Annual roadmaps are documents containing the specific objectives for the year to advance the Lehigh Strategy. They are the bridge between strategy and day-to-day work, providing a framework for accountability, resource allocation, and continuous progress monitoring.

The following is a more detailed roadmap of the objectives and key projects planned for the year ahead. This roadmap is organized by the individual strategic initiatives but the work to accomplish these goals falls on the collective university community. If there are specific questions about or an interest in any of the objectives, we encourage community members to connect with the Initiative Lead or Project Manager responsible for the corresponding initiative and include the Office of Strategic Planning and Initiatives (inspi@lehigh.edu) on the message. 

Roadmap Items by Strategic Initiative

  • Roll out a 4-level Belonging Framework across all university units/divisions. Senior leaders partner with their respective units to co-create contextualized conversations that “normalize” belonging in daily operations and workplace culture. 
  • Identify and build additional human capacity for facilitating community-building conversations among groups of students, faculty and staff. And then have these conversations routinely by building these activities into our plans and schedules. 
  • Implement Title-VI bystander training for 25% of students

  • Support the use of AI to address 3 major challenges to enhance efficiency or improve operations with defined KPIs 
    • Deploy AI on the Policy Repository
    • Financial Reporting tools (Hawk-I) and AI assistant
    • Syllabus capture in LEAP 
  • Create tools needed for broad deployment of the Lehigh Enterprise Analytics Platform to non-technical staff
  • Develop common data fluency and AI expectations for all job descriptions - (Partnership with HR)

  • Maintain research expenditures above $50 million
  • Increase research funding awarded from non-federal sources by 25%
  • Increase research output measures by 10%
  • Grow University Research Centers expenditures by 25%

  • Increase the overall new graduate student headcount (aiming for a 20% net increase in Summer/Fall 2027 from the Summer/Fall 2026 enrollment)
  • Embed robust professional development into doctoral training for all first year doctoral students
  • Create the Graduate Student Services infrastructure within existing resource lines to align with Lehigh’s expanding enrollment and aspirations, including, university-wide support for graduate student success and enrollment\graduate program admissions

  • Define and Support a Community Advisory Framework
  • Activate Mountaintop campus facilities by partnering with Mountaintop, the Arts and Libraries and Athletics on collaborative seasonal programming to welcome both Lehigh and non-LU visitors to Mountaintop
  • Elevate Lehigh’s visible presence throughout downtown Bethlehem commercial districts in partnership with Southside Arts District and Bethlehem Chamber, connecting local merchants with Athletics, Arts and Libraries, and campus engagement assets

  • Make progress needed to fully launch FYRE by Fall 2028
  • Integrate AI into 20 majors across campus and ensure that AI-related changes are assessed
  • Determine baseline for # faculty using approaches to teaching that are: evidence-based, student-centric and which promote transfer of knowledge from one context to another

  • Revise policies to lower barriers to interdisciplinary education
  • Consider an interdisciplinary common experience for all students
  • Launch tool to assess sense of purpose among students beyond the first year

  • Make final decisions regarding graduate housing and conference center
  • Create a structure for partnerships and co-location and bringing three corporate partners for mountaintop
  • Streamline the process for holding internal events in Mountaintop conference facilities
  • Increase conference services income by 25%, focusing on income from external sources