LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Lock Haven University will host the Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education (PBCOHE), Central Region, Mini-Conference on Friday, October 1, 2010.

This year's mini-conference theme is “Creating a Legacy in the Most Unlikely of Places: Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Robert Lynch.”

This mini conference will be two-pronged. Panelists and speakers will discuss legacy building on campus as a student, faculty member, staff member, or administrator of color. In addition, participants will honor the legacy of the late Dr. Robert Lynch, a true "legacy builder" at Lock Haven University and in the surrounding Lock Haven community.

Dr. John B. Craig, PBCOHE president, stated that “This year's theme, ‘Creating a Legacy in the Most Unlikely of Places: Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Robert Lynch,’ is a testament of how each one of us has a responsibility to make the world around us better, not just for ourselves in our current state of affairs but for others for generations to come.”

Dr. Robert D. Lynch began at Lock Haven University in 1969 as an associate director of music and project director of Upward Bound. In 1970 he founded the Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education. Dr. Lynch retired in 1998 as assistant to the president for administration and director of social equity. In that same year, he became a member of the LHU Foundation.

Dr. Lynch was deeply involved in the Lock Haven Community, serving for many years as conductor and music director of the Lock Haven University Community Orchestra and Lock Haven Community Chorus. He was a highly-respected leader of Rotary.

Dr. Terrell Jones, Vice Provost for Educational Equity at the Pennsylvania State University, will deliver the keynote address during the conference luncheon.

Workshop and panel presentations are free and open to the public. There is a $40 registration fee for those who would like to attend the luncheon/keynote address.

The schedule for the PBCOHE mini-conference is as follows:

9:00-12:00 Registration

9:15-9:30 Opening/Dr. John Craig (PBCOHE President)

9:30-10:30 "Building an Inheritance: Investing in the Future"/Mr. Kenneth Hall (Director of LHU's Office of Human and Cultural Diversity)

10:45-11:45 "A Discussion on Legacy Building" Panel/Mr. Albert Jones (Associate Director of Human Resources at LHU), Dr. John Craig (Acting Dean for Public Services and Social Sciences at Delaware County Community College), Dr. Brenda Dede (Associate Provost at Clarion University)

12:00-2:00 Luncheon and Keynote speech, "Leadership in the Beholder"/ Dr. Terrell Jones (Vice Provost for Educational Equity at The Pennsylvania State University)

2:15-3:30 Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. Lynch/Moderated by Dr. Laurie Cannady (LHUP's FASStChair/Associate Professor of English)

This event is co-sponsored by the HOPE Center, the PCSW and the President’s Commission on LGBT Issues and FASSt.