TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) – Susan Traverso, Ph.D., President at Thiel College, will serve as chair of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Presidents’ Council for the 2023-24 academic year. Dr. Traverso’s term as PAC Presidents’ Council Chair will begin on July 1.
Dr. Traverso succeeds Reverend Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B., Ph.D., President at Saint Vincent College, who served as the PAC Presidents’ Council chair in 2022-23.
“I am honored to serve as chair of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference’s Presidents’ Council for the 2023-24 academic year,” said Dr. Traverso. “I look forward to working with the Commissioner, member presidents, athletic administrators and coaches to ensure a positive student-athlete experience at our institutions, aligned with the NCAA Division III philosophy. The PAC is a premier conference thanks to outstanding leadership, shared values among its members and a commitment to integrity and competitive play.”
The Presidents' Council holds ultimate authority and responsibility for PAC governance and is responsible for the establishment, direction and, if necessary, the enforcement of general policy, including the conference office's annual budget and all other financial matters. The league’s name clearly reflects its founding principle that operational control of all aspects of intercollegiate athletics is ultimately the responsibility of the presidents of each member institution, and thus active presidential leadership and oversight is paramount in conference administration. Institutions involved understand that the key components to its progress lie in the foundation of faith in each member. It is the conviction of its membership that the PAC is the solution to the dilemma of intercollegiate athletic competition, and they have staked their athletic future on this premise.
Dr. Traverso was appointed Thiel College’s 20th and first female president on August 1, 2016. Under her leadership, the College has expanded into graduate education, including master’s programs in Physician Assistant, Speech-Language Pathology, and Business Administration. Successful fundraising and strong financial management over the past five years are supporting more than $15 million in capital improvements in the campus’s academic, athletic, and residential facilities, aligned with a renewed strategic focus on academic excellence and student success.
A recognized leader in higher education, Traverso is active with several national organizations including the Council of Independent Colleges, the Association of Governing Boards, and the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education. Traverso serves on the board of Dietrich Foundation in Pittsburgh and is actively involved with the Penn-Northwest Economic Development Corporation. She previously chaired the board of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the board of the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design.
Before her appointment as president of Thiel College, Traverso served as the Provost/Senior Vice President at Elizabethtown College (Elizabethtown, Pa.) and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Redlands (Redlands, Calif.). A scholar of American social and political history and an expert in U.S. women’s history, she is the author of Welfare Politics in Boston, 1910-1940 (University of Massachusetts Press). Traverso earned her bachelor’s degree in history and communication from Simmons College (Boston), and doctoral and master’s degrees in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Thiel administration will also chair all PAC Councils for the 2023-24 academic year. Jason Fautas will chair the PAC Athletic Administrators Council, while Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) and Director of Compliance and Eligibility Carissa Eichmeyer will serve as Chair of the PAC Senior Woman Administrator Council. Additionally, the PAC Faculty Athletic Representatives Association will be led by Michael Balas, Ph.D., a Professor of Biology and Department Chair, and Kristel Gallagher, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Psychology.
Michael McKinney, Ed.D. ’02, Vice President for Student Life and Athletics, will also provide guidance and strengthen collaboration and engagement throughout the academic year.
Founded in 1866, Thiel College is an independent liberal arts college in western Pennsylvania, offering innovative undergraduate and graduate programs. Shaped by its Lutheran heritage, Thiel provides an accessible and inclusive learning environment and serves a diverse population of students. Thiel offers robust co-curricular and athletic experiences and fosters lifelong growth, learning, and relationships. Thiel College prepares students for careers and lives of meaning and purpose and empowers individuals to reach their full potential in a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning environment. Promoting educational excellence, innovation, and ethical leadership, the College provides distinctive learning opportunities for students and serves as an asset for the region’s social, economic, and educational development.
Joe Onderko will continue serving the PAC as its commissioner in 2022-23, his 18th year as the league's chief administrator. Associate Commissioner Brian Rose joined the conference office in Nov. 2022, and is entering his first full year in the role. Kristin Consuegra is starting her second year with the PAC as its Assistant Commissioner for Governance and Championships.
Currently comprised of 11 select private institutions – Allegheny College, Bethany College, Chatham University, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Geneva College, Grove City College, Saint Vincent College, Thiel College, Washington & Jefferson College, Waynesburg University and Westminster College – the PAC remains a unique organization in this day of high-pressure intercollegiate athletics, with academics at the center of each member’s philosophy. Carnegie Mellon University and Case Western Reserve University have competed as affiliate members in the sport of football since 2012. Hiram College will join the PAC as an affiliate member in the sport of men’s volleyball, starting in the 2024-25 academic year.
The PAC crowns league champions and awards all-conference honors in its 23 championship sports. The PAC will begin sponsoring men’s volleyball as its 24th varsity sport in 2024-25.