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In Memoriam
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1942 Phyllis G. Kreider
March 10, 2022
1943 Rev. Wilfred Dreger
May 14, 2022
1947 Ruth L. Heitz Bachman
May 14, 2022
1948 Esther Halperin
June 26, 2022
1948 Roy K. Snyder
June 2, 2022
1951 Lou Molnar
May 19, 2022
Dr. Susan Martin Studds P’17 dedicated 20 years of her life in service to Moravian as a university trustee, but her lifelong commitment to education knew no bounds.
Dr. Susan Martin Studds passed away on Sunday, July 10, in Madison, Indiana, where she and her husband, Jeff, had settled after she retired. The pair had met at Hanover College, where Susan majored in speech and theater. They married in 1980 and moved first to Washington, DC, and later to the College Park, Maryland, area. Susan earned her master’s degree at Miami University of Ohio and her doctorate in higher education policy at the University of Maryland. She worked at George Mason University and then the National Defense University (NDU), starting as a faculty member and administrator and helping lead the institution to its first accreditation. In 2009, she was asked to serve as provost and chief academic officer, overseeing NDU’s growth into the National Intelligence University (NIU). She traveled to Houston to confer an honorary doctor of philosophy degree from NIU to President George H. W. Bush. Throughout her career, Susan represented the United States at NATO conferences, consulted with military and civilian leaders in Eastern Europe, and served as the heart of military higher education.
Moravian nominated Susan to be a trustee in 1999, and she retired as a trustee emerita in 2020. Susan’s son, John, graduated from Moravian in 2017, and she expressed that her most significant personal joy was being able to “hood” him at his commencement. Former Moravian
President Bryon L. Grigsby ’90, P’22, P’26 shares that Susan will be remembered for her hard work and dedication to education. “Susan was an amazing trustee. As a seasoned provost, she helped the board understand the challenges colleges and universities face in educating young adults. Her expertise and knowledge were invaluable, and she did a remarkable job chairing the academic affairs committee. I will forever miss my friend.”
Susan’s passion for education and her commitment to equitable opportunities manifests in an endowed scholarship she and her husband, also a devoted educator, established. The Studds Family Endowed Scholarship Fund provides unrestricted financial assistance to Moravian students.
Upon her retirement, Susan and her husband moved to Madison, Indiana, so she could stay involved with her alma mater, Hanover College. She and Jeff established a similar endowment for Hanover students as well. Before her passing, she was deeply involved in the institution’s scholars programs and served as a mentor for undergraduate students. Throughout her life, she was known for her dedication to her church and the communities in which she lived.
Moravian University Provost and Dean of Faculty Dr. Carol Traupman-Carr ’86 shares that Susan played an important role in her development and guided her in her next steps at Moravian. “Susan was a wonderful colleague and mentor. She was so intelligent, so collegial, and she served us with grace and humor,” says Traupman-Carr.
Susan always saw herself as an educator. Everywhere she went, she left her mark and aimed to “leave her campsite better than she found it.” She is remembered as one who brought people together and made important connections, helped others to take a worldview, and helped you laugh in tough situations.
1953 Edward P. Pastir
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1953 Gloria Hilbert
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1955 Curtis Updegrave
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1955 Louis “Lou” N. Esposito Sr.
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1957 Jane Dreier Feldman
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1961 Rev. Dr. William Vance
Campbell Sr.
June 27, 2022
1962 George Rodney Cook
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1964 Joseph Charles
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1964 Alan Zeliff
July 7, 2021
1966 Lynn Snyder Hart
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1967 Richard F. Sassaman
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1968 John K. Clause
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1970 Tom Herd
January 5, 2022
1972 Frank R. McCauley Jr.
March 30, 2018
1973 Richard J. Smith
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1973 Charles “Chuck” Addison Rheinhardt
November 16, 2021
1980 Ann P. Miller
August 26, 2022
1981 Jean M. Leitzel Lynch
June 7, 2022
1985 David Leone
June 3, 2022
1987 Dave Logwig
May 24, 2022
1994 Mark Creyer
June 5, 2022
2014 Mary Pope
July 23, 2022
