Mary Theresa Hall celebrated with naming honor and portrait in Thiel College’s Greenville Hall

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Professor of English and James Pedas ’50 H ’89 Chair of Communication Mary Theresa Hall, Ph.D. was recognized on May 12 during a celebration that dedicated the commons area of the College’s oldest academic building and a portrait unveiling in the space.

Hall was joined by students, members of the Board of Trustees, faculty colleagues, Thiel staff members and her brother, Patrick, as the first floor of Greenville Hall was christened as Hall Commons. In conjunction with the naming honors a portrait of Hall was hung in the hallway.

“It is such an honor and privilege to accept this gift on behalf of the wonderful Deist family, whom I met shortly after coming to Thiel and whose son, David, I had the honor of teaching in English classes,” Hall said. “This gift recognizes their generosity and means so much to me since its motivation comes from parents and a former student, both of whom are the foundation of learning. I thank Dale, Barbara, David and his wife, Theresa, and promise that the students and faculty who will continue to grace this building will be inspired by the humanities that are housed here: religion, philosophy, language, history, English, and the (Dietrich Honors Institute).”

The gift to name the commons area of Greenville Hall in her honor was made by the Deist family, including former Board of Trustees member Dale Deist, and his wife, Barbara, their son, David, a 2009 graduate of Thiel, and his wife, Theresa. The first floor of the building built in 1872 by the citizens of Greenville will be called Hall Commons. Greenville Hall houses classrooms and the faculty offices of the Departments of English, History and Religion as well as offices for the Dietrich Honors Institute.

“When our family was considering how best to honor Dr. Hall, we looked at several places on campus to put her portrait. In the end, we decided it was appropriate to put it in Greenville Hall where all her students would have passed through many times during their studies at Thiel,” Barbara Deist said.

Hall began teaching at Thiel in 1999. She served as Associate Academic Dean for the College from 2016 to 2018. In 2022, Hall was named the Dietrich Honors Institute Student Advisory Board the inaugural DHI Professor of the Year Award. Hall has also served the College as the faculty chair. Her work has been published in academic journals and presented at academic conferences. She was also named the Thiel College Professor of the Year for the 2021-2022 academic year, which is a distinguished award given to professors who exemplify service and hard work both in and out of the classroom. Hall received her bachelor’s degree in English and secondary certification in English and French from Seton Hill University; a master’s in literature from Carnegie Mellon University; and a Ph.D. from Duquesne University.

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