They presented the building as a gift to the East Pennsylvania Conference of the United Brethren Church to settle the argument over where to establish the college.

In a little more than two months from its founding, 12 trustees were appointed, President Thomas R. Vickroy was elected, the building was repaired and redecorated, a curriculum was devised, faculty recruited, and classes began.

The "Ladies Course" included modern languages, painting, drawing, wax flower and fruit making, and music.

This was also the time of the founding literary societies: Philokosmian, Clionian, and Kalozetean, which bear no resemblance to their present fraternity and sorority selves.

The college steadily grew during its first 35 years, and by 1904, the campus had expanded to include Engle Hall, home of the music department, and a partially completed library funded by Andrew Carnegie.

On Christmas Eve 1904, North College (not to be confused with the residence hall with the same name), which stood in the current footprint of the Administration/Humanities building, burned down.

The college landscape remained relatively unchanged for the next four decades, under the leadership of President George D. Gossard (1912–1932) and Clyde A. Lynch (1932–1950).

[6][7] Cultural changes at LVC paralleled those in the rest of the country, moving through World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the New Deal.

In 1957, Science Hall (now the Derickson A apartments) was created out of the old Kreider Factory building on White Oak St., and Gossard Library also opened that year.

A turnaround began under the presidency of Arthur L. Peterson, whose tenure in office was cut short due to health issues.

Soon thereafter, a highly energetic president, John Synodinos, ushered in a period of growth and change with the bold introduction of merit scholarships and the renovation and beautification of a substantial portion of the campus that included the addition of the Edward H. Arnold Sports Center and the Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery and Zimmerman Recital hall.

With the assistance of William J. McGill, senior vice president and the dean of the faculty, academic excellence continued to be emphasized, linkages were established with other institutions and schools, an international initiative undertaken, and collaborative learning experiences developed.

Beginning in 1996 and building on the work of his predecessor, G. David Pollick's eight-year presidency ushered in a period of continued growth.

New undergraduate and graduate degree programs were added and there was a large increase in the number of first-year students who studied abroad.

Today, the campus consists of 40 buildings, including the recently renovated Clyde A. Lynch Memorial Hall, the Vernon and Doris Bishop Library (revitalized in 2016), the Heilman Center for communication sciences & disorders/speech-language pathology, and $20 million Jeanne and Edward H. Arnold Health Professions Pavilion (opened August 2018) for athletic training, exercise science, and physical therapy.

Students received career advice from experts in the Edward and Lynn Breen Center for Graduate Success (launched programming in 2018) and study under the college's new general education curriculum, Constellation LVC (started in fall 2016).

The institution also offers domestic programs in Boston and Washington, D.C. Lebanon Valley College is a member of NCAA Division III, competing in the MAC Freedom.

In addition to those seven traditional dorms, Marquette, Dellinger, Stanson, and Derickson A/B provide apartment style living for upperclassman students on campus.