Lebanon Valley College Recognized at White House and Georgetown University Events

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Dr. Lewis Evitts Thayne, Lebanon Valley College president

ANNVILLE, PA (09/23/2013)(readMedia)-- Lebanon Valley College president Dr. Lewis Evitts Thayne and the Rev. Dr. Paul Fullmer, LVC chaplain, traveled to Washington, D.C., for the Third Annual Gathering for the President's Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge on September 23 and 24 at Georgetown University. Dr. Thayne also accepted an award at a White House reception in recognition for LVC being named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll in March 2013.

"I congratulate President Thayne and the Lebanon Valley College community on their recognition from the White House at the President's Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge," said U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania Robert P. Casey Jr. "Lebanon Valley College hosts an impressive series of service projects and interfaith dialogues, which are making an impact in Lebanon County, the Harrisburg area, and beyond. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor."

The Gathering offers an opportunity for students, staff, and administrators to share experiences, learn from experts, and meet administration officials who share a commitment to community service with an interfaith engagement component. The event is designed to be helpful to institutions of higher education that are just beginning programs in interfaith/community service and those with long involvement in this work. An important component of the program is celebrating all the work that is occurring on campuses across the country to provide students with opportunities to develop lifelong skills in interfaith cooperation and community service.

Chaplain Fullmer attended the Gathering as a panelist on the "Days of Service" breakout session facilitated by Patricia Bory, manager of special initiatives at the Corporation for National and Community Service. At the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in January, 2013, LVC students serving at Lebanon County's Martin Luther King Family Life Center were inspired to develop an ongoing relationship with the center. They supported the Center's 40 Days of Peace initiative by recruiting many of their fellow students to commit to a heightened awareness of peace for a 40-day period.

Lebanon Valley College is among 244 U.S. colleges and universities that participated in the President's Campus Challenge and submitted reports of their accomplishments to the White House. Next year, the President's Campus Challenge and the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll will be merged into one recognition program. Part of the conference program addressed the new recognition format and advised college presidents regarding how to amend their community service reports for the upcoming year.

Lebanon Valley College students reported 23,482 hours of service during the 2012–2013 academic year, equaling $519,891 worth of service, mostly for the greater Lebanon community. The annual total is the highest since the standards for qualified hours were refined five years ago. Students reported 20,039 qualified service hours in 2011–2012, 17,877 service hours in 2010–2011, 15,671 hours in 2009–2010, and 13,334 qualified hours in 2008–2009.

Learn more about LVC service and the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll at http://www.lvc.edu/community-service/presidents-community-service-honor-roll.aspx.

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