LVX MVNDI VERBVM DEI
Thiel College 75 College Avenue Greenville, Pennsylvania 16125 800-248-4435 • www.thiel.edu CHAIR, BOARD OF TRUSTEES Edward Bartko ’72 PRESIDENT Dr. Troy VanAken
LIGHT OF THE WORLD, WORD OF GOD
Spring 2013
Contents
VICE PRESIDENT FOR COLLEGE ADVANCEMENT Samuel Siple VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS & DEAN OF THE COLLEGE Dr. Lynn Franken ASSISTANT ACADEMIC DEAN Dr. Jennifer Griffin VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT Bob Schmoll CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Kurt Ashley
page 2
DEAN OF STUDENTS Michael McKinney ’02
Campus News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
DEAN OF ENROLLMENT Amy Becher DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS Jack Leipheimer ’74 EDITOR & DESIGNER Joyce DeFrancesco
Pedas Center Groundbreaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A Gift that Will Keep on Giving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Student Achievements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Faculty & Staff News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Winter Weekend 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS William Becque Ed Topoleski ’02 Dana Black-McGrath Sean Oros ’15
Bravo! Thiel Says Goodbye to Bill Robinson. . . . . 12
CLASS NOTES Joyce DeFrancesco
Old Battles, New Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
PHOTOGRAPHY Joyce DeFrancesco Allen Morrill Linda Oman ’75 Tiffany Wolfe
Jennie Kather Sports Information Lucy Schaly
PRINTER Knepper Press, Pittsburgh ON THE COVER: Dr. Bill Robinson and the groundbreaking of the Pedas Communication Center: (pictured from left to right) Dr. Barry Stamm ’70, chair of the Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees; Dr. Troy VanAken, president; Wanda and Jim Pedas ’50, H’89; and Ted and Lea Pedas. The Bell is published in the spring and fall by the Department of Public Relations, Thiel College, Greenville, PA 16125. Publication inquiries should be sent to aforementioned address, in care of the Editor, or email thebell@thiel.edu. For Class Notes and address changes, please contact the Alumni Office at alumni@thiel.edu or fax to 724-589-2860. Thiel College is a liberal arts, sciences and professional studies college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Understanding the Cost of a Thiel Education . . . . 19 Commencement 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Athletic News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Alumni News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Board Profile of Distinction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Meet the Boards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Class Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Marriages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Births. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 In Memoriam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Final Word. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36