t-notes - May 13, 2026 - Thiel College

Thiel Happenings

Look back at Commencement 2026

The Class of 2026 marked Commencement on May 9 at the William A. Passavant Memorial Center in a ceremony that blended celebration, humor, gratitude and reflection as graduates, families, faculty and alumni gathered to recognize the achievements of the graduating class and the community that supported them along the way.

Among the day’s honors was the recognition of Professor of Chemistry Guru Rattan K. Khalsa, Ph.D., who was awarded emerita status following her retirement after 46 years of service to Thiel College. Khalsa spent more than four decades teaching and mentoring generations of students, including the Commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient, Shane A. Snyder, Ph.D.’94 H’26, in the sciences while becoming one of the institution’s longest-serving faculty members.

Campus celebrates groundbreaking for the Olympus Center

Following the 152nd Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 9, a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Olympus Athletic and Recreation Center was held near end zone of Stoeber Field at Alumni Stadium.

The planned facility is estimated at $10 million and will expand on-campus recreation and wellness offerings for students, including additional locker room space, a multipurpose basketball court, a walking and running track, fitness areas and collaboration and meeting spaces. Fundraising is ongoing with the goal for the project to be fully funded by donors.

Student News

Farewell Fest raises $1,000 for local animal shelter

The members of the student engagement team would like to extend a special thanks to all who supported the Farewell Festival. Thiel College Greek Life students raised $1,000 for Stray Haven Animal Shelter.

Looking back at the Ruth Miller Seminar

The word cloud demonstrates some of the most common words mentioned during the 13 weeks of alumni presentations at the Ruth Miller Senior Seminar class for business students.

Student reflections contained recurring themes across all of the recaps.

Among the most common ideas reflected by students:

“Career paths are not linear” came up constantly, almost becoming the unofficial theme of the semester.
Students responded most strongly to vulnerability, setbacks, and personal reinvention rather than pure professional success.
Networking, relationships, and “belonging” were repeated over and over across different speakers and weeks.
Several speakers generated especially vivid reactions because of storytelling and personality.

Some especially memorable moments included:

Ricardo Daley’s imaginary-fiancée confidence story
Rod Wilt warning students not to become “houseplants”
Bruce Hartman’s “Help people believe tomorrow will be better than today”
Alan Shepard’s “If you break down on the side of the road, start changing the tire”
Damen Taylor’s “Tomcats take care of each other”

Check out the Ruth Miller page for a list of all the speakers.

Read more.

Special Notes

👉 Shop here!

HR Notes

Thiel College welcomes

Will Porter, assistant football coach

And says farewell to:

David Pastorkovich, men’s basketball assistant coach

Sierra Christian, an independent retirement plan adviser with Henderson Brothers Financial Partners, is available to assist employees with retirement planning through conference calls and virtual meetings. Virtual appointments are available throughout the month.

Employees can reserve a 15- or 30-minute time slot by selecting an available appointment at the provided scheduling link.

Schedule an online appointment.

Christian can assist with market updates and analysis, investment selection within the plan, retirement income planning, outside investment reviews, insurance needs analysis and policy reviews, and comprehensive financial planning. Henderson Brothers Financial Partners encourages employees to schedule a session for personalized support.

Events

Campus & Community Events

NAS Symposium
May 15 at 9 a.m.
Howard Miller Student Center - Lutheran Heritage Room

A ticketed symposium on neonatal abstinence syndrome is held, with more information and tickets available at Event Brite here.

Buhl and Baughman Family Community Center Dance Recital
May 16 at 9 a.m.
Passavant Center

A dance recital is presented, with the Baughman Family Community Center Facebook Page and Buhl Club Webpage available for more information.

Football Prospect Camp
May 17 at 1 p.m.
Thiel College

Prospective student-athletes can learn about the football program, with contact available through Thiel College Admissions and Football Coach Sam Bauman.

Mid-term Grades Due
May 20 at noon
Thiel College Campus

Midterm grades for Summer Session 1 are due.

Last day to Withdraw with a W
May 22 at 8 a.m.
Registrar

Last day to withdraw with a "W" for 2026 Summer Session 1 classes.

Annual Blue-Gold Golf Outing at Avalon
May 22 at 9 a.m.
Avalon GCC at Buhl Park, Hermitage PA

Please see the Athletics Website for additional details.

Etc.

Tomcat Tributes

Tomcat Tributes recognize the teamwork Thiel College employees exhibit each day. Employees can nominate co-workers for recognition in four categories (Random Act of Kindness, Going the Extra Mile, Had a Great Idea, Just Because).

Nominate a colleague!

Communications collateral

Employees should update the logos used on institutional materials, including email signatures, letterhead, PowerPoint slides, etc.

Thiel College has used the shield and wordmark combination as the official institutional logo for more than a year. They are the only approved logo for academic co-curricular and institutional use. Additional athletic logo packages are also available.

Email signatures, brand resources, and a job request form are all available online. A Dropbox folder has been set up with instructions and the materials necessary to create new email signatures. Employees can find other Thiel College-branded resources including letterhead, logos and PowerPoint slides in the same folder.

Download brand assets.

Thiel College community members who need help with communications and marketing initiatives and collateral can now request those services with a job form. The request form is available on the communications and marketing webpage or linked directly below.

Job request form

For more information, email the office.

Submit updates and news

The Office of Communications and Marketing is always looking for good content that can be featured in the weekly staff newsletter (T-Notes), the student newsletter (Thiel Happenings), the website Newsroom or on social media.

Please send any information about you, your students, your department or your colleagues to Dominick DiRienzo M.A.’22.

Information about anything your department is featuring this year, any faculty accomplishments or student activity.

These updates do not have to meet a “newsworthiness” standard and do not have to be things that you are specifically doing or hosting.

If you have any questions, contact DiRienzo at ext. 2188.

Publishing Schedule

T-Notes is published every-other Wednesday during the summer break. Send your event or news to tnotes@thiel.edu by noon May 26, 2026 to be published in that week’s edition. The next edition will be published Wednesday, May 27, 2026.