LVC Celebrates Groundbreaking for Jeanne and Edward H. Arnold Health Professions Pavilion

Lebanon Valley College celebrated the official groundbreaking of the Jeanne and Edward H. Arnold Health Professions Pavilion, the new home for health professions majors at The Valley, on Friday, May 5. 

Dr. Lewis E. Thayne, LVC president, welcomed Jeanne H’08 and Edward H’87 Arnold, the lead donors for the project, along with Robin Stauffer, who represented The S. Dale High Family Foundation. Representatives from the College’s Board of Trustees and area dignitaries also attended the ceremony.

Opening in 2018, the Arnold Health Professions Pavilion will provide flexible classroom space, observation rooms acoustically treated for sound, human performance and gross anatomy labs, flexible faculty office space to increase collaboration with students, and new technologies that enhance teaching. The pavilion will host the College’s doctor of physical therapy, master of athletic training, master of speech-language pathology, and bachelor of exercise science programs.

“Great projects grow out of a clear need and a clear vision for what’s possible, and this project has both,” said Dr. Thayne. 

While the building had been in the planning stages, the momentum for the Pavilion reached full throttle in April 2016 when the Arnolds announced a challenge gift of $10 million toward the project.

“We went from a plan to a reality as soon as their commitment came forward,” said Dr. Thayne. “The benefits of the pavilion will accrue in so many dimensions and are important both to LVC and to the region.”

Following the announcement of the Arnolds’ $10 million pledge, donors have committed an additional $3.2 million toward the project and its $15 million fundraising goal. The College announced one of the most recent gifts in February—a combined $1 million gift commitment from The S. Dale High Family Foundation and Gregory A. High, a 1992 graduate and member of the College’s Board of Trustees. 

Dr. Katie Oriel, faculty trustee and co-chair of the Physical Therapy Department, told guests that the new building will be the beginning of a great story for LVC health professions students.

“They will take with them the knowledge and skills that they learned here, and improve the lives of many as they move forward both in our local community and beyond,” said Dr. Oriel. “The impact of the Arnold Health Professions Pavilion will reach far beyond our faculty, staff, and students. We will see the effect as our work is published in respected journals, when our patients receive quality care, when our athletes return to their sport, and when the health of our community is improved through our collaborative efforts.”

Physical therapy student Laura Schmidt ’17, D’19, one of those students Dr. Oriel referenced, sees the new Arnold Pavilion as an opportunity for growth and collaboration. “This building will help accelerate the growth of LVC’s PT program and the newer health professions programs as well. It will also allow PT, speech-language pathology, and athletic training students to work together in a collaborative environment, which will prepare us to do so as we move forward with our careers in healthcare.”

Benchmark Construction of Ephrata, Pa., is the contractor managing the project.