Following 14 years in the Rowland School of Business, Teresa Gregory will fully assume the position of Theater Department Chair this semester.
“It’s very exciting, I feel like I’ve come home because of my background in theater management, and I’ve worked in theater for most of my career,” Gregory said.
Last semester, Gregory was balancing the responsibilities of both positions.
She was Chair of the Curriculum Commission for the School of Business, teaching two classes and serving as Coordinator for Assessment and Accreditation.
“I’ve always been good at multitasking,” Gregory said.
Gregory has a BFA in Theatre Management and a business minor from Ithaca College, as well as an MFA in Theatre Arts from UCLA.
She worked in fundraising for professional theater for 25 years before transitioning to higher education. Gregory worked for Robert Morris University and Carnegie Mellon before she came to Point Park.
Originally from the Finger Lakes region of New York, Gregory lived close to State University of New York at Morrisville. She often traveled there to see theater performances.
Courtesy of Point Park Website Teresa Gregory named new full-time chair of Theater Department.
Gregory said production of Stephen Schwartz’s “Pippin” inspired her to get involved in theater.
“My mom was in classes with people that were in ‘Pippin,’ she was going to take my siblings and I to see it but one got sick. I took my other sibling and fell in love with it,” Gregory said.
She first got involved volunteering, and then pursued a career managing backstage along with other behind-the-scenes responsibilities.
Samson Allen, a senior acting major, said he was not surprised or shocked about Gregory’s new position.
“Point Park is just a place of musical chairs,” Allen said. “I don’t really know who she is… I hope she does okay.”
Colin Villacorte, a junior acting major, said Gregory is coming into a “tumultuous time” for COPA, as it is now reaching one year since the Newsies show accident.
Last February 28, three students were injured during an accident that occurred during a show of the production Newsies.
“There is a lot that goes on for COPA, and I wish her the best,” Villacorte said. “There is a way for COPA that we know how it runs, and I think it’s just a matter of getting her up to that speed.”
McKenna Reiser, a sophomore acting major, said she has not had any interaction with Gregory yet.
“I feel like there has been a lot of moving around since I got here, but I feel like this is how Point Park is and has been,” Reiser said. “It would be nice to have some sort of stability, so I hope that people in these [new] positions are fulfilling them in ways that will sustain the university.”
Gregory will continue to teach classes that fall under the umbrella of SAEM, music and theater.
“I’m very excited and pleased to be in this po- sition. I appreciate all of the talent that I’m working with in terms of professors as well as students,” Gregory said.
