First Thiel Forum of academic year features staff and student travel experiences

Posted September 02, 2016 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- The 2016-2017 Thiel Forums schedule begins Sept. 15 with presentations from faculty members, staff and students regarding their off-campus study and service experiences.

Thiel Forums are held throughout the year and feature discussions and presentations of research projects, travel experiences, and sabbatical endeavors.

Chair of the Department of Media, Communication, and Public Relations Dane Claussen, Ph.D., will present on “Working, Living and Traveling in China” in the first Forum. Claussen is also the James Pedas Professor of Communication and executive director of the James Pedas Communication Center. Additionally, Nicholas McNutt ’17, Vince Vahaly ’17, Fred Kiser ’66 and Associate Dean of Career Development Martin Black will review their “2016 Thiel College Neuroscience Bike Trek to Maine.” Finally, Vira Heinz Scholarship recipient Jennifer Shelley ’17 will review her time abroad with “Thailand: The Land of Smiles.”

The Forums are a venue for recipients of sabbaticals or scholarship funding to discuss the outcomes of their projects. The events are held throughout the academic year on select Thursdays from 4-5 p.m. in the Stamm Lecture Hall of the James Pedas Communication Center.

“Thiel Forums provide faculty, students and staff an opportunity to share projects or publications and to discuss their work,” Associate Academic Dean and Professor of English Mary Theresa Hall, Ph.D., said. “They also provide a wonderfully memorable setting for collegiality [and] camaraderie.”