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“Committed to You” is more than a tagline at Thiel College. It is at the heart of how we approach higher education. But when you hear about the “value of a Thiel education,” what does that mean?
You’ll find Thiel’s value embedded in the newly adopted strategic plan, which is built on four pillars — a commitment to academic excellence and relevance, to a culture of caring and confidence, to enhanced facilities and infrastructure and to superior delivery of programs and services.
Below are examples as we implement these pillars and move toward our sesquicentennial in 2016. You can see the campus-wide commitment to a personalized, challenging and relevant education for every student.
Check this site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr, to learn more about the value that Thiel can provide your student!
On May 4, ground was broken for the new James Pedas Communication Center project, the first new academic building on Thiel's campus in 40 years.
Check out the Pedas Center website for more information, including photos and video of the groundbreaking. The $6.5 million building is scheduled to open in fall 2014.
The gift from lifelong Greenville resident David Baughman is the second largest estate gift in Thiel history and will fund the Emerson A. Baughman, Agnes F. Baughman and David E. Baughman Endowed Scholarship, which will bestow full-tuition scholarships each year on students from the Greenville, Reynolds, Commodore Perry or Jamestown school districts to attend Thiel College. Read more about the scholarship and Mr. Baughman.
Thiel sophomore Benjamin Hellner-Burris attended the 245th American Chemical Society National Meeting in New Orleans, La., in April, where he gave a poster presentation on his research into the utilization of mixed metal oxides as semiconductors in solar cells for producing hydrogen as a clean, renewable fuel from water. Hellner-Burris received scholarships from the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Penn-Ohio Border Section of the ACS to attend the meeting.
With Commencement on May 5, summer has officially begun at Thiel College. That means it's time to get campus ready for next year.
We have another ambitious schedule of renovations and refurbishments this summer - new stadium lighting, a new office suite for financial services, residence hall refreshes and much more. Stay tuned for photos of the progress!
Summer courses at Thiel are perfect for college-bound or dual enrollment high school students looking to delve deeply into an academic topic, earn college credit and take advantage of the educational excellence offered by Thiel College!
Visit our Summer Sessions website to learn more about what's being offered and how your student can benefit!
This year on April 8-11, Thiel celebrates its 15th annual Earth Week celebration. This great Thiel tradition brings presenters, authors, speakers and many more to campus to speak on sustainability, global economic development and the environment-all free of charge to our students and the community! This year's theme is "Caring for the Earth's Energy." Join us!
Senior Matt Schneider (pictured center), a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, was awarded with the J. Edward Zollinger Outstanding Senior Award at the Sigma Phi Epsilon Carlson Leadership Academy in February for District 7 (which includes CMU, Pitt, Penn State, Thiel, Westminster, WVU and Davis & Elkins College). The award is presented each year to one outstanding senior in each district of the fraternity based on outstanding scholastic achievement, campus leadership and community involvement. Matt has been vice president of finance, vice president of communications and president of Thiel's chapter and led the charge for the chapter to start utilizing a financial management company and installed a standards board. Recently, he also stepped into the role of new member coordinator and re-vamped the new member program. Congratulations Matt!
With the James Pedas Communication Center scheduled to break ground this May, there are some changes coming to Roth Hall. The Admissions Office will move to temporary quarters in the Howard Miller Student Center's Weyers-Sampson Art Gallery this month so that renovations to the first floor of Roth Hall can begin.
The Financial Services Division will move to the renovated Roth Hall space, their new permanent home, and the Financial Services Building will be demolished this summer. The Registrar's Office will remain on the floor, creating a "one-stop shop" for students where they can get their registration and financial questions answered in the same place.
The Pedas Center will provide technologically enhanced, flexible and collaborative learning spaces that will help students to hone their presentational skills. It will also house the Office of Admission and new facilities for the College’s student media and Communication Departments. It is expected to open in 2014.
While the annual Winter Weekend celebration at Thiel is a lot of fun, this year it allowed juniors and seniors to practice their networking skills as well.
A Friday evening student leader/alumni reception allowed students to mingle with alumni, many of whom are on the College Board of Trustees and leaders in many industries, and make connections that will help them on their way to a job or graduate school after graduation. Many business cards were exchanged that night and both alumni and students cited it as one of their favorite events of the weekend!
Pedas Communication Center Update
Also during Winter Weekend, the Thiel College Board of Trustees approved moving forward with bid proposals for the new James Pedas Communication Center.
This new academic facility is the first on Thiel's campus in many years and will function as the heart of learning at Thiel, providing technologically enhanced, flexible and collaborative learning spaces that will help students to hone their presentational skills. It will also house the Office of Admission and new facilities for the College's student media and Communication Departments.
Howland, Ohio, native Kelly Barzak epitomizes the opportunities waiting for a student-athlete at Thiel College.
Barzak is an elementary ed. major with a 3.85 GPA and a seven-time member of the Dean's List. She is a four-year letterwinner in volleyball AND basketball; a seven-time Presidents' Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll selection; and also serves as the Student Athletic Advisory Committee president, the Les Lauriers president, her class vice president and a member of Kappa Delta Pi, an international society in education. She is currently student teaching in an elementary school in Hermitage, Pa. This month, she was selected to the 2012-13 Capital One Academic All-America® Division Women's Basketball Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) this month. She is the first-ever Thiel women's basketball student-athlete to earn Academic All-America honors. This is the second time this year Barzak has received Academic All-American honors, as she was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America third team for volleyball. Congratulations Kelly!
Three Thiel College women will be packing their bags for a summer abroad after earning Vira I. Heinz Scholarships for Women in Global Leadership, which were awarded in December 2012. The three scholarship winners - Victoria Challingsworth (center) of Central, Pa., who is traveling to Argentina; Keeley Criswell (right) of Bedford, Pa., who is traveling to Spain; and Grace Hildebrand (left) of Greenville, Pa., who is traveling to the Czech Republic - will each receive $5,000 from the Heinz Endowments to fund their study abroad experiences during summer 2013. Thiel awards scholarship to three sophomore and junior women with no previous foreign travel experience each year. Read more
Thiel College education majors have multiple opportunities for hands-on practice and learning throughout their time at Thiel while training for their careers in education. All this real-world experience is capped off with a semester-long student teaching experience in one of the local elementary and high schools with which Thiel has a relationship. On Jan. 9, eight senior education majors gathered in the Sawhill-Georgian Room for final instructions as they prepared to enter the classroom and begin student teaching. Pictured are: (Back row, left to right) Kelly Barzak (sixth grade, Hermitage Delahunty Middle Schoole), Dan Gainey (first grade, Reynolds Elementary School), AJ Corso (physics, Reynolds High School) and Kaila Hawley (kindergarten, Hermitage Artman Elementary School) and (Front row, left to right) Julie Mitchell (second grade, Hermitage Artman Elementary School), Diana Slomainy (sixth grade, Commodore Perry), Emily Whipple (English, Reynolds High School) and Jessica Mueller (physics and sixth grade, Commodore Perry).
Two of our globe-trotting students returned home this month. Kayla Ohlin '13 (left) spent the semester at EHWA Womans University in South Korea and Audrey Rattay '12 (right) spent five months at the University of Hyderabad in India.
Both of these students got their first taste of global travel with Thiel's Vira I. Heinz Program for Women in Global Leadership, which provides funding for summer international travel for female students who have never traveled outside the United States.
The Christmas season brings music, decorations, the spirit of giving and sometimes even snow to the Thiel campus. Though students leave campus after finals in mid-December, they can enjoy Christmas carols on campus, the annual Christmas Festival, special dinners with President Troy VanAken and his wife, Annette, and a special guest (who must have parked his reindeer on the roof of the HMSC), philanthropic events such as winter coat and book drives, and much more! We wish all our students a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year with their families.
Thiel College welcomed the Moises Borges Brazilian Jazz Quartet on Nov. 7 for a special performance. Moises Borges is a self-taught acoustic guitarist and singer from Brazil. This event was a great opportunity for students to experience a global culture through music without leaving campus!
The performance was sponsored by The Science and Our Global Heritage Program, which is an interdisciplinary multicultural course examining ways the rich natural and cultural heritage of the globe can be sustained that is required for all Thiel students.
In late November and early December, members of the Thiel Honors program presented proposals for their honors projects, a requirement for the program. These original research proposals include: Kevin Walkup, psychology: "Music and its Effect on Human Cognition"; Ryan Pepper, chemistry: "Recovering Precious Metals from Computers"; Kelsey L. Robertson, psychology: "Success of Studying in Groups"; Samantha Hoffman, accounting and business administration: "The Influence of the Media on the Definition of Human Beauty"; Katelyn Young, biology: "A Historical Exploration of One Man’s Life" (Pictured: Young is preparing a history of her grandfather's life through original research and oral history); John Amorose, biology: "The Effects of Industrial Strength Cleaners on Bacteria"; Joy Tubero, mortuary science: "Thiel College — A Living Memorial". Students will conduct their research and prepare their projects during the spring semester.
Thiel College is fortunate to have many alumni and friends who support our students' pursuit of academic excellence through endowed scholarships, grants and awards. Each fall, we connect our donors with the current students who are recipients of their generosity and their families at the annual Scholarship Luncheon. This event is always a great way for students to say "thank you" and for donors to see the good that their gifts are doing on campus. Students who receive academic endowed awards are also recognized at the annual Honors Convocation in November, as well as members of Alpha Chi (pictured), Thiel’s highest academic honorary, and Dean's List students.
It's not all "work, work, work" at Thiel College. We know how to have fun too! President VanAken and his family brought their love of Halloween to campus and each year faculty, staff and students get into the spirit of the holiday with costume contests (pictured are Diane Donnelly and Carol Jones of The Learning Commons as "American Gothic") judged by students, trick or treating at campus offices, haunted houses, bonfires and much more!
Congratulations to Amanda Pye and Katey Ann Williams, Thiel's two senior Students of the Month for October 2012!
Amanda is a biology major from Montville, Ohio. Katey is a business communication major from Shelocta, Pa.
Dr. Matt Morgan, Philosophy Department, and members of his Environmental Ethics course took a field trip to Lake Pymatuning near Thiel's campus in September. The class toured the lake on kayaks while learning about the ethical dimensions present in park management, such as the water resource allocations downstream of the Pymatuning dam. Park employee Linda Armstrong served as liaison for the adventure, and talked about other issues such as bald eagle protections in conflict with campground operations, goose populations and invasive flora such as the American lotus.
Accounting and forensic accounting students get a leg up on the competition with a comprehensive interview preparation program sponsored by the Thiel College Business Dept. It begins with resume creation/polishing and moves to seminars about appearance and presentation, "elevator speeches," use of business cards, interview follow up, individual coaching and videotaped mock interviews conducted by an alumna and former vice president for PNC Bank. The students then take these skills to Accounting Interview Day in Pittsburgh to obtain the internship or job of their dreams at top national and regional public accounting firms.
Our annual Homecoming tradition was a success - this year's theme was Around the World and the weekend was full of special events. Events included an outdoor concert featuring country music star Chris Cagle, a parade, alumni dinner, dance and wine tasting. View the Flickr gallery to see photos from the weekend!
This semester, the members of Prof. Angelo Giannini's strategic management class will be working with John Thigpen '86, Ilsco Extrusion Inc.'s general manager, to perform a cost benefit analysis and create a business plan linked to leasing a portion of the existing factory to an outside company.
It's the little things that make a big difference! Two parking lots on Thiel's campus received some major TLC this summer. Those who park in the gymnasium parking lot will have a smoother ride as the lot has been totally repaved (including removing the hazardous parking median in the middle). Less used, but equally important, the Harter Hall parking lot was redone from the ground up as well. A curb was added to increase safety.
The Information Technology department held a Professional Technology Exploration Gallery Event, designed to encourage students, faculty and staff to try out emerging technologies and also give examples of implementation strategies.
There were special sessions for both staff and faculty. There was also a "sampler platter" of technologies on campus, including Apple's current product line, the Kindle Fire, a Google Chromebook and more.
Thiel College welcomes five new full-time faculty members for the 2012-2013 academic year: Dr. Eugene Takeo Torigoe (physics), Dr. Sarah Swerdlow (biology), Dr. Russell B. Richine (mathematics), Dr. Laura R.G. Pickens (psychology) and Dr. Jared Johnson (English). We are excited to see what these new faculty members bring to the academic life of Thiel College!
Thiel's newest online database, JSTOR, has just been added to the library website. Currently, Thiel subscribes to the Arts & Sciences I Collection. JSTOR's, which includes 118 core journals in economics, history, political science, and sociology as well as in other key fields in the humanities and social sciences. This collection also contains titles in ecology, mathematics and statistics.
Over the summer, Information Technology continued to enhance their support services. This includes improved support for devices outside of the notebook initiative so that students have a great experience with all of their technology gear. Additionally, Information Technology is replacing all of the legacy wireless network equipment on campus, and starting to expand wireless coverage. This will result in one consistent and reliable wireless network in academic areas and other wireless locations.
One of the many benefits of a generous gift from William Dietrich is that it has made possible the creation of the Kenneth and Marianna Brown Dietrich Honors Institute (pictured above). During this transitional academic year, the new Dietrich Honors Institute (DHI) will be given shape: a curriculum will be developed, an e-magazine will be created, a full class of Dietrich Scholars will be recruited for the 2013-2014 academic year, a Dietrich Honors Council and a Dietrich Honors Student Advisory Board will be formed, Honors Associates will be identified from within the Thiel community, and a book of DHI student papers will be published.
The new Dietrich Honors Institute will bring together students with a wide variety of gifts. This enrichment will flow from the Institute to the College as a whole.
In June, Sandy Parker ’81 surprised her husband, Rich ’82, for their 25th wedding anniversary with an engraved bench placed on Thiel’s campus (on Brother Martin’s Walk) where they first met. The Parkers are very involved alumni, giving back of their time and experience to the Haller Enterprise Institute and the Business Department at Thiel. Sandy is a retired vice president and area sales manager for PNC Bank and Rich is a sales representative for Sepracor Pharmaceuticals.
Happy Anniversary (and thank you) to Sandy & Rich!
Thiel’s extensive campus upgrade project continues! This time, you’ll find contractors hard at work in the bathrooms of the upper-class residence halls of Bane and Stewart. The bathrooms have been stripped down and are being renovated from the bottom up. Students can look forward to new fixtures, walls, ceilings and tile work.
The first Dr. Edwin Hodge Jr. Institute for Teaching and Learning at Thiel College was held in May. This new initiative is focused on fostering highly engaged student learning in seminar settings. Twenty Thiel College professors participated and spent their time sharing and revising the syllabi for their FYS (First-Year Seminar) courses, a required class for all freshmen. The goal was to delight students in deep learning of lasting relevance to career and life success.
Based on a class wide vote, the 2012 Senior Class Gift is a sidewalk from College Avenue along Amelia Earhart drive, providing students a pedestrian walkway to the Gymnasium and AC/Library area. Construction is slated to begin in July, and the sidewalk will be dedicated on Saturday, Sept. 29 during Homecoming weekend.
Over 110 seniors made a contribution to the Class Gift, and the total amount of gifts and pledges to the sidewalk was more than $14,000!
As the recipients of the Vira I. Heinz Scholarships for Education Abroad for 2012, three Thiel College women are studying abroad this summer. Joslyn Cook is participating in CIS Abroad’s internship program in New Zealand, Leah Kook is attending Veritas University in San Jose, Costa Rica, and Emily Friedrich is studying at The Education Abroad Network’s internship program in Sydney, Australia. Read the full story
Replacement of the synthetic turf on Stoeber Field at Alumni Stadium started on May 7. While no sport or sport facility is injury-free, the newest synthetic turf systems outperform their predecessors in injury reduction and player safety.
To follow the progress, bookmark the Thiel Happenings Tumblr blog, which features daily updates.
Room Crashers was an exciting event that took place this past winter. Students were entered into a drawing and the winners were given completely redesigned rooms based on their favorite colors, interests and hobbies. It was such a success that there will be more “Space Crashing” over this summer.
The space crashing and the stadium are just the beginning of more than $3 million in facility enhancements for next year! To learn more, watch the President's video below.