Thiel College professor presents at New York State Higher Education Services Corporation Juneteenth event

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College Assistant Professor of History Jay Donis, Ph.D. delivered a presentation on the historical significance of Juneteenth during a virtual event hosted Tuesday, June 17 by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation.

Donis’ remarks were part of the agency’s Juneteenth commemoration titled 160 Years of Juneteenth. HESC is a New York State public agency that works to make college more accessible and affordable for residents. Donis was joined at the virtual event by Lessie Branch, Ph.D., special assistant for community engagement at the New York State Department of Veterans’ Services.

Donis provided a brief historical overview of Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, marks the date—June 19, 1865—when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of slavery more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Courses focusing on American history are among the many he teaches. In May 2024, Donis hosted a campus forum at Thiel College that examined protest movements throughout U.S. history. The event, part of his course Protests in American History, included historical context on figures such as George Washington, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., and connected those examples to contemporary student-led demonstrations on college campuses. Guest speakers included members of Students for Justice in Palestine from Youngstown State University and a retired Methodist pastor who addressed recent developments in the Middle East.

Donis, who incorporates lesser-known narratives into his teaching, also attended a Revolutionary War conference in July 2024 that included sessions at George Mason’s Gunston Hall, the David Center for the American Revolution at the American Philosophical Society, and George Washington’s Mount Vernon. During the conference, he visited the historical marker honoring Ona Judge, an enslaved woman who escaped from the Washington household and reached freedom in New Hampshire. Judge’s story is part of Donis’ curriculum.

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