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THIEL COLLEGE FOUNDERS'
DAY TO HONOR STAFF, FACULTY
For immediate release January 31, 2002
GREENVILLE, Pa. - Thiel College will honor nine faculty and
staff members and two local businessmen at its annual Founders' Day ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 7, in the Lutheran
Heritage Room of the Howard Miller Student Center, announced Thiel President and CEO Dr. Lance A. Masters.
The A. Louis and Barbara Thiel Distinguished Service Award
will be presented to local orthopedics Dr.
Robert H. Baker and Dr. John P. Scullin,
partners of the Greenville Orthopedic Association Inc.
The A. Louis and Barbara Thiel Award is presented to those who demonstrate exemplary character, continuity of leadership,
and long-term service to Greenville and its environs. The recipient must have demonstrated a commitment to the
common good above private interests.
Baker and Scullin have been in practice together since 1976.
The award is named after A. Louis and Barbara Thiel, whose generosity made possible the founding of Thiel College
in 1866. The Thiels dedicated themselves to the welfare of others. The German couple immigrated to western Pennsylvania
in the 1840s, and as their work was blessed with success, they faithfully served family, community and church.
Past recipients of the A. Louis and Barbara Thiel Distinguished Service Award are:
2000: Peter Mortensen
1999: James Weller Jr. Family
1998: Joseph A. George
1997: James E. Feeney
1996: F.W. Knecht III
1995: Dorotha E. Anderson
1994: Joseph M. Walton, D. Michael Walton, and Joseph P. Walton
1993: Donna C. Winner and James E. Winner
1992: Richard L. Werner
1991: The Hon. Roy Wilt
1990: Paul J. Miller
Receiving the Professor of the Year Award will be Dr. Curtis L. Thompson,
professor of religion. Other faculty awards to be presented are the Distinguished Scholar Award to Dr. Mary Theresa Hall,
associate professor of English; the Distinguished Service Award to Dr.
Nicholas G. Despo, professor of biology; the Distinguished
Teacher Award to Judith G. Newton,
professor of mathematics and computer science; and the Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Award to Joan S. Heald, lecturer of mathematics
and computer science, and adjunct professor in chemistry and the Global Heritage program.
Thompson was appointed to the Thiel College faculty as assistant professor
of religion in 1983, and was named associate professor of religion in 1987 and professor of religion in 1993. He
earned a bachelor of arts from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., in 1969. He graduated with a master of divinity
degree from Luther Theological Seminary in 1974 and earned master's and doctoral degrees from the University of
Chicago in 1979 and 1985, respectively. He resides in Greenville.
Hall joined the Thiel faculty in 1999. She had been assistant professor
of English at Seton Hill College, assistant professor at Kutztown University, and an English and French teacher
at Elizabeth Seton High School and Seton-LaSalle High School. Hall earned her bachelor of arts degree in English
from Seton Hill College, her master of arts degree in English from Carnegie Mellon University in 1987, and her
doctor of philosophy degree from Duquesne University in 1991. She resides in Slippery Rock.
Despo joined the Thiel College faculty in 1975 as an instructor in biology,
later assuming the title of professor. He received his bachelor of science degree in 1966 from Pennsylvania State
University, his master's degree from Duquesne University in 1968, and his doctorate from Rutgers University in
1977. Prior to joining Thiel, Dr. Despo taught at Juniata College and served as a teaching assistant at Rutgers.
He resides in Jamestown.
Newton began her career at Thiel College in 1971 when she assisted with the
college's computer science courses. After serving as a part-time lecturer in mathematics during 1971-72, Newton
was appointed instructor in economics and business administration in 1973. She earned the rank of assistant professor
in 1979, associate professor in 1982, and professor in 1991. Newton, who earned her undergraduate degree from the
University of Santa Clara in California, holds master's degrees from the University of New Mexico and the University
of Pittsburgh. She served as the college's assistant academic dean from September 1994 to June 1996. She resides
in Greenville and has one daughter.
Heald has served Thiel in several capacities over the past 37 years. During
the 1965-66 academic year, she served as an instructor in analytical chemistry, and in 1978, she was appointed
adjunct faculty member in Thiel's chemistry department. For the next 20 years, she served in full- and part-time
capacities as a faculty member and a library computer specialist. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry
from Swarthmore College in 1958, and a master of science degree in organic chemistry from the University of Hawaii
in Honolulu in 1961. She and her husband, Dr. Emerson Heald, retired Thiel chemistry professor, reside in Greenville.
They have three children.
Distinguished Staff Awards will be presented to
Wayne P. and Peggy A. Hause, press supervisor and bindery specialist, respectively; Peggy A. Miller,
coordinator of student housing and student services administrative assistant; and Sara L. Smargiasso,
housekeeper.
The Hauses, who reside in Greenville, have been working as a team for 17 years in the
Thiel Press. Wayne joined college in 1966 and Peggy in 1985. Miller came to Thiel in 1971 and has been employed in the office of student
services since 1983. She resides in Greenville. Smargiasso has been employed part-time in the housekeeping department for 20
years. She resides in Greenville.
Thiel will also confer professor emeriti status to six retired faculty members during the Founders' Day ceremony.
Associate professor emerita status will be given to Dr.
Twylah C. Benson, sociology. Professor emeritus status
will be given to Dr. Emerson F. Heald, chemistry; Dr.
Conrad J. Koehler, philosophy; and Dr. Richard A. Schroeder,
English. Professor emerita status will be given to Dr.
Bonnie K. MacLean, biology, and Dr. Georgina S. Rettinger,
education.
A luncheon follows the ceremony for honorees and their guests.
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'FACES OF AMERICA'
PROGRAM IS THURSDAY
For immediate release January 27, 2002
GREENVILLE, Pa. - Thiel College's Theatre Arts Department
and the Office of
Multicultural Affairs will present "Faces of America" at 7 p.m. Thursday,
Jan. 31, in the Lutheran Heritage Room of the Howard Miller Student Center.
The program features moving true accounts of nine Americans, enabling the
audience to see the "real faces" of our nation. The stories told belong to
young Americans - African, Asian, Latino, East Indian, European and Native.
They challenge the stereotypes of race, class and sexual orientation, and
tell of their hopes for the future.
Created by Colin Cox and Fran de Leon in response to demands for diversity
workshops, the show premiered at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in March
1995. After receiving rave reviews, a national tour was launched with
bookings at several American venues.
In 1996 the program was chosen to commemorate the 51st annual United Nations
Day; the show played to a sold-out house and was honored by foreign
dignitaries and political activists.
The event at Thiel College is free and open to the public. For more
information, please call (724) 589-2220.
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THIEL BREAKS GROUND
FOR NEW STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
For immediate release January 16, 2002
 GREENVILLE, Pa. - Decked out in hardhats and armed with blue and gold
shovels, Thiel College officials kicked off a $3 million campus student housing project Wednesday which is expected
to be completed by Aug. 1.
Breaking up just small portions of the nearly-frozen ground on the college's west campus, Thiel President and CEO
Dr. Lance A. Masters, board of trustee members Ronald Anderson, James Bittel, and Joseph P. Walton, and Doug Wallace
and Dennis Salmon of Wallace Builders gathered on a sunny, snow-free morning for a brief ceremony to commence Phase
I of a multi-phased project.
 The
project has the distinction, Masters said, of being the "first true living-learning facility," and will
provide the first new housing facilities on Thiel's campus in 33 years.
Two new housing units and a common support building - which have yet to be named - will be erected on the west
end of campus, occupying space that previously housed two fraternity residence buildings. The two buildings, former
homes to Phi Theta Phi and Delta Sigma Phi fraternities, were demolished in December 2001. They were built in 1962.
The project, which is being handled by Wallace Builders of Pulaski, Pa., will feature two apartment buildings arranged
in a V-shape. Each building will house 10 apartment units. Features of each apartment include:
- Four bedrooms in each apartment
- Two baths each apartment
- Kitchenette
- Living room
- Storage space
- Contemporary furnishings
- Sprinkler system
Four of the units will be handicap accessible.
The support building, which will be located between the two housing structures, will feature four specific components:
- 1. Traditional units: laundry room, computer room, restrooms,
lounge area
2. Resident Director living quarters: Two-bedroom apartment for Resident Director
3. Living-Learning Center: Preliminary being tagged as the Thiel Center for American Language and Global Culture,
this is an area in which international students will be provided with intensive English courses to ensure their
success at Thiel and within our culture. The center will feature two classrooms, a lab, and two offices for staff.
4. Greek Center: Innovative Thiel Center for Excellence in Greek Life includes a conference room, large storage
lockers for ritual paraphernalia, a chapter room to be scheduled and shared by Greek organizations, and an office
for Greek Life Coordinator or Director.
The new housing units will be available to upperclassmen.
Phase I, said Masters, is only the beginning. Within five years, Masters hopes to construct a total of four or
five similar structures, which would accommodate 300-400 students.
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