Milestones and Achievements

With a target to double research activity, Lehigh set out to identify areas for investment that will elevate existing research expertise to greater global visibility and impact. This requires an environment that supports all faculty, staff and students in their research efforts. Progress was made on many fronts, and overall, federally supported research expenditures increased by 10% this past year and by 43% since FY2020. 

A few highlights are:

• Lehigh established The Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience, our first University Research Center, led by Professor Paolo Bocchini, in Spring 2024. 
• Lehigh was awarded a $6M NSF ART grant, advancing our ability to translate our work to the world. 
• A Postdoctoral Affairs Office within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research was established to provide more structured, consistent and cohesive support for our postdoctoral researchers.
• Lehigh secured a $1.1M NSF GRANTED award that will establish a pathway for senior PhD students to build skills and potential careers in research administration—contributing to rethinking the PhD and educational innovation.
• University Sabbatical Fellowships were granted to faculty to enhance the development of new research projects and directions with broad impact.
• A new internal proposal repository for Lehigh faculty and postdocs—which includes a selection of NIH, NSF, training and internal grant proposals—was developed and is now available to all members of the Lehigh community.  

To be a leader in student outcomes, Lehigh will expand interdisciplinary undergraduate education, innovative pedagogy and experiential learning opportunities, and transform doctoral education. 

Progress includes:

• Pilot efforts began as part of “Lehigh User Designed Inquiry (LUDI),” a competency-based approach to learning that is at the core of pedagogical innovation and transformation for our campus. Approximately 20 faculty members have received LUDI training and 40 courses have been revised. A new Office of Educational Innovation and Assessment supports these efforts.  
• A new intercollege program, Integrated Business and Health (IBH), was developed and is now available for students entering Lehigh in Fall 2025.
• New initiatives were implemented to enhance student retention and four- and six-year graduation rates by focusing on courses in which students struggle to learn the required material and earn grades that allow them to progress to additional coursework in the same area. This includes expansion of tutorial and academic support through the Center for Academic Success and working with the math department to implement new approaches to enhancing student learning in first-semester calculus courses. 
• Several new graduate programs launched, including several fully online programs in the College of Education, new graduate programs in the College of Health and the new catastrophe modeling masters and certificate programs in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Lehigh is committed to supporting an environment where all students, faculty and staff can experience a full sense of belonging, and where we deepen our connection with the Lehigh Valley community through partnership and shared experiences.

New programs and projects in support of this goal include: 

• The Lehigh Commitment, beginning in Fall 2024, now provides a full tuition grant to undergraduate students from families with a total income of less than $75K.  
• The Alley House project, a design-build project for affordable housing options, was created and funded through a Congressionally Directed Spending grant. This is the first project launched under the Small Cities Lab. 
• Gender-inclusive restrooms and lactation spaces were established to meet diverse needs and ensure comfort and accessibility for all. 
• The Lehigh Food Pantry was created to address food insecurity issues, underscoring Lehigh's dedication to ensuring no student goes hungry or feels neglected.
• A program inventory and a perception survey of Lehigh Valley residents were completed, measuring activity and reputation, respectively. This data will serve as a baseline as we expand our commitment to community engagement. 
• Lehigh hired a new director of Muslim Student Life. 
• Originally part of the 2022-2023 cohort, Lehigh continued its commitment to the Hillel International Campus Climate Initiative (CCI) in May 2024.

An organization of the future leverages technology, contains costs and makes decisions using quantitative and qualitative data. 

Highlights include:

• Lehigh launched a comprehensive campus planning effort. An in-person campus open house designed to gather broad input attracted more than 250 participants, and an electronic survey elicited almost 700 responses. The planning effort will continue into this academic year.
• More than 120 people attended Lehigh’s first Data Day on May 9, 2024. This series of panels and sessions was designed to highlight how data is actively used in our decision making, and to describe how Lehigh plans to provide secured access and tools so decision makers can more readily use data to broaden transparency and understanding. Data Day is expected to become an annual event. 
• A process was established for the campus to identify outdated or cumbersome practices to seek future forward solutions. Opportunity for Improvement Proposals can be submitted through the Organization of the Future portal. 
• A multi-session workshop, How Lehigh Works, was designed to help inform the campus community on the business operations of the university. The series was previewed by senior leaders in FY 2023 and Lehigh will host a cohort of Lehigh faculty, staff and students as a pilot project in Fall 2024.
• A new Mountaintop programs manager position has facilitated planning and execution of events for students, faculty and staff on Mountaintop. 
• A Mountaintop fitness center opened in Fall 2023 and averaged 671 monthly users in Spring 2024. 
• The Office of Institutional Research and Strategic Analytics, now the Office of Institutional Data, was realigned under the Office of Strategic Planning and Initiatives to more directly support the strategy and underscore the commitment to data-informed decision making.