Lebanon Valley College will honor 6 alumni during homecoming weekend

Lebanon Valley College will recognize six LVC graduates with Alumni Awards during Homecoming Weekend, which runs this year on Oct. 10-12.

The graduates will be feted at an Alumni Awards and Volunteer Recognition Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 10, the college announced in a press release. Their accomplishments, according to the release, include helping to raise breast cancer awareness, increasing LVC admissions, advancing music and STEM education, and promoting the role of women in accounting and leadership.

Alumni Citations

Alumni Citations are given each year to graduates who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in their field.

Deborah Strickler Freer, a 1971 graduate, was a board member and advocate with the PA Breast Cancer Coalition, following a stage three breast cancer diagnosis. She volunteers her time to share her story through speaking engagements, publicity, and advocacy.

Freer was honored by the coalition with the Pink Ribbon Award for outstanding volunteer work. She collaborates with public health officials, doctors, local and state representatives, and the governor’s office to advocate for her cause, advance relevant legislation, and stay current with the latest research and technology.

She has also served on the boards of Wellspan Good Samaritan Hospital and the Lebanon Community Library, and she volunteered with the Hershey Cancer Institute Committee. She and her husband, Patrick, were instrumental in creating the Freer Family Youth Center as part of the Lebanon Valley YMCA.

D. Clark Carmean Award in Admission

The D. Clark Carmean Award honors alumni with notable service to LVC’s admission office, especially for new student referral and recruitment.

Since graduating from LVC in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in music education, Cody Kelly “has been an outstanding contributor to LVC’s enrollment efforts,” the release says. As a music educator, he frequently shares names of exceptional prospective students through the Alumni Referral Program, representing LVC in his classroom and regularly participating in alumni events.

Kelly, an LVC adjunct music instructor, taught in the North Schuylkill and East Stroudsburg Area school districts before joining the faculty at Reading School District. He is pursuing a master’s in conducting at Messiah University and holds a master’s in music education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award

The Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award is one of LVC’s highest honors, given to alumni for significant service to their profession, the community, and to the college.

Dr. David E. Myers graduated in 1970 and holds graduate degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan. He taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Georgia State University, and the University of Minnesota, where he was director of the School of Music and a professor of music education and creative studies. He concluded his university service as consulting administrator for music at Augsburg University.

His scholarly work has been cited over 200 times in peer-reviewed articles. He founded Philhaven’s music therapy program, instituted an innovative music education program at Cedar Crest Middle School, wrote national curriculum for the New York Philharmonic, founded the groundbreaking Center for Education Partnerships in Music at Georgia State University, and served as the U.S. consultant to the Association of European Conservatoire’s master’s degree Design in New Audiences and Innovative Practice. His most recent work, “Music, Higher Education, and Society,” was published in March 2025.

Myers has received over $1 million in grant support for innovative research and program development. He served as professor and associate director of the School of Music at Georgia State before becoming director of the School of Music at Minnesota in 2008. He was a visiting professor at the University of Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 1993, and he consulted with LVC’s music department on strategic planning in 2018. He and his wife, Judy Creeger Myers, serve on LVC’s Leadership and Alumni councils.

June Herr Outstanding Educator of the Year Award

The June Herr Outstanding Educator of the Year Award is given to alumni who have contributed significantly to the field of education.

Tyler Frantz graduated from LVC in 2007 and earned his master’s degree in 2020. He is in his 19th year of education at Palmyra Area School District, where he spent 11 years as a fourth-grade teacher before launching Palmyra’s elementary STEM program in 2018. He serves the district’s four elementary schools as a related arts STEM teacher for all third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students, and as a part-time instructional coach who assists teachers with technology, STEM, and STEELS integration.

Frantz has mentored several LVC education majors and was an adjunct instructor in Lebanon Valley’s graduate education program. In 2019, he was recognized as the IU13 STEM Teacher of the Year and received Teacher and Program Excellence awards from the Technology & Engineering Educators Association of Pennsylvania. In 2020, Palmyra was selected as the IU13 STEM School of the Year, and Frantz earned Teacher and Program Excellence awards from the International Technology & Engineering Educators Association.

He is an inductee and officer of the Lebanon County Educational Honor Society. He is also an award-winning outdoors journalist, with over 800 published works in various national platforms since launching his freelance communications company, Natural Pursuit Outdoors, in 2012.

Young Alumni Award

With the The Young Alumni Award, LVC honors alumni who graduated within the last 15 years for achievements in their profession and significant service to their community or the college.

Lauren Fulmer Fenner, a 2013 graduate, is a CPA and principal at Brown Plus, an accounting and advisory firm. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She is treasurer of the West Shore Chamber of Commerce Board.

In 2024, Fenner was named a Central Penn Business Journal Women to Watch honoree and the West Shore Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 Luminary Award Shining Star for her impactful work with clients and in the community. She was recognized by the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Awards as a Woman to Watch honoree in 2020.

Betty C. Hungerford Award for Distinguished Service to Lebanon Valley College

The Betty C. Hungerford Award for Distinguished Service to Lebanon Valley College was named in honor of one of LVC’s greatest ambassadors and most passionate and committed volunteers. According to the release, recipients have served the college as a volunteer for 10 or more years consecutively, demonstrate a great passion for the college and its constituents, regularly attend LVC events and activities, and represent LVC positively beyond the LVC community.

Barbara “Bobbie” Macaw Atkinson played field hockey and women’s basketball, and was a Women’s Athletic Council member as a biology major before graduating in 1967. She earned a master’s in counseling from Marywood University during her career as a guidance counselor in Lower Dauphin School District.

Atkinson became a dedicated Valley volunteer in the early 1990s. She was an Alumni Council and Alumni Scholarship committee member and has served on Class Reunion committees. She is an Alumni Awards and Athletic Hall of Fame committee member, and she was inducted into LVC’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. She enjoys attending LVC women’s basketball games, among other sporting events, as well as Christmas at The Valley and the Vickroy Dinner.

Lebanon Valley College was founded in 1866 and offers 50 majors in the health professions, sciences, business and digital media, arts and humanities, and education. LVC’s annual enrollment includes 1,600 undergraduate and 400+ graduate students.