Thiel College Professor Mary Theresa Hall recognized with pair of distinguished honors

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Professor of English Mary Theresa Hall, Ph.D. was recognized with a pair of honors recently. She was formally recognized as the James Pedas ’50 H ’89 Chair of Communication at Thiel College’s Academic Honors Convocation in February and the announcement that the first floor of Greenville Hall will be named in honor was made official.

Trustee emeritus Dr. James Pedas ’50 H’89 provided the lead gift for the endowed chair. He is a trustee emeritus and served on the Board of Trustees from 1985-2000.

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.

The gift to name the first floor of Greenville Hall, the oldest building on campus, in her honor was made by former Board of Trustees member Dale Deist, and his wife, Barbara. Their son, David, is a 2009 graduate of Thiel. 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.

Each of the College’s five endowed positions were recognized during the Feb. 9 ceremony.

The four other endowed positions are:

• Assistant Professor of Business Administration and Accounting Steven Kandray was named the Norman P. Mortensen H ’81 Chair of Economics;
  
• Associate Professor of History Sheila Nowinski, Ph.D. was recognized with the Kenneth ’31 and Marianna Brown ’32 Dietrich Honors Institute Chair;
• Professor of Business Administration and Accounting and Chair of the Arthur McGonigal Department of Business Administration and Accounting Melissa Oakes ’03 was awarded the David M. Miller ’61 H’20 Endowed Chair of Accounting; and
• Craig Thurber was recognized with the Rod E. Wilt ’86 Head Coach for Thiel College Wrestling.

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