William E. ("Bill") Minsker, a life-long resident of Linglestown (Dauphin County), Pennsylvania, graduated from Shippensburg State College with a Bachelor of Science in Education (1968) and a Master in Education degree (1973). Bill taught mostly political science courses at Lower Dauphin High School, in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania from 1968 to 1993. On a 1987 Hershey Community Chorus tour of Poland, he was captivated by students wanting to experience English with a native speaker. It was a turning point in his life; and since 1992, Bill has been teaching in English at the Wroclaw University of Economics each 2nd semester. Education is a career passion and priority for Bill. It runs in the family, with an uncle who taught 50 years before retiring. Bill plans to exceed that by at least one year before retiring. Considering that the Pennsylvania Partnerships Abroad, Ltd. organization he established in 1992 has now helped over 250 Polish students engage in free semester-long internships with PA companies, and created a yearly 1-semester 4-student exchange program between SU and Poland, his teaching career and desire to help students will likely last much longer. Bill keeps his alma mater close to his heart, returning to campus to participate in Open Houses, and encouraging prospective students to attend. As Bill says, "My life began at Shippensburg."
Realizing the strength of his commitment, Bill recently made a generous gift to Charting the Course, Lighting the Way - the Campaign for Shippensburg University in the form of a bequest which has created the William E. Minsker Scholarship for Education majors with financial need.
