GREENVILLE, PA – Thiel College Trustees welcomed four new members to the board at its January meeting on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25 and 26 in the new William A. Robinson Theater on the college’s campus. The new members are John R. Frangakis,  Rev. Kurt F. Kusserow ’85, Catherine Mott and Thomas W. West ’59.

Frangakis is chairman and CEO of Reynolds Services, Inc. of Greenville. He also currently is member/sales manager of Cross IT Services and Solutions, LLC and management member of Vulcan Engineering, LLC, both located in Greenville. He is very active in his church, Presbyterian Church of West Middlesex, having served on the Budget & Stewardship Committee and the Interim Pastor Committee, as well as chairing the church’s Technology Task Force. He is a member of The Pennsylvania State University Campus Advisory and the Reynolds Development Corporation boards, and serves on the Leadership Committee of the Oak Tree Country Club. Frangakis holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s of business administration from The Katz Graduate School of the University of Pittsburgh. He and his wife, Teresa, have two children and reside in Hermitage.

Kusserow is the newly elected bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Thiel College and a master’s of divinity at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. Prior to being elected Bishop, he has served as pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Latrobe and pastor at Faith, Oklahoma Boro and Hebron in Avonmore. He and his wife, Pamela ’85, have two children and reside in Allison Park.

Mott is a founder and CEO of BlueTree Capital Group in Wexford. She earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s of education at Edinboro University. She later earned a master’s of business administration in finance from Youngstown State University. Mott also was founder and president of Synergetic Sales Performance Group. Prior to forming her own business, she worked for 17 years in corporate banking management, focusing on investment sales/wealth management, commercial lending, business development and retail expansion.  In 2002, Mott was named one of Pennsylvania’s 50 Best Women in Business and received the Ann Anstine Excellence in Service Leadership award. She lives in Mercer.

West is president and CEO of National Lambda Rail, Inc. in Cypress, Calif. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Thiel College, a master’s of education at Westminster College and his doctorate in education at Indiana University. Previously, West was assistant vice chancellor for IRT at California State University and university director of information and computing services at Indiana University, as well as serving as vice chancellor and assistant to the chancellor at Indiana University. He has served as a consultant to several colleges and universities in the areas of mission determination, strategic planning, institutional survival, organizational development, enrollment and financial forecasting, and information technology systems. West and his wife, Lynn, have four children and reside in Newport Coast, Calif.

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