Thiel College

History

Founded in 1866 as a coeducational institution known as "Thiel Hall", the college started as a result of a meeting between William Passavant and A. Louis Thiel. At the Lutheran Church Pittsburgh Synod convention in Greensburg in 1869, it was decided that Thiel Hall would become a college and serve western Pennsylvania from an initial campus in Philipsburg (now known as Monaca). Four years later, on September 1, 1870, the college received a charter from the government of Pennsylvania and relocated to Greenville, where it was incorporated as Thiel College.

On August 1, 2016, Susan Traverso became the 20th and the first female president of Thiel College.

Today, Thiel is home to about 110 full- and part-time faculty members. According to the US Department of Education, the school has just under 1,000 students in attendance.

Thiel College awarded Amelia Earhart an honorary degree in 1932. In his book The Search for Amelia Earhart, author Fred Goerner said, "The most satisfying recognition, however, came from her father's alma mater, Thiel College of Greenville, Pennsylvania in the form of an honorary Doctor of Science degree."

Thiel was also the first institution to grant an honorary degree to Fred Rogers in 1969. Rogers' address at Thiel was titled "Encouraging Creativity". In his address, he admonished educators and society in general for forcing conformity on children and encouraged understanding and tolerance as children endeavored to find their gifts. Thiel College also presented an honorary degree to Richard M. Nixon in 1959 when he was U.S. vice-president.

Campus

Thiel is situated on a wooded 200-acre campus in the small western Pennsylvania town of Greenville, which is about halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Thiel has an enrollment of around 920 students, with over 100 of those students in graduate programs. The student body is 48% male and 52% female. 63% percent of students are from Pennsylvania, 33% are from other states and Puerto Rico, and the remaining 4% are international students. 19% of students are minorities. The college has a student:faculty ratio of about 12:1, and 61% of classes have 20 or fewer students.

The school opened renovated spaces in Rhodehouse Memorial Science Building in 2022. The Haer Family Science and Arts Connector and a competition-certified Barry and Carol Stamm Track and Field complex opened in the fall of 2017. The Maenpa Court in the Rissell-Beeghley Gymnasium was remodeled in the fall of 2022 and the Paul Bush '66 Memorial Fitness Center opened in 2016.

Academics

Thiel offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in more than 60 majors, minors, and areas of study. It also offers master's degree programs in business administration, physician assistant studies and speech-language pathology. Thiel is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education with some programs accredited by specialized accreditors.

Student life

Thiel offers a variety of activities, clubs and organizations; college sources claim 28 honorary societies and academic clubs, fraternities and sororities, service organizations, student government, a theatre troupe, multicultural and religious groups, marching and concert bands, and several choirs.. TCTV is the Thiel College television station.

Nearly 88% of students live on campus. Other facilities on campus include a computer lab, career development center, IT Solution Center, Learning Commons, art gallery, a fitness center, sensory rooms, and a theater.

Athletics

The Thiel College teams, named the Tomcats, compete in NCAA Division-III athletics, in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

The college currently fields teams in baseball, men's and women's basketball, cheerleading, dance, men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor track & field, men's and women's outdoor track & field, men's and women's volleyball, and wrestling.

In 2017, Thiel began offering Equestrian Studies as a minor. Thiel also offers intramural sports.

Championships

The Thiel College cheer team has finished in the top three in the nation. It won the National Championship in the Cheer Spirit Rally Open division at the National Cheerleaders Association College Nationals in spring of 2023 and finished third in 2024 and 2025. The team finished second in 2022 in this category.

The men’s volleyball team made its first NCAA Tournament appearance and was the PAC champion in spring of 2025.

The Thiel College wrestling team won its 23rd President’s Athletic Conference championship on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. The Tomcats earned the second seed in the tournament after finishing the regular season with a 28-12 overall record and a 17-7 record in the PAC in 2016.

Notable alumni

• James Davy (born 1953), former New Jersey Commissioner of Human Services under Governors James McGreevey and Jon Corzine
• Mark Funkhouser, former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
• Shirley M. Frye, mathematics educator
• Lynn Jones, baseball player
• Mark Nordenberg, former chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh
• Tom Regan, professor and writer
• Carl Aaron Swensson, Lutheran minister and founder of Bethany College
• Jack M. Wilson, former president of the University of Massachusetts
• Phyllis Zimmerman, composer and choral conductor

References

References

1. "History". Thiel College.
2. Ricciutti, Gerry. (17 May 2016). "Thiel College names first female president".
3. "Imagine Colleges | A Project of ELCA Colleges & Universities".
4. [https://www.thiel.edu/about/thiel-history "History"], Thiel College
5. "Amelia Earhart's connection to Thiel College {{!}} Thiel College".
6. "Fred Rogers' connection to Thiel College {{!}} Thiel College".
7. "Thiel College Facts".
8. "Thiel College dedicates spaces in renovated science building and honors alumni".
9. "Maenpa to be recognized as a donor toward the $2 million gymnasium renovation project".
10. "Paul Bush '66 Memorial Fitness Center".
11. "Management M.B.A. {{!}} Thiel College".
12. "Speech-Language Pathology {{!}} Masters {{!}} Thiel College".
13. "Physician Assistant {{!}} Masters {{!}} Thiel College".
14. "Middle States Commission on Higher Education".
15. maggie. "Fraternity & Sorority Life Overview".
16. maggie. "Campus Media".
17. maggie. "Visiting Thiel".
18. "Thiel College Athletics - Official Athletics Website".
19. "Intramural Sports {{!}} Thiel College".
20. "Tomcats win national title at NCA College Nationals".
21. "NEW VIDEO: Thiel cheer team finishes second at NCA College Nationals".
22. "Thiel College wrestling team wins PAC championship; ties record for most conference titles".
23. (11 May 2016). "Thiel returns to PAC Championship Tournament".
24. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-oAkAQAAIAAJ&q=James+Davy+pennington+high+school ''Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 2003''], p. 477. Accessed James M. Davy, Pennington - Mr. Davy was born in Philadelphia May 6, 1953. He graduated from North Allegheny High School in Pittsburgh in 1971, and Thiel College in Greenville, Pa. in 1975."