Thiel college breaks ground on new academic center dedicated to late Greenville resident
GREENVILLE, Pa. - Construction has started at Thiel College for a new academic center.
A more than 50 year old building at the heart of campus will get a complete face lift with a new lobby, entry ways and a redesigned lower level with an “open” feel.
“We’re redesigning this space for collaborative work areas for interaction with faculty, for group study, for opportunities for students to take an active role in their education,” Susan Traverso, the President of Thiel College said.
The $4 million project will be named after Greenville resident and philanthropist Daniel Spence and his late wife Dorothy.
“During Dotty's last days she asked that I help people,” Daniel said at the ground breaking ceremony. “I learned that many of Thiel students are first generations to attend a four year college which was the case with Dotty so it seemed like a perfect match."
The building renovations will update classrooms and labs to include the latest technology and will house all programs from biology to chemistry to math to data analytics. There will also be a designated area for the college’s new nursing department.
“The need for nurses has never been greater; it's a crisis in our county,” Rod Wilt, the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Thiel College said. “For schools like Thiel to have a nursing program which is very vibrant and connected to the community it just feeds right in. We can bring our kids from out of town and it feeds our homegrown initiative.”
Wilt said the upgrades are long overdue.
“I was a student here in the 80’s and the building hasn’t changed much,” he said.
“I think these days when students come to look at a college like Thiel College they’re looking for an experience as well as a degree and so this new design, Spence Academic Building, will convey to them the sense that at Thiel students take an active role in their education,” President Traverso said. “It is a renovation of an older academic building but it really is an expression of our educational philosophy as well.”
Phase one of the Spence center will be done in Summer of 2024. More programs will slowly move into the building over the next four years.
