Geneva College Marks Passing of Dean of Students Emerita, Joy M. Jewell '68 - Geneva College
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Geneva College Marks Passing of Dean of Students Emerita, Joy M. Jewell '68

Picture of Geneva College Marks Passing of Dean of Students Emerita, Joy M. Jewell '68

(BEAVER FALLS, Pa.) — Geneva College announces the passing of alumna, retired Assistant Professor, Vice President of Student Development and Dean of Students Emerita, Joy M. Jewell '68, who entered eternity with the Lord on May 8, 2020.

Joy graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Education from Geneva College in 1968. She went on to earn a Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Communications at the University of Pittsburgh. After teaching at the elementary, high school, and university levels in Western Pennsylvania, Joy returned to Geneva as Assistant Professor in 1975. She would go on to become the Vice President of Student Development until 2008 when she retired as Dean of Students Emerita and with her husband of 52 years, Paul ’67, moved to Erie to be near children and grandchildren.

Joy taught in Geneva’s Degree Completion Program from 1998 to 2001 and volunteered with Geneva College Faculty Wives and other charitable organizations. She was awarded the College of Forensic Association’s Coach of the Year, and she was the recipient of Geneva College’s Servant Leader Award. From birth until she moved in 2008, she was a member of Freedom Presbyterian Church, serving as an Elder and Junior Church Teacher.

Current Geneva College Dean of Students, Jamie Swank, J.D., ’01, MAHE ‘03, who was a student during Joy’s tenure at the college, says, “Joy served the Geneva College community for decades in a variety of roles culminating in the position of Vice President of Student Development. Joy shaped my life in eternal ways. She had this impact on pretty much everyone she met. She honored the dignity of every individual, moved with continual grace, and was a champion for all, fighting tirelessly to see students succeed. It was difficult to outwork her and almost impossible to ‘out love’ her.”

Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva’s programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva is included on Kiplinger’s Personal Finance’s “2019 Best College Values” list and has one of the top undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God’s Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today’s world. 

May 18, 2020