Joan Schurch Thomson (BS 1964 Home Economics Journalism; MS 1965 Agricultural Journalism; PhD 1969 Mass Communications) is professor emerita at The Pennsylvania State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences where she specialized in food systems communications and university outreach education. She has been an active member of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and has published widely on the subject of food systems and outreach efforts with local communities.
A recipient of the school’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1994, Joan supported the School of Human Ecology throughout her career, including enhancing the Schurch-Thomson Graduate Student Research Excellence Award, an endowment originally established by her mother, Velma Reich Schurch (BS 1933 Home Economics Education; MS 1937).
Joan’s gift towards the 100 Women Chair in Human Ecology is inspired by her appreciation for the breadth, quality, and continued growth of the School of Human Ecology.