Dr. Lewis Evitts Thayne has been officially appointed as the Lebanon Valley College's 18th president during a ceremony, Friday held at Lutz Hall.

As LVC president Thayne wishes to expand high impact programs, which he says entails a deeper and more meaningful learning, something beyond traditional classrooms.

Thayne took over the top administrative job, last August, succeeding Stephen C. MacDonald, who served from 2004-12.

Earlier, he served as vice president of college advancement at Franklin & Marshall (F&M) College in Lancaster for seven years and as vice president for institutional advancement at Agnes Scott College from 1999-05.

During his tenure at F&M, Thayne successfully led campaigns for 12 individual capital projects, collecting more than $140 million in institutional support.

He also served on varied committees such as strategic planning, Middle States accreditation, campus master planning, and marketing and external relations.

At Agnes, Thyane is credited with having developed the college's first advancement division and completed a record-breaking $72 million campaign.

He started his administrative career as alumni affairs officer at Columbia University 1981-83, including director of the National Alumni Program from 1983-86; associate director of development from 1986-88.

Thayne also held varied positions at Bucknell University- four years as director of annual giving and six years as director of individual gifts at Mount Holyoke College.

He earned his bachelor and master's degrees at Rutgers University and doctorate in comparative literature at Princeton University.