Lewis Evitts Thayne, Ph.D., to be Inaugurated as Lebanon Valley College's 18th President

Inaugural Ceremonies to be Held on April 19 in Lutz Hall of the Blair Music Center

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Dr. Lewis Evitts Thayne will be inaugurated as the 18th president of Lebanon Valley College April 19.

ANNVILLE, PA (03/27/2013)(readMedia)-- Lewis Evitts Thayne, Ph.D., will be inaugurated as the 18th president of Lebanon Valley College on Friday, April 19. The 4 p.m. ceremony in Lutz Hall of the Blair Music Center will be broadcast live at www.lvc.edu/LVCtv.

Wesley T. Dellinger '75, P'05, chair of the Lebanon Valley College Board of Trustees, will conduct the presidential inauguration. Special guests include Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett '71, First Lady Susan Manbeck Corbett '72, and Pennsylvania Senator Mike Folmer. Delegates from more than 75 colleges and universities will also be in attendance to mark the occasion.

Thayne has commissioned an inaugural art installation by Dr. Grant Taylor, associate professor of art history, which will be on display in the evenings from April 15 to 19. The installation, "Shadow of Odysseus-Call of Ishmael," is a multilingual audio and light production featuring current Lebanon Valley College students and will play from the rooftop of the Neidig-Garber Science Center.

A variety of Lebanon Valley College music talent will be heard throughout the inaugural ceremony, including a specially commissioned "Fanfare" by Dr. Scott Eggert, professor of music. "Fanfare" will be performed by student members of the LVC Brass Quintet.

Thayne assumed the Office of the President on Aug. 1, 2012 after an extensive national search. He succeeded Dr. Stephen C. MacDonald, who served from 2004–2012.

Prior to becoming Lebanon Valley College president, Thayne served as vice president of college advancement at Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) in Lancaster for seven years. While at F&M, he transformed an advancement program that produced seven years of record-breaking results while creating innovative programs for alumni and parents.

Thayne has devoted his entire career to higher education, having successfully served previously at Agnes Scott College, Mount Holyoke College, Bucknell University, and Columbia University. Throughout his career, Thayne has maintained an active involvement with the classroom, teaching several first-year seminars, and a senior and graduate seminar, among other classes.

After earning bachelor's and master's degrees at Rutgers University, Thayne received his doctorate in comparative literature at Princeton University. His wife, Dorothy, is an artist and iconographer who studied painting at, and graduated from, the Rhode Island School of Design.

For more information about the inauguration of President Lewis E. Thayne, Ph.D., please visit www.lvc.edu/inauguration.

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Lebanon Valley College® in Annville, Pa., welcomes 1,630 full-time undergraduates studying more than 30 majors, as well as self-designed majors. Founded in 1866, LVC has graduate programs in physical therapy, business, music education, and science education. Annville is 15 minutes east of Hershey and 35 minutes east of Harrisburg; Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore are within two hours.