April 15, 2020

t-notes archive

Next Issue: April 22, 2020

Thiel Happenings

Registration open for expanded list of Thiel College summer course offerings

Thiel College is accepting registrations for both campus and online summer school offerings that are available to students from any college, university or high school.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Thiel College students elect new members of its student government executive board

The Thiel College student body recently elected its 2020-2021 academic year Student Government Association Executive Board, which comprises the offices of president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and media board manager.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Marion G. Resch Foundation awards Thiel $225,000 to expand science and other scholarships

Thiel College was recently awarded an additional $225,000 from the Marion G. Resch Foundation to help fund science-based and other scholarships at the College.

+ Read the full story in the newsroom

Scarpitti encourages students to stay optimistic

Photo from last year’s presentation by Joe Scarpitti ’80 at the Ruth A. Miller Senior Seminar. This year’s seminar presentations have been taking place via an online platform.

Former Thiel College professor Joe Scarpitti ’80 was the guest speaker for the Ruth A. Miller Senior Seminar on April 8, 2020. Scarpitti spoke to the students about the importance of a liberal arts education and provided them with several life lessons, such as realizing that anything is possible and recognizing the importance of staying optimistic in tough times.

“Lessons Learned:

Do everything in your life humbly and with grace.

Failure is simply a part of the process. Do not let the fear of failure limit your risk taking.

Find your bliss and live a life that fulfills your true passions.

Wake up every day with a smile and a mindset ready to attain your goals.”—Robert Micsky ’20

“He began talking about our journey and the importance of making it our own and not for anyone else. You have to start out with a plan and take inventory of yourself. I really liked what he said about looking at it like building your personal resume of your life. It is just as important to have a personal resume, as it is to have a professional one.”—Brenna Parsley ’20

“The last thing he discussed was his eighth wonder of the world. This turned out to be an acronym: Plan/Prepare, Read, Attitude, Yes, Enthusiasm, and Respect/Repay. He discussed his connection to the Lord and how this acronym reminds him to not only pray but to be his best self. Mr. Scarpitti ended his presentation with the Tim McGraw song, “Humble and Kind” and not only encouraged us to live our best lives, but to show the world our best selves.”—Carrie Severt ’20

“One of the main points of Joe’s presentation that stuck out to me was the list of qualities possessed by many liberal arts college graduates. He said he always took it into account when he was interviewing students with liberal arts degrees. Just by him saying that, it gave me a ton of confidence knowing that my classmates and I are ready to take the next step and the education we have received at Thiel is top notch. A few of the qualities he listed include, the ability to listen and learn, the ability to talk with anyone, and (how) they nurture and empower the people around them.”—Griffin Curry ’20

“Then came respect, having respect for yourself, others, and your career can go a long way. Lastly, he spoke about prayer. Prayer is something we all need during these hard times and should do for others. Having faith and saying a little prayer every day makes all those other objectives possible. Those objectives Joe spoke to us about are great tools for everyone. At times some might be harder to achieve than others, but we must keep working towards them. We all have our idea of success, but the foundation of how we accomplish them is the same. Building our life compass and the foundation of our journey is key, even though it's not always easy. Having faith in God is what makes it possible.”—Annmarie Moore ’20

“Joe’s speech was chock full of valuable life lessons. One which received a considerable amount of emphasis was that we must stay curious, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Another was that we must find our passion, and once that passion has been found, we must follow it with zeal. The last lesson that was emphasized was that we must plan ahead, because failing to plan is planning to fail.”—William Lingard ’21

HB Retirement available for investment planning calls

HB Retirement continues to be available for retirement planning needs through conference calls and virtual meetings. Periods of high market volatility can create anxiety. Conference calls with are available on April 16, April 22 and April 28.

Topics can include:

Reserve a 30-minute time slot.

Employees can contact Jack Ryan at 412-261-3333 ext. 421.

Department of History collecting community reflections of COVID-19

Current events have affected the Thiel Community in many ways. The Department of History would like to collect information about how its community members have been impacted by these events. Members of the department would like to hear from students, alumni, faculty and staff about what is happening in the world today to create a record in the Thiel College Archives.

To help with this project, send an email to history@thiel.edu with information about any of the following:

Over the next academic year, the History Department will work on organizing the information for the Thiel College Archives. All materials collected will become part of the Thiel College Archives Collection. In the future, Thiel College students or other researchers may use the materials in research projects.

For more information, contact Professor of History David Buck, Ph.D.

Student News

Faculty and staff members can participate in student presentations

Seniors and members of the Dietrich Honors Institute will be presenting their research via MS Teams on Thursday.

All the presentations are scheduled at the MS Team DHI Scholarship & Arts Symposium.

Or you can join an individual presentation by following its link in attached schedule.

Each presentation should be about 15 minutes with a five-minute Q&A. The schedule has been arranged in 30-minute blocks to allow time for people to log in and join. Presentations will start about five minutes after the scheduled time.

Research topics cover a variety of topics, including supply chain logistics, bacteria, gun control, youth sports, children as courtroom witnesses, fishing, medicinal qualities of turmeric, behavioral theory of gamers and psychology.

For more information, contact DHI director and Assistant Professor of History Sheila Nowinski, Ph.D.

Special Notes

Inventory is available to browse, but the vendor providing services for the online store has limited customer service availability during this work-from-home period.

 

HR Notes

Thiel College says farewell to:

CARES Act information

The recently passed CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act) provides increased protections and benefits to health plans. These include enhancements to Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts that now cover over-the-counter products and telehealth appointments.

For more detailed information and updates regarding this plan and others, log on to your Employee Navigator. Benefit and relief information will be posted there for your convenience.

If you have any questions, email a member of the Human Resources department Jennifer Clark, Kim Braden ’01 or Kris Whaling.

Facilities Note

To minimize exposure for the Housekeeping staff while maintaining a clean and safe campus, the following adjustments will take place:

If you witness something that requires immediate or emergency attention, please contact Public Safety at 724-589-2222.

Work from home resources

Links for the Thiel Hub and Webmail are located on the main website at the bottom of the page.

Resources for accessing voicemail and changing phone options.

Additional coronavirus updates will be emailed and posted on the website.

Employees who are having difficulties with technology can contact the Solution Center at 724-589-4000 or by email.

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).

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.

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.

For more information, email the office.

Connect with Thiel College

    

Publishing Schedule

T-Notes is published weekly during the academic year. It arrives Wednesday afternoons. The next edition will be out April 22, 2020. Send your event or news to tnotes@thiel.edu by noon Monday, April 20 to be published in that week’s edition.

Events

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Thiel College
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Greenville, PA 16125
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