Raised on the campus of Elizabethtown College, Lois Kathryn Herr’s life has been strongly influenced by the men and women of the college community. Her father, Ira R. Herr, was the legendary coach and athletic director at Elizabethtown College for over 34 years. Her mother, Kathryn Nisley Herr, left a positive impact on countless young people during her teaching career on campus and in Elizabethtown High School.

Lois earned her bachelor’s degree from Elizabethtown College and went on to receive a master’s degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Fordham University. She has had extensive experience in business, government service, and education. Under President Gerald Ford, she served in the Office of Management and Budget as part of the President’s Executive Interexchange Program.

Lois’s business career included 26 years in telecommunications management with Bell Telephone Laboratories, AT&T, New York Telephone, and NYNEX. Based on her experience, she wrote the book Women, Power, and AT&T: Winning Rights in the Workplace (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2003).

She returned to Lancaster County in 1990, bought a farm, and later served in a variety of positions at Elizabethtown College--as teacher, senior administrator, and scholar-in-residence. In recent years, she has served her community as chair of the Lancaster County Planning Commission and President of the Elizabethtown Rotary Club, as well as working on numerous state, local, and nonprofit boards and commissions. Among her awards were “Visionary 2005” from the Coalition for Smart Growth and the “Progressive Voice of Lancaster County” from Democracy for Lancaster.