to announce that ourBoardChair Peter
Lynn and hiswife, Joyce, havemade a
magnificent gift to name the new science
building. Their generositywillmake
possible the construction of theLynn
ScienceBuilding. Trustee JayCleveland
Jr. and hiswife,Mary, andTrustee Jay
ClevelandSr. and his spouse, Sandy,
have joinedPeter and Joyce inmaking
amajor commitment to the building.
Their philanthropywill be recognized
with the naming of theCleveland
Atrium—the beautiful central gathering
space in the building. The construction
of theLynnScienceBuildingwill be
tangible evidence of our rededication
to the residentialmodel of liberal
education. Thank you to theLynns and
theClevelands.
The trustees have also committed to
renovating the residential buildings that
were constructed during theLong and
Wertz presidencies. Last summer, we
rebuilt the interior ofRichHall so that
on the inside it now looks and functions
as amodern residence hall. During the
coming summer, wewill undertake
a similar rebuilding of the interior of
CreverHall; and the following summer,
WesleyHallwill be renovated into
a space capable of housing learning
communities.All thisworkwill be
accomplishedwithout disturbing the
stately neo-Georgian architecture that
defines our physical surroundings.
During thefirst half of the 19th
century, the number of colleges
and academies in theUnitedStates
proliferated rapidly. The founders of
these institutions shared a sense of
mission articulated in the 1828Yale
Report, which declared that, “Our
republican form of government renders
it highly important, that great numbers
should enjoy the advantage of a thorough
education.”
“Asmayor of the great city of
Williamsport and lifelong resident, I
know firsthand of themany positive
influences LycomingCollege has had
onour city and theentire surrounding
area. LycomingCollege has beena
great neighbor in the city: maintaining,
rebuilding and improving their campus
aswell as improving their surrounding
neighborhoods. LycomingCollegealso
plays amajor part of the visionand
futureplanning for this great city. But
make nomistake, LycomingCollege’s
greatest contribution is their education
programs.”
Gabriel Campana, Ed.D.
Mayor, City ofWilliamsport
Interacting with an international and diverse student body
will help Lycoming students build connections with others--
others who represent the variety of cultures that compose
our nation and our world.
This view that democracy requires
an educated populace inspired the
founding ofWilliamsportAcademy and
influenced the decision by theMethodist
church to purchase and reincarnate the
school asDickinsonSeminary. The
idealwas affirmed again in 1949when
the newly namedLycomingCollege
sought accreditation as a four-year
institution dedicated to “educating…
better informed, socially competent and
contributive citizens in a democracy.”
The need for an educated citizenry is
arguably evenmore urgent today, and so
aswe renew our identity as a liberal arts
college, we should also contemplate the
type of education that our students need
for 21st century citizenship.
TheAmerican philosopher John
Dewey provides a starting point. In
his seminalwork, “Education and
Democracy,”Dewey suggests that
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