A Message from the Dean
Dear Thiel Parents,
As we begin another fantastic year at Thiel College, I would first like to take this opportunity to welcome the parents and family members of the class of 2015. We are thrilled to have you joining our newsletter community, and more importantly, the Thiel Family. I would also like to welcome back our returning parents. This year is already starting on an exciting note with many changes, upgrades and new faces — all here to enhance the student experience. Today I am proud to present the first edition of my new parent newsletter, A Letter Home. This, along with some other things I will share in future messages, has been developed to enhance your experience with Thiel as well.
For those of you new to our community, the parent newsletter is designed to serve as an informal communication piece that will be sent out periodically throughout the year. It will provide you with updates on activities and happenings around campus, advice and resources regarding current issues related to our students and information about student life at Thiel College. I also like to include personal experiences that I share with some of your sons and daughters, lots of pictures, and some stories about my family too.
As a parent myself, I strongly value your partnership and understand the important role you have in helping your child to succeed at college. I am committed to keeping you informed so you are in a better position to help in that regard. So please contact me if you ever have any questions, suggestions, or if there is something that you would enjoy reading about. I promise to do my very best to respond quickly.
Finally I just want to say welcome again. We are delighted to be working with you and your child, and very appreciative of your trust in us. I encourage you to stop by and see me when you visit campus, and I hope you visit campus often. I would love to get to know you, and for you to get to know me and my family.
Best wishes on the year ahead and please enjoy! ^ Back to top
Mike McKinney, ‘02
Dean of Students
Family Matters
The Things They Will Tell You
Unlike previous generations, many students now communicate with parents and family members on a regular basis. In fact, parents are involved in college students' lives now more than ever. Some students check-in weekly, others daily, and some even by the hour. After all, communication is easier than ever with the widespread availability and use of text messaging, email and cell phones.
As a result, parents are often the first sounding board when a student is having difficulty, especially in the first couple of years of college. This is one reason why our partnership is so important.
If you are concerned about your son or daughter's social adjustment to college or situations with housing and other non-academic issues, please urge them to seek help in the Student Life Office, or you should feel free to contact me for assistance ( call 724-589-2600 or e-mail mmckinney@thiel.edu ).
If you are concerned with your son or daughter's academic adjustment, please encourage them to visit the Library and Learning Commons, or you can contact Allen Morrill, Executive Director of the Library and Learning Commons. He can be reached at 724-589-2124 or by email at amorrill@thiel.edu. Allen and I work with very dedicated teams of people that are trained to help students succeed, and we can help your son or daughter find the assistance they need.
Thiel College Parent and Family Council
In addition to the many other resources available to parents on campus, we also have a very active Parent and Family Council. The Thiel Family Council is a group of parents that serve as an advisory board to the College, a resource to other parents and as volunteers for a variety of experiences. This is a great way for parents to become involved at Thiel. As many new parents probably noticed and/or attended while at Move-In Day, this group volunteered their time and energy to work the refreshment tent in the quad, and they were also responsible for conducting the Q & A session for parents. I offer a special thank you to all of the parents involved in those activities. The College truly values your dedication and support.
If anyone is interested in learning more about or participating as a member of the Thiel Family Council, please contact Kelly Bailey at 724-589-2027 or kellybailey@thiel.edu. ^ Back to top
Campus Activities
Snapshots from Campus
Freshman enjoy an ice cream social at the President’s house on Sunday of Orientation weekend.
Students participated in a Kickball Tournament over Orientation weekend — here's the winning team!
Involvement Is Key
Whether it's an athletic team, service club, campus ministry organization or one of the many other clubs and organizations on campus, it's important to us that students get involved. Many of these organizations serve as an important support network and social outlet for students. If you fear that your child is not socially engaged or connecting to campus, we need to know as soon as possible. We will try to help them find their niche.
Speaking of which, this week kicked off formal recruitment for our Fraternities & Sororities on campus. Although I realize Greek Life is not for everyone, these groups play a big part in the student experience at Thiel College. For more than 200 of our current students, their Greek brothers and sisters serve as their extended family while on campus (much like the athletic teams). The chapters provide many leadership opportunities, conduct many service hours, and maybe more importantly, do better in the classroom as a whole.
If your son or daughter is thinking about joining a Greek organization, and you are unsure about this decision, please feel free to contact Barbara Blue, Director of Activities and Orientation, ( call 724-589-2192 or e-mail bblue@thiel.edu ) with questions you may have about the Greek experience. She can also share more about many of the other social opportunities that exist on campus. ^ Back to top
Athletics
Pay It Forward
Many parents of our new students were very complimentary of the help they received during move-in. I want to give special praise to the football team for their efforts that day. At the tail end of an exhausting football camp, the team volunteered their time and energy to move the heavy refrigerators, boxes, and other belongings in for our new students. Weren’t they great!
One of the best ways we can offer our collective thanks to that group is to come out and support the team at their games. It would mean a lot to the team to have you all there!
Peterson PAC Runner of the Week
Congratulations to senior Richard Peterson (Meadville, PA), who earned PAC Runner of the Week honors for the week of Sept. 6.
Peterson raced to a first-place finish out of 39 runners at the Geneva Invitational last week, and his efforts aided the Tomcats to capturing the team invitational title.
Keep up with the Tomcat cross-country team here.
Robbins Named Womens Lacrosse Coach
Thiel is thrilled to welcome Kati Robbins as the new head coach of Tomcat women’s lacrosse. Kati, a Wittenberg College graduate, was most recently a head coach at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College, a Division II program in North Carolina.
Director of Athletics Jack Leipheimer ’74 says, “We are very excited to welcome Kati to our Thiel family; she brings experience, passion, knowledge and integrity and (she) will be an outstanding role model for our female student-athletes.”
Women’s Soccer off to Strong Start
With a victory over Pitt-Greensburg on Saturday, the women’s soccer team improved to a record of 3-2, already surpassing their total number of wins from last season! They look to continue their win streak with two home games this week, Monday vs. La Roche College (3 p.m.) and Saturday Sept. 17 vs. D’Youville (1 p.m.).
Learn more about Thiel College Athletics by visiting their homepage here, Thiel Athletics Site.
^ Back to top
The Performing Arts
The Tomcat Marching Pride Out In Full Force
In their second year as a program, the Tomcat Marching Pride debuted at the first home football game in all new uniforms. Starting this year almost twice the size in numbers, heads turned as they marched into Alumni Stadium last Saturday. Congratulations to all of them on a job well done!
A Thiel Players Production
After a long year of my daughter Hannah (age 3) asking when she could see Charlie Brown again, I had the pleasure of taking her to the Thiel Players Production of Charlie Brown Goes to College during Orientation this year again. The Thiel Players do an amazing job every year, and they recently completed auditions for their upcoming performance, Dangerous Liaisons. More information about the show schedule will be included in the next newsletter, but I strongly encourage all parents to make it to one of their shows throughout the year! ^ Back to top
Events
Featured Event
Homecoming 2011
September 23 - 25
The campus is buzzing with anticipation for Homecoming 2011. The theme this year is School Spirit, and I have already been hearing about some great ideas student have for their floats and other activities.
Although Homecoming is designed specifically for Alumni, this is a great weekend for parents to visit campus. There are plenty of activities for family members of all ages to participate.
Please click on the link below to see the Homecoming schedule … and PLEASE join us for this wonderful celebration!
Visit our Homecoming page
Cleveland Indians Game
September 20
Alcohol Awareness Week
September 26 – 30
9/27 – Dead Drunk: movie & discussion in all residence halls
9/28 – Drunk Driving Course – Greenville Hall parking lot (Campus Police)
9/29 – Ruthie from MTV's The Real World
Wings-N-Sings
October 1
Coffee House
October 4
Cedar Point Trip
October 8
Bly Movies
Every Friday & Sunday