“It is a remarkable privilege to stand before so many colleagues, students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends, mentors, and community leaders for whom I have the highest regard and appreciation for the ways in which you have been part of Lycoming’s past and present, and undoubtedly part of Lycoming future,” said Charles W. “Chip” Edmonds, who succeeds Kent Trachte.

He will be the college’s 16th president, assuming the role on July 1, with an inauguration scheduled for later in the year, the college media office said.

Words of introduction and encouragement were shared by Edmonds’ colleagues at the Dr. Walter G. McIver Rehearsal Hall at the Trachte Music Center on the college campus.

It was standing room only with a reception held afterwards at the Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Charles W. Edmonds, Ed.D. speaks during a reception at the Trachte Music Center on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Edmonds will become the institution's 16th president replacing Dr. Kent C. Trachte who is retiring at the end of the academic year.

Acknowledgements

Edmonds acknowledged and expressed his deepest gratitude to the College’s Board Chair Mark Fultz ’80, Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Presidential Search Committee; Donald W. Hughes ’72, members of the presidential search committee, the entire board of trustees, Academic Search and Marleni Feinstein for their oversight and stewardship of this process, and all those who invested significant time, energy, and wisdom to select Lycoming’s next president.

“I am humbled by the opportunity, and profoundly encouraged by your confidence, to serve as Lycoming College’s 16th president,” he said.

Over the course of his years at Lycoming, Edmonds said he worked with two presidents who “have been exceptionally dedicated to this community and its capacity for greatness.” They were President

Emeritus Jim Douthat (who in his 24-year tenure led the effort to build the college’s endowment to almost $200 million), and Trachte.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Charles W. Edmonds, Ed.D. recognizes the accomplishments of Lycoming College president Dr. Kent Trachte during a reception at the Trachte Music Center on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Edmonds will become the institution's 16th president replacing Trachte who is retiring at the end of the academic year.

Edmonds commended “their vision, dedication, stewardship, institutional ambition and mentorship that has helped to make this day possible.”

“On behalf of the entire campus and Williamsport community, thank you for the ways in which your leadership and service to Lycoming College have contributed vitally to the character of learning, our beautiful campus, our financial vitality, the ways in which we are yoked to the Williamsport community, the innumerable experiences that extend our classrooms, and the fruits of your labor that can be seen in the successful lives and careers of our alumni,” he said.

Today, in fact, Lycoming College is ranked among a list of prestigious colleges in the 2025 edition of Best Colleges by U.S. News and World Report and is one of the top 100 national liberal arts colleges in the nation.

A college community that cares ‘fiercely’

“I think it’s important to share one of the most notable and ungirding features of the Lycoming community that was unmistakably salient during the search process,” Edmonds said.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Board of Trustees Chair D. Mark Fultz, left, congratulates Charles W. Edmonds, Ed.D. as the 16th president of Lycoming College at a reception at the Trachte Music Center on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

“This feature was consistently evident through each and every exchange that occurred during the myriad interviews and conversations with those who participated in the search, and in every encounter since the official announcement: and that aspect is the profound reality that this is a community that cares fiercely about its leadership, its future, and its capacity to provide a nationally recognized residential undergraduate education.”

He said he used the term fiercely because what he experienced, as someone who spent years on the campus, was community members willing to express Lycoming greatest strengths and who were willing to give voice to their deepest aspirations, their desires and even expectations for the way in which Lycoming can and should be even better.

Edmonds was slightly overcome with emotion and stopped mid-sentence when he recognized members of his family who were in attendance and who, he said, have inspired him and countless others to lead a life of leadership and service. These family members included his parents, Walter (Class of ’67) and Peggy Giauque (Class of ’69) Edmonds; his nephew, Matthew Baldridge, a current senior at Lycoming and his spouse, Erin, and sons, Jacob and Luke. The moment was interrupted by applause.

“It is a remarkable privilege to stand before so many colleagues, students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends, mentors, former soccer players and community leaders for whom I have the highest regard and appreciation for the ways in which you have been part of Lycoming’s past and present, and, undoubtedly, will be part of its future,” he said.

“This is a place that is not interested in the status quo but instead dedicated to the notion that we must continually endeavor to be better,” he said.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Charles W. Edmonds, Ed.D. ,center, poses with students for a selfie at a reception naming him the 16th president of Lycoming College at the Trachte Music Center on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

As the next president, Edmonds encouraged doing all that is possible to “summon and cultivate that deep sense of yearning as we together narrate Lycoming College’s next extraordinary chapter.”

This is happening in a period when four-year institutions are having to adjust their methods of teaching to meet the growing needs experienced by many students and graduates as they pursue professional jobs that are becoming available.

“Meeting this challenge is hardwired into the college and Williamsport’s DNA,” he said, adding it will be “my great honor to steward the collective decisions and investments we make to ensure Lycoming continues to thrive as an institution committed to the most noble of public service educating students for exceptional careers and service to humanity.”

He referred to having a maxim or proverb written by the man considered to be the founder of the Methodist movement, which he keeps on the window sill of his office.

The quote by the Rev. John Wesley reads: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Penn College president Mike Reed, left, congratulates Charles W. Edmonds, Ed.D. as the 16th president of Lycoming College at a reception at the Trachte Music Center on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

Reverend Wesley was a member of the faculty at Oxford University and his thought remains a guiding principle to Edmonds.

“I cannot imagine a more meaningful place to do this work than right here,” said Edmonds, who was selected among a total of 107 applicants interviewed in an exhaustive search done by a college search committee.

Among those at the event were Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter and many of the prominent business leaders of Greater Williamsport, some of whom contribute to the college’s well being in a myriad of ways both through financial commitments and in-kind service, or in their professional careers.

Lycoming College’s 213-year story is marked by many extraordinary people, milestones, innovations, accomplishments, setbacks, and triumphs, Edmonds said.

But even with that long and storied past, “we have been given the power and capacity to contribute meaningfully to its future. Lycoming College is worthy of our best — and I hope you will join me in giving our best to the Lycoming and Williamsport communities because doing all the good we can requires our collective desire to leave our institutions and communities better than we found them.”

Before Edmonds was introduced some remarks were offered by Hughes, 1972 alum and board vice chair; encouragement and insight from Sandra Kingery, provost and dean of the faculty; support from Missy (Cashner) Keiffer, employment manager; a hearty congratulations from student Luis Otero, and acknowledgement of a goal achieved to become president of the college from his colleague, Fultz.

Fultz said Edmonds convinced him that he was “ready, willing, and most importantly, able to handle the demands of the job.”

“I have witnessed Chip mature and grow, becoming ever more confident as a leader. Chip, you have big shoes to fill,” Fultz said. “There is no doubt in my mind, along with those gathered here today, the broader campus community and the greater Williamsport community that you have the feet for the task. We all look backward with admiration at president Trachte’s legacy and forward to the legacy that you will create.”

“The nomination was unanimously and enthusiastically approved by the full Board of Trustees,” Hughes said.

“This is a pivotal time in higher education, which means that the leadership of our new president is now more crucial than ever,” Kingery said.

Otero, a sophomore from Costa Rica, said he was asked to join the Presidential Search Committee, and said as he listened to the candidates speak, one candidate emerged as the clear frontrunner — someone who very obviously cares deeply about this institution, and has the best interests of the student body as a priority.”

Keiffer said she first met Edmonds while studying for her bachelor’s degree.

“I had the privilege of working in the Alumni Relations office, which is where I first met our esteemed guest of honor.”

“Even then, as Vice President for Advancement, Chip was known for his boundless positivity, warm demeanor, and genuine connection with everyone he encountered.”

As president of the college, Edmonds vowed to remain approachable and transparent.

“It will be my goal to lead with a deep sense of joy, and transparency . . . authenticity, pragmatism, grittiness and unwavering commitment to the students of today and tomorrow and to be sure they have a home at Lycoming to pursue a first rate undergraduate education,” he said.