly Lecture Hall.
X will present a video and panel discussion titled "Marital
and Date Rape: Social, Legal, Historical and Religious Support." The panel will consist of X; Jeff Baylor,
Thiel associate dean of students; Thiel College counselors Joyce Hart and Dawn Powell; and AW/ARE representatives
Leah Koon and Mary Margaret Keck.
X, the director of the National Clearinghouse on Marital
and Date Rape in Berkeley, Calif., led the 1978 California Campaign as the director to make marital rape a crime.
The "X" in her name symbolizes the anonymity of women's history and the legal ownership of women. That
legal doctrine permits marital - and thus - date rape, according to X.
The Clearinghouse began in 1978 as a project of the Women's
History Research Center, which X founded in 1968 and directed through its 21 years.
X has been cited many times for her work. She received Mademoiselle
magazine's Woman of Achievement award, a World Congress of Victimology Award for Innovative Programs and Services,
as well as commendations by the American Library Association and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop.
She has been a guest on the "Phil Donahue," "Sally Jessy Raphael," "Geraldo," "Gary
Collins," "60 Minutes" and "Today" shows.
The Thiel College Center for Women's Leadership, a living-learning
program for Thiel women students, was founded during the fall of 1997. The goal of the center is to better prepare
Thiel women students for leadership roles in government, business, research and medicine.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information,
please contact Dr. Cynthia L. Sutton at (724) 589-2084.
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Bridging
the Gap begins March 15
For release March
3, 2000
GREENVILLE, Pa. - This year's Bridging the Gap Tolerance
Conference "Diverse People, Diverse Tales," which begins March 15, has something for everyone.
"We're trying to reach out and bring everyone together,
regardless of age, ethnicity, religion, or race. This isn't about excluding but getting out voices that we rarely
hear in the main stream," said chair Nicole Rowles.
The events for the annual conference have been extended over a two-week period to give people the opportunity to
attend more than one function.
"Regardless of what your interests are there is something fun for everyone - and it's all free. We've got
speakers, poetry, fairytales and storytelling, music and dancing, and lots of door prizes. You will walk away with
more than you came in with, be it spiritually, intellectually or otherwise," said Melissa Lewis of the Philosophy
Club.
"We're very excited about the speakers and activities we're sponsoring this year, we've got a lot of people
working with us and a lot of support from the school and various clubs and organizations," said Kristin Gillespie,
vice president of the Sociology Club. Also involved are the Philosophy Club, Organization of Black Collegiates,
and International Student Organization.
"What we want most of all is to see the local community come out in full force to show that they want to create
tolerance, because regardless of the differences we might have, in the end, we're all part of the samehuman family,"
Rowles said.
If you would like more information on Bridging the Gap 2000, would like to participate or help, or receive a complete
listing of times and events, please contact Nicole Rowles 588-1063 or e-mail nrowles@thiel.edu.
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