The Shaw Family Foundation and The Bishop Foundation Gift $3.2 Million to LVC

Key Points:

• LVC receives $3.2 million in major gifts to enhance campus wellness and academic spaces.
• $2 million from The Shaw Family Foundation will fund a new 7,500 sq. ft. Campus Fitness & Wellness Center.
• New wellness facility will support student health, athletics, and academic programs in athletic training and physical therapy.
• $1.2 million from The Bishop Foundation will renovate the second floor of Bishop Library.
• Library upgrades will expand seating, improve study spaces, and enhance technology access for students.
• Investments prioritize student success, wellbeing, and academic collaboration across campus.

Dr. James M. MacLaren, LVC President, announced two generous contributions to the College: The Shaw Family Foundation donated $2 million to create a campus Wellness Center, and The Bishop Foundation gifted an additional $1.2 million to extensively upgrade the second floor of the Vernon and Doris Bishop Library.

The Shaw Family Foundation’s funds will enable Lebanon Valley College to build a 7,500 square-foot Campus Community Fitness and Wellness Center. The new space will include a fitness center and group fitness studio that will meet the wellness needs of our students. The gift will expand and outfit our Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Suite, which will double this critical space to help keep student-athletes performing at their best and enable connections to the College’s Athletic Training and Physical Therapy graduate programs. Last, the gift will provide new leading-edge equipment to outfit our Varsity Team Sport Performance Center.

“The Shaw gift will help us transform our Athletic Department and help revolutionize peak performance at the DIII level, elevating us beyond our competitors,” said Patrick Ratke, Director of Athletics. “It will also allow us to enhance the overall health and wellness of the LVC community, helping instill healthy habits that will last a lifetime.”

The Bishop Foundation gift will renovate the second floor of the Vernon and Doris Bishop Library to maximize student success, peer learning, and academic inquiry. The $1.2 million donation follows two previous Bishop Foundation gifts: $1.5 million in 2015 to renovate the first floor and $500,000 in 2019 to upgrade the Bishop Frock Conference Room. The gifts were made possible through the generosity of Katherine J. Bishop, CEO, President, and Chairperson of Lebanon Seaboard Corporation. She has been a member of the College’s Board of Trustees since 1988 and has served several terms as the board’s vice chair.

These Bishop Library improvements, currently underway, will double seating capacity, increase and improve study spaces, enhance sound-dampening measures to emphasize quiet study, improve lighting, and provide better access to power and electronics charging.

“Kathy has long been among the most ardent supporters of our students,” said Dr. Michelle Maldonado, Provost. “Her unwavering commitment to student success is reflected in her steadfast support of global education and her vision for creating inspiring spaces where students can learn, collaborate, and thrive. Through her remarkable generosity, she is expanding students’ access to a global education and transforming the academic heart of our campus, Bishop Library.”

Kathy Bishop previously established the Katherine J. Bishop Fund for Global Study through a $5 million gift in 2022. This fund has increased global exposure for LVC students by providing grants to students, especially those from higher-need families, to help mitigate travel costs and other barriers to studying abroad, among other benefits.