Lebanon Valley College Appoints New Board of Trustees Members

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Vidya Lala is the new student representative on the College's board.

ANNVILLE, PA (05/13/2015)(readMedia)-- Wesley T. Dellinger '75, P'05, chair of the Lebanon Valley College Board of Trustees, announced that Rev. Dr. William S. Shillady '78, Dr. Jeffrey Ritchie, and Vidya Lala '17 have been appointed to serve on the College's board effective July 1, 2015. Dellinger also announced that Michael Pittari and Katheryn J. O'Hara '15 will retire from their board duties effective June 30, 2015.

Rev. Shillady is the executive director of the United Methodist Society, a position he has held since 2008. Prior to his current role, the Reading native served as a pastor for almost 30 years. His longest tenure of 11 years was at Mamaroneck United Methodist Church in Westchester. During that time, the church raised funds for and accomplished a major restoration project, needed after the church bell fell through the steeple.

Rev. Shillady earned his undergraduate degree from LVC in religion and business administration while spending two years as a student trustee on the board. He received his master of divinity from Duke Divinity School and his doctor of ministry from Drew Theological School.

An active member of several organizations, Rev. Shillady serves as the chair of the Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the New York Annual Conference, a mentor to candidates for ministry, and as registrar of the District Committee on Ministry. He has been elected a delegate for the 2016 General Conference and is a member of the extended cabinet of the NYAC. New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio appointed Rev. Shillady as a member of the Mayor's Faith Leaders Advisory Council.

Dr. Ritchie is chair and associate professor of the College's Digital Communications Department. He teaches courses in narrative across media, interactivity, writing for digital media and several others. Under his mentoring, LVC students have developed projects that include the creation of the College's Campus Virtual Tour, an interactive history of Hersheypark, and a physical therapy textbook for tablet devices. He is currently leading his students in the creation of a smart phone application to celebrate the College's 150th anniversary in 2016.

Personally, Dr. Ritchie has presented at conferences in the United States as well as Canada and Germany. Ritchie received two bachelor's degrees at Indiana University, master's degrees at the University of South Carolina and Arizona State University, and his doctorate from Arizona State.

Lala joins Jeffrey A. Bates '16 as student representatives on the board for a two-year term. Lala, a native of Mechanicsburg and graduate of Cumberland Valley High School, studies biology with plans to attend medical school.

Lala is active on campus, working as a Resident Assistant, a 50/50 Peer Helper, and Writing Tutor. She is vice president of Colleges Against Cancer, helping to coordinate the annual Relay for Life event, and has participated in the Student Summit for Inclusive Excellence.

Retirements

Pittari, chair of art & art history and professor of art, completed his three-year term as a faculty representative to the Board of Trustees, where he served on the Marketing and Enrollment Committee, among other roles.

Pittari teaches studio courses in drawing, painting, and advanced art making, in addition to historical courses on color and culture, and the interrelationship of painting and cinema.

Away from the College, Pittari is an artist who works in painting and digital imaging. His emotive abstract paintings have been exhibited throughout the Eastern United States and are in several corporate collections. Pittari, a former editor-in-chief of the journal Art Papers, has published exhibition reviews and interviews.

He received a B.F.A. from the University of Florida and a M.F.A. from the University of Tennessee.

Katheryn J. O'Hara '15, an international studies major, completes her two-year term as a student representative to the Board of Trustees, where she served on the Academic/ Student Affairs Committee, the Marketing and Enrollment Committee, the Finance and Administration Committee, and the Advancement Committee.

O'Hara worked as a Resident Assistant and participated in Multicultural Fellowship and women's track & field. She served as captain of the track & field team, and received all-Middle Atlantic Conference honors twice during the indoor and outdoor season.

Away from the College, she completed internships with the Pennsylvania State Senate and Five Mile Capital in Stamford, Conn.