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THIEL COLLEGE TO HONOR JOHN HUDSON AT 2012 FOUNDERS' DAY CONVOCATION Jan. 26, 2012 GREENVILLE, PA – On Feb. 2, Thiel College will recognize 10 faculty and staff members and John M. Hudson at the college’s annual Founders’ Day convocation in the Lutheran Heritage Room of the Howard Miller Student Center. President Troy D. VanAken will present the A. Louis and Barbara Thiel Distinguished Service Award to Hudson, principal shareholder and president of the Hudson Group, Inc. and managing partner of five related business entities of the Hudson Companies, located in Hermitage, Pa. In 1977, Hudson founded his first company, a small residential construction company. Within five years, he negotiated his first commercial contract and guided the company into commercial and institutional construction. In 1997, he sold his ownership and founded Hudson Group Inc., general contractor. Within one year, Hudson Group grew larger than his previous company and today boasts sales of $25 million in contracts for clients throughout Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio and employs 50 professionals, craftsmen and mechanics. In the mid-1980s, he sought further diversification and formed Hudson Investment Properties, a real estate development entity leasing exclusively to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. To date, the company has developed more than 800,000 square feet of space for Pennsylvania, including the most recent, the Department of Corrections administrative office outside of Harrisburg. Hudson began partnering with the federal government in 2004 to develop affordable elderly housing in the region and initiated the plans to develop the first silver LEED certified project in the nation in 2008. The Hudson Companies were one of only 12 nationwide companies invited (and the only developer) to Washington, D.C., by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to participate in a symposium to shape future policies aimed at increasing energy efficiency in affordable housing across the United States. Hudson is a recognized community leader, having served as a former board member with Catholic Charities Adoption Agency of Mercer County, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Erie, Penn State Shenango Advisory Board, Penn Northwest Economic Development Agency and the Thiel College Board of Trustees; past president and current board member of the F.H. Buhl Club; and past president and former board member of the Prince of Peace Mission. He has received several awards for his community service and is a current board member for the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Erie, Sharon Regional Health System, Shenango Valley Catholic School Services and Synergy Comp Insurance Company. Hudson and his wife, Mariangela Bianco, have six children, Tyler, Hallie, Jonathan, Alexandra, Maxx and Julian. They live in Hermitage. The A. Louis and Barbara Thiel Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to community members who demonstrate exemplary character, continuity of leadership, and long-term service to Greenville and its environs. The recipients must demonstrate a commitment to the common good above private interests. The award is named after 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. Receiving the prestigious Professor of the Year Award is Dr. Joyce Cuff, professor of biology and Paul M. Rike Professor of Life Sciences. In 30-plus years at Thiel College, Dr. Joyce Cuff has left an indelible mark on her students and colleagues, her community, the College itself and the world at large. Just a small sample of her accomplishments and activities include helping to develop Thiel’s neuroscience program; co-authoring a book with Dr. Curt Thompson (“God and Nature: A Theologian and a Scientist Conversing on the Divine Promise of Possibility”); being named the Paul M. Rike Professor of Life Sciences; serving as adviser to Tri-Beta (national honorary society in biology); coordinating the Earth Day workshops for local school children; and serving on numerous college committees and as faculty chairperson and assistant academic dean. Additionally, Cuff carries one of the largest teaching loads in terms of credit hours and serves as the academic adviser for many of Thiel’s life science students. Cuff is widely traveled and spent her year-long sabbatical last year in northern Tanzania, working to establish a laboratory attached to a health clinic in the village of Karatu and serving the health needs of more than 10,000 new and continuing patients. The experience allowed her to apply 35 years of teaching and learning to issues of health care in Africa, while also providing her with experiences that helped to strengthen a variety of courses at Thiel. During her years at Thiel, Cuff has received numerous fellowships, grants and honors, including Professor of the Year at Thiel in 2001, a Fulbright Award and many others. She also is a member of the boards of UP—Unlimited Possibilities (a nonprofit committed to service locally and globally that she also co-founded), Shenango River Watchers and Mercer County Affordable Housing. Cuff was appointed to the Thiel faculty in 1981, became an associate professor in 1985 and was promoted to full professor in 1991. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Regis College in Massachusetts and received her Ph.D. from the University of Rochester Medical School. A native of Manchester, N.H., Cuff lives in Jamestown, Pa. She is retiring at the end of the spring semester and plans to return to Tanzania to continue her work there. Other faculty members to earn recognition are:
Five staff awards will be presented during the ceremony. Receiving honors are:
About Thiel College Thiel College is a liberal arts, sciences and professional studies institution located in Greenville, Pa., that provides a great balance of academic challenge, personal and social involvement, and exceptional value to its 1,100 students. For more information about Thiel College, visit www.thiel.edu or call 800-24-THIEL.
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