President Lewis Thayne Hosts Lebanon Valley College Opening Breakfast

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Lebanon Valley College President Dr. Lewis E. Thayne

ANNVILLE, PA (08/26/2015)(readMedia)-- Dr. Lewis Evitts Thayne, Lebanon Valley College's 18th president, hosted the College's traditional Opening Breakfast on Wednesday, Aug. 26, and announced the College's community gifts totaling $58,850.

President Thayne presented checks to Annville-Cleona School District for $17,800; Annville Township for $11,450, the first of two installments for this year; Annville Free Library for $4,000; and Annville's Union Hose Fire Company for $18,600, including $16,000 for the final installment of an overall $50,000 pledge to assist the company in purchasing new fire equipment.

"Strong communities, such as Annville and our region, support education," said Dr. Thayne. "And strong colleges help build prosperous communities. As we launch the year-long celebration of the College's 150th Anniversary in February, it is well to remember the enormous impact of LVC on Annville, Lebanon County, and the Lebanon Valley Region."

In addition to the community awards, Dr. Thayne announced a $1.5 million gift from the Bishop Foundation that will enable the College to transform the first level of the Bishop Library into a state-of-the-art information center beginning in summer 2016. Click here to read the full story.

In Dr. Thayne's other major announcement, he introduced Envision 2020, the strategic vision of the community that emerged from an 18-month, collaborative process. Through Envision 2020, the College commits to delivering an excellent 21st-century education, internationalizing the curriculum and student experience, being inclusive by actively and intentionally engaging with diversity in all its aspects, and building a pathway that joins learning with preparation for a meaningful career.

"Effectively, it can be boiled down to 'graduating world-ready students,'" said Dr. Thayne. "It means the College will need to be self-aware and outward-facing, in touch with the volatility and disruptions in the world, and provide an educational experience designed to prepare students and this region for a global future."

Continuing with the promise of a bright future, the president announced enrollment figures for the 2015–2016 academic year, including 509 new students (first-year students and transfers), which is one of the two largest classes in 10 years. Approximately half of this year's class ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class, while 40 percent are student-athletes.

The new students represent 14 states and five international countries including Cambodia, Ireland, Japan, Slovenia, and Vietnam. Fourteen percent of the incoming class are ALANA students (African/African American, Latino, Asian, Native American).

Finally, Dr. Thayne focused on innovation, announcing a new Student Innovation Fund that follows on the heels of the successful Arnold Experiential Grant Fund and President's Innovation Fund already established at the College. For the student fund, individual students and student groups will be eligible for funding from an initial pool of $25,000.

"Our students arrive here with wonderful ideas, and they generate new ideas in their work with faculty members and each other," said Dr. Thayne. "We want to be known as a College that empowers and recognizes their entrepreneurial energy."

Visit www.lvc.edu/president/breakfast-2015.aspx for the full text of President Thayne's remarks. View photos from the event on the College's Facebook page.