Gov. Tom Corbett ’71 received an honorary doctorate during the undergraduate ceremony and served as the afternoon’s graduate-level ceremony keynote speaker.
Nearly 400 (398) students in the Lebanon Valley College Class of 2025 celebrated their educational and personal accomplishments during a morning Commencement Ceremony. Another 193 graduate-level students participated in a separate ceremony at 2 p.m. Both ceremonies were held in the Louis A. Sorrentino ’54 Gymnasium.
Dr. Daniel Pitonyak, Associate Professor of Physics and Co-Chair of Chemistry and Physics, was the morning’s Commencement speaker by virtue of being named the Vickroy Award winner (see below) during the 2024 Commencement Celebration. Gov. Thomas “Tom” Corbett, Esq., LVC Class of 1971, received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the morning ceremony and was the Keynote speaker during the afternoon ceremony (download Gov. Corbett’s speech here [.docx]).
Along with honoring graduates, LVC revealed the winners of the following major annual awards:
The H. Anthony Neidig and Gene Bowman Neidig Award (LVC’s top student award)—Abigail “Abby” Souder ’25, a Biology major minoring in Chemistry who will attend the Penn State College of Medicine this fall.
This year’s prize was made possible thanks to the generosity of Kathy Neidig Calabrese and Tony Calabrese, both LVC Class of 1973, in honor of Kathy’s father, Dr. Tony Neidig ’43, P’73, H’04, and mother, Gene Bowman Neidig.
The Thomas Rhys Vickroy Distinguished Teacher Award (LVC’s top honor for a full-time faculty member)—Dr. Justin T. Mierzwicki, Clinical Associate Professor of Physical Therapy.
The Nevelyn J. Knisley Award (LVC’s top part-time or adjunct College faculty member)—Sarah Bartz, Adjunct Professor and Director of Academic Success.
Dr. Alan Walker, Chair & Assistant Professor of Exercise Science, received the Educator of the Year Award from Student Government members on Friday, April 25. This honor is bestowed annually on a member of the full-time faculty who embodies the transformative power of the LVC experience, in and out of the classroom.
Also on April 25, Brian Boyer, Campus Safety Supervisor, received the third-annual Administrator or Staff Member of the Year Award. This award is presented to a non-faculty member who has significantly impacted a student’s time at LVC.