Chancellor Timothy R. Thyreen was a passionate educator whose educational vision for an academic institution predicated upon the grace and truth of Jesus Christ was inspiring. Just as Old Testament Judean King Josiah rediscovered the scrolls and rebuilt Jerusalem, President Thyreen rebuilt Waynesburg University on its founding Christian mission. 

The Stover Scholars cherished his annual Christmas Dinner messages about leadership which were always enlivened with examples from both his tenure and Waynesburg University’s history. He would often recount the courage of Waynesburg alumnus Judge John Knox of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York who testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee against President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Supreme Court packing plan after the Supreme Court struck down major parts of the New Deal as being unconstitutional. Knox’s testimony against the Roosevelt packing plan and in favor of the U.S. Constitution’s structurally independent judiciary turned the political tide.  But his courage cost Judge Knox his close friendship with Roosevelt and the prospects of his own potential elevation to the High Court. Chancellor Thyreen wanted Waynesburg students and alumni to always do the right thing without regard to the consequences! He also wanted students to appreciate the Christian principles undergirding the U.S. Constitution and live them out.

Chancellor Thyreen taught me how to shoot a shotgun and gave me pointers about playing golf, among many other insights about life, ethics, and politics. Whenever he gave me insights, I invariably thought about his success teaching countless others over the years—as the President, administrator, professor, and football coach–with his clear instructions and commanding passion. He had a unique spark that made his listeners recognize and believe that there was nothing more important as he inspired his students toward greater excellence.

Each year he and Dr. Thyreen would host a dinner with the incoming class of Stover Scholars. One year he served Walleye, which he had caught on his fishing boat in Lake Erie. The deep interest he and Dr. Thyreen demonstrated for these students, like all Waynesburg University students, underscored his commitment to nurturing students throughout their academic pilgrimages and beyond.

Chancellor Thyreen’s actions expressed his profound belief that the most important aspect of Waynesburg University is its mission of bearing witness to the Gospel of Jesus throughout its endeavors. In London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, on the tomb of cathedral architect Christopher Wren is the statement, “If you would seek my monument, look around you.” If you looked around while standing at the center of Waynesburg University’s Johnson Commons in the shadow of Roberts Chapel, the Stover Center, and other buildings, the same can be said of Chancellor Thyreen, especially as vibrant students are joyfully engaged in activities: “If you would seek Chancellor Thyreen’s monument, look around you.” Even more significantly, Chancellor Thyreen’s monument is the living faith of Waynesburg’s students, administrators, faculty, and alumni which is truly “transforming the polis.”