The
@Collegian_GCC @gcc.collegian The Collegian: The GCC Newspaper Saturday, May 2, 2020
Collegian The Award-Winning Grove City College Student Newspaper
Vol. 105, No. 18
Four professors plan retirement David Zimmermann Staff Writer
GCC
As the class of 2020 moves towards graduation, the college is getting creative to plan a commencement service that will honor seniors.
Commencing plans College plans graduation with senior’s input Collegian Saff Grove City College announced in March that in light of the campus closure and restrictions on gatherings, commencement would be postponed until a later date. To determine the best time for a commencement cel-
ebration, Vice President of Student Life and Learning Mr. Larry Hardesty oversaw the creation of a senior survey. “We are deeply committed to doing an on-campus commencement with the senior class,” Hardesty said. “That commitment started with President McNulty from the
very beginning. Originally, we planned on doing something in the summer, but bit by bit it became apparent that we couldn’t because of the stay in place order being extended.” The survey offered five possible alternative dates COMENCEMENT 3
Along with the Class of 2020, the College will have to say its goodbyes to four professors, who are retiring at the end of the semester. In 1969, professor of biology Dr. Frederic Brenner started teaching at Grove City through a per- Brenner sonal connection. “The dean at the time was chairman of my Eagle Scout Board of Review, and we discussed teaching at a liberal arts college when I completed college and graduate school,” he said. In 1995, Dr. Lois Johnson, professor of education, started teaching early Johnson childhood education at the College and became involved in the Stan & Karen Johnson Office of Global Programs in 2004. She currently serves as the director of the office. “Because I am a Geneva College grad, I did not consider teaching at Grove City. But God had other plans, and I came thinking it would be short-term,” Johnson said. “However, the wonderful colleagues and students soon changed my mind, and I have now been here for 25 years. I have loved every minute, the people, and the strong stand
for learning and for Christ.” In 2004, Dr. Patricia Tinkey ‘75, professor of Spanish, came to campus teaching part-time. After her first academic year, she was then offered a full-time position at the College. “I had been teaching and working in Christian school education and really loved it, so initially it was a difficult decision to make,” she said. Tinkey “However, I had a wonderful mentor, who showed me how using both traditional and non-traditional resources and tools could make language learning both effective and fun at the college level.” In 2006, education professor Dr. Patricia Scheffler started teaching at Grove City due to her dissatisfaction with secular education. “When you are in public higher ed, the person that I have been trained to be at Covenant College, which is Scheffler a person with a Christian worldview, was something that I could not express,” she said. “It has been such a joy and delight to be at Grove City to seek and to develop my students in every aspect of their lives spiritually, emotionally, academically, and profesRETIREMENT 3
SGA Financial aid in bloom for fall semester election results Anna DiStefano News Editor
Executive Committee Executive President Meredith Gartman VP Student Affairs Zack Coryell VP Academic Affairs Mark Grasinger VP Social Affairs Izzy Patnode VP Comm and Marketing Katherine Gish Treasurer Maddy Temple Senior Class Class President Patrick Finley Student Affairs Rebecca Cloyd Academic Affairs Liam Hill Junior Class Class President Kyle Sweitzer Academic Affairs Zachary O’Neil Social Affairs Addie Cairns Comm and Marketing Nick Choiniere Sophomore Class Class President Jamin Smith Student Affairs Lauren Dacey Academic Affairs Caleb Van Grouw Social Affairs Megan Markel Comm and Marketing Olivia Deasy
The College announced this week that it will increase financial aid awards available to students this fall in a move to help families navigating college costs in a season of uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “Ordinarily, our low tuition and extensive financial aid make a Grove City College education distinctively affordable, but these are not ordinary times,” President Paul J. McNulty ’80 said. “Thanks to the remarkable generosity of the College’s faithful supporters, we will make the College even more affordable for families facing financial hardship.” Grove City College will invest an additional amount of nearly $2.5 million from its endowment and other gifts to increase awards for the 2020-2021 academic year. Sixty-six percent the College’s 2,300 students receive need- or merit-based financial aid from the College. All need-based aid recipients should see a 20 percent increase in their scholarship amounts under the plan. The total amount of funded scholarships will exceed $10 million. In particular, the College will make additional funds available to help students and families experiencing recent economic hardship. Such special consideration scholarships provide much
GCC
Grove City College has increased scholarship opportunities for the fall in an attempt to help famillies afford tuition in the fallout from COVID-19. needed assistance for students who otherwise might not be able to remain enrolled at the College. With a rise in the unemployment rate and a decline in personal incomes in the current environment, the College anticipates an increase in these types of situations and is preparing to support these students in the new academic year. A commitment of this level is an unprecedented initiative for the College, which is one of just a handful of truly independent higher education institutions that do not accept federal funding, including student loans and
grants. Reaffirming its core value of independence during this crisis, the College is not pursuing emergency funding under the CARES Act, which earmarked billions to help colleges and universities, or any future relief legislation. “I think it is important that GCC remains dedicated to its core value of independence, meaning not accepting any funding from the CARES Act,” Junior Elsie Becker said. She also noticed how this decision correlates to the College’s value of stewardship. “I am pleased to hear that GCC’s principle of steward-
ship which encourages the College to make sound financial decisions is allowing us to extend additional financial aid to people in need during this time. I would hate to not see one of my friends finish their senior year due to unprecedented financial hardships.” Grove City College is perennially recognized for offering the lowest tuition of any private college in Pennsylvania. Affordability has always been a key principle of the school’s mission to support motivated students to grow intellectually and spiritually since its founding in 1876.