Thiel College News Headlines

November / December, 2001

ANNUAL PHI THETA PHI WALK TO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL IS FRIDAY, SATURDAY

ROBERTA LEONARD JOINS ADVANCEMENT STAFF

THIEL COLLEGE CHRISTMAS EVENTS BEGIN SUNDAY, DEC. 2

THIEL COLLEGE PHIS TO BE HONORED BY STATE SENATE, HOUSE

CONFERENCE ON TERRORISM, RELIGION AND ECONOMICS IS
HIGHLIGHT OF THIEL'S INTERNATIONAL WEEK

ANNUAL PHI THETA PHI WALK TO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL IS FRIDAY, SATURDAY
For immediate release December 4, 2001

Ian Scott Forbes of Greenville, center, helps kick off the 35th annual Phi walk by making his contribution to brothers, from left, Chris Palmer, David Deutsch, Anthony Tronzo, Nick Montanaro, and Adam Kmetz. Forbes, former director of public relations at Thiel, has been an active supporter of the Phis for several years and has participated in 17 walks.

GREENVILLE, Pa. - The brothers of the Thiel College Phi Theta Phi fraternity will kick off the 35th annual walk to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh on Friday, Dec. 7.

The 100-mile walk - in which active Phi Theta Phi brothers, fraternity alumni, and a number of Thiel employees and friends participate - will begin with the group's departure from the college's William A. Passavant Memorial Center at 11 a.m. Friday.

The Phis, who surpassed the $1 million mark during last year's walk, are hoping to collect $50,000 Friday and Saturday. Contributions benefit the hospital's Free Care Fund, a fund that ensures children in western Pennsylvania never will be deprived medical care.

The group will arrive at Children's Hospital Saturday evening after traveling through and collecting donations in several communities between Greenville and Pittsburgh.

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is the only free-standing hospital in western Pennsylvania dedicated solely to the care of infants, children and young adults.

The fraternity raises money by accepting donations prior to the walk and at intersections and house stops along the hike to Pittsburgh. Anyone wishing to support the fraternity's effort may make checks payable to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and mail to Nick Montanaro, Phi Walk Chairman, Thiel College, 75 College Ave., Greenville, PA 16125.

For more information, please call the public relations office at Thiel College at (724) 589-2855.

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ROBERTA LEONARD JOINS ADVANCEMENT STAFF
For immediate release November 28, 2001

Roberta LeonardGREENVILLE, Pa. - Roberta J. Leonard of Greenville has been named director of corporate and foundation support at Thiel College.

Leonard will be responsible for linking outside interests with the priorities of the college by identifying, cultivating and soliciting support from foundations and corporate constituencies.

Prior to her appointment, Leonard had served as the grants and allocation accountant for Mercer County.

"Roberta has demonstrated she has highly transferable skills in terms of grant research and writing," said David J. Grober, vice president for college advancement. "She will be as successful in her career with Thiel College as she was with the county of Mercer."

Leonard earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1991.

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THIEL COLLEGE CHRISTMAS EVENTS BEGIN SUNDAY, DEC. 2
For immediate release November 19, 2001

GREENVILLE, Pa. - Thiel College will host a program of sacred Christmas music at its annual Christmas Festival at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2, in the William A. Passavant Memorial Center.

The performance will feature the Thiel Choir, Chamber Singers, Handbell Ringers, and Thiel College Band. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

A
Christmas Festival buffet will be available at 6 p.m. in the Dining Hall of the Howard Miller Student Center (HMSC) following the concert. The cost is $9 per person. Reservations for the buffet must be made by Nov. 26 by calling the college's Office of Special Events at (724) 589-2240.

Dr. Michael Bray, associate professor of music at Thiel, will conduct the choir with the accompaniment of organist Kathryn A. Gray, adjunct music professor at Thiel. Gray also will perform the prelude, while Bray also will lead the handbell ringers and chamber singers. Jeffrey Hvizdos, adjunct professor of music at Thiel, will conduct the band.

Rev. Dr. Paul A. Baglyos, campus pastor, will offer the invocation.

Thiel's Christmas celebration continues at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4 with
Advent Lessons & Carols, a candlelight service featuring Scripture readings and favorite Christmas hymns and carols. A freewill offering will be collected to benefit the Good Shepherd Center of Greenville. The event is free and open to the public.

The annual
Christmas by Candlelight dinner concludes the college's holiday celebration. The 7 p.m. dinner will be held on two evenings - Friday, Dec. 7 and Saturday, Dec. 8 - in the Sawhill-Georgian Room of the HMSC. The evening will feature performances by The Rosewood Trio and Thiel College students. An elegant hors d'oeuvres reception will be followed by a delicious holiday dinner. Cost is $26 per person Call (724) 589-2240 by Nov. 30 to make reservations.
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THIEL COLLEGE PHIS TO BE HONORED BY STATE SENATE, HOUSE
For immediate release November 9, 2001

GREENVILLE, Pa. - Thiel College's Phi Theta Phi fraternity will be honored by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate on Tuesday, Nov. 13, for the group's charitable commitment to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Seventeen members of the fraternity and two advisers will travel to Harrisburg next week at the invitation of Sen. Bob Robbins, R-50. Robbins commended the brothers last spring after the fraternity surpassed the $1 million mark in funds raised for the Free Care Fund of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh over the past 34 years.

The Phis will be recognized by the House and Senate during afternoon sessions.

The Thiel fraternity, according to fraternity adviser John Hauser, has raised more money for charity than any fraternity chapter in the world.

The 2001 walk to Children's Hospital - the only free-standing hospital in western Pennsylvania dedicated solely to the care of infants, children and young adults - will be held Dec. 7 and 8. This year's goal has been set at $50,000.

The annual 100-mile walk-a-thon - in which active Phi Theta Phi brothers, fraternity alumni, and a number of Thiel employees and friends participate - will begin with the group's departure from Thiel at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 7.

The group will arrive at Children's Hospital the evening of Dec. 8 after traveling through and collecting donations in several communities between Greenville and Pittsburgh.

Contributions benefit the hospital's Free Care Fund, a fund that ensures children in western Pennsylvania never will be deprived medical care.

This year's walk chairman is Nick Montanaro, a junior from Crescent, Pa.
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CONFERENCE ON TERRORISM, RELIGION AND ECONOMICS IS
HIGHLIGHT OF THIEL'S INTERNATIONAL WEEK

For immediate release November 1, 2001

GREENVILLE, Pa. - Thiel College will celebrate International Week 2001 next week with a series of events that are free and open to the public.

The college's Global Institute will sponsor a conference, "Terrorism, Religion, and Economics: Perils and Promise of the New Millennium," on Tuesday, Nov. 6, and Wednesday, Nov. 7, featuring experts on Islam, terrorism and world trade policies.

Dr. Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi, professor at the Hartford Seminary in Connecticut and co-director of its MacDonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Lutheran Heritage Room.

Abu-Rabi, who will discuss "The Muslim World, Globalization and Violence," also serves as senior editor of The Muslim World, arguably the highly regarded journal of Islam.

Abu-Rabi, the author of numerous books including Intellectual Origins of Islamic Resurgence in the Modern Arab World, has received fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

Born and raised in Palestine, Abu-Rabi holds a bachelor's degree from Birzeit University (1980), a master's degree from the University of Cincinnati in political science (1982), a master's in religious studies (1983) and a Ph.D. in Islamic studies from Temple University (1987).

Kristin Dawkins will provide a global perspective on economics at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Lutheran Heritage Room.

Dawkins, who is director of the Program on Trade and Agriculture at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy of Minneapolis, Minn., will speak on "The Economic Roots of Violence."

Dawkins travels widely, representing the Institute at a broad range of international negotiations and conferences. She has published The Politics of Biotechnology and articles in journals from the U.S., France, Britain, Germany, Brazil, Malaysia, and South Africa.

Dawkins holds a master's degree in city planning, specializing in international environmental negotiation, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

John Spiegel, a recently retired foreign service officer of the U.S. Department of State, will offer the U.S. government's perspective on the topic of "Terrorism, Religion and Economics" at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Bly Lecture Hall.

Prior to his retirement, Spiegel served in the office of the coordinator for counter-terrorism. Throughout his career Spiegel had been assigned to various operations including the Bureau of African Affairs; Consular Fraud; Aviation Negotiations; regional management for the Visa Office; and Textile Trade Negotiations. He also served as a consular officer at posts in Nicosia, Cyprus; Montreal, Canada; Kobe, Japan; and Bucharest, Romania.

Spiegel earned a bachelor's degree from Boston College and a master's degree from Loyola University of Chicago.

All three presentations are free and open to the public. For more information on the conference, please contact Dr. Curt Thompson at (724) 589-2106.

Other events scheduled for International Week include the 2nd annual Culture Show, set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, in the Lutheran Heritage Room.

Presented by members of the college's International Students Organization (ISO), students will perform cultural demonstrations, explain traditional customs and wear ethnic clothing. The ISO consists of students from Albania, Angola, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ghana, India, Japan, Korea, Madagascar, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Russia, and Slovak Republic.

This event is free and open to the public, and children are encouraged to attend. For more information on the Culture Show, please contact Mr. Brad Skippon at (724) 589-2036.

International Week at Thiel will conclude with a student trip to New York City, where students will have the opportunity to experience the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Sponsored by the Global Institute, the trip is open to all undergraduates at Thiel College.

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