New Faculty, New Faces, and New Opportunities

October 9, 2016, @ 8:00 AM

On Friday, September 30^th, over 30 new faculty and their families from five of the six LVAIC member campuses attended a new faculty picnic at the Allentown Rose Garden. The event was an opportunity for new faculty to meet their colleagues, network, and bring their families to one of the Lehigh Valley’s most pristine municipal areas. These new faculty members, from the 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years, ranged in their fields of study from business to communications to languages to religion.

The Alpha Phi Omega service organizations from Cedar Crest College and DeSales University sent student volunteers with games, crafts, and projects for the children of these young families. Also present were representatives from LINC, Lehigh Valley Inter-regional Networking and Connection, an organization aimed at easing the transition for those relocating to the Lehigh Valley. Materials were also provided by Discover Lehigh Valley, the local tourism organization for the region.

Leah Breisch, LVAIC Program Director, described the main goals of the program as: a.) allowing new faculty the opportunity to network and meet their colleagues from across the LVAIC Community; b.) sharing information on further engagement opportunities with LVAIC; and c.) allowing those new to the area to learn more about the Lehigh Valley. Breisch further iterated, “We had a very successful first new faculty picnic, and we are very much looking forward to future gatherings of this great group!”

LVAIC is currently in the beginning stages of planning the second phase of the new faculty welcoming program with a rotating-campus cocktail reception to take place each spring. More information regarding this event will follow soon.