43
2 ex-Struthers teachers honored for excellence
STRUTHERS — Two former longtime Struthers High School teachers, Daniel Mamula and the late Carol Campbell, will be inducted into the Struthers School Foundation for Educational Excellence Hall of Fame during its annual banquet Saturday.
The award is given to individuals who have been involved in the city school district and have gone out of their way to make a significant difference in the lives of others.
Tickets for the event, which begins at 7 p.m. at Sulmona Valley Club Hall, 92 S. Bridge St., are $30 and may be purchased by calling the Struthers Board of Education at (330) 750-1061 or Linda Krestel at the Struthers Federal Credit Union at (330) 755-7556.
The foundation’s mission is to identify and provide funding for education programs that go beyond the responsibility of the board of education and the resources available to the school system, officials said.
Campbell, 58 when she died May 8, 2008, was reared in Struthers, then moved to Poland when she married Charles E. Campbell.
She graduated from Struthers High School in 1967 and from Youngstown State University in 1971 with a degree in education. She also received a master’s degree from YSU. She spent her whole career in Struthers, starting in 1971 and retiring in 2002.
Campbell taught business-office education and accounting when she began, and the curriculum evolved into accounting and typing and business courses.
“Carol was an enthusiastic and dedicated teacher who was beloved by both students and faculty members. She would go out on a limb for anyone,” said her friend and fellow teacher, Roslyn Terek.
Campbell was the daughter of Marie Phillips of Struthers and the late George Phillips. A daughter, Carolyn Styranec, lives in Florida, and a sister, Patricia Almasy, in Columbiana.
Mamula, 65, a 1961 graduate of Lowellville High School, received a bachelor of science degree from Youngstown University in 1965 and a master’s degree in public administration from Kent State University in 1970.
Mamula was a teacher at Struthers High School for 31 years, from 1965 to 1996. He taught social sciences for 28 years, was chairman of the Social Studies department, and was environmental education director for three years, teaching a classroom “without walls.” He also was a baseball coach for five years at the high school, including three years as head coach.
He is an adjunct faculty member in the YSU Political Science Department, where he has taught politics and globalization and introduction to political science courses.
Mamula had a second career as an elected city official. He served four two-year terms as councilman at-large; one two-year term as council president; and four four-year terms as mayor, making him the longest-sitting mayor in Struthers history.
“To this day, I define myself as a teacher. Being mayor is what I did. Teaching is what I live,” he said during his exit interview from the mayor’s office.
Mamula is the son of Louis and the late Novella Mamula of Lowellville. He and his wife, Lorraine, have three children: Sherry Weitzman of Poland, and Daniel Jr. and Traci Whitacre, both of Struthers; and three grandchildren.
alcorn@vindy.com