| Lehigh University | |
| Motto: | Homo minister et interpres naturae (Latin) |
| Mottoeng: | "Man, the servant and interpreter of nature" |
| Type: | Private research university |
| Accreditation: | MSCHE |
| Founder: | Asa Packer |
| Endowment: | $1.37 billion (2020)[1] |
| President: | Joseph J. Helble |
| Provost: | Nathan Urban |
| City: | Bethlehem |
| State: | Pennsylvania |
| Country: | United States |
| Students: | 6,953 |
| Undergrad: | 5,178[2] |
| Postgrad: | 1,775 |
| Faculty: | 540 (full-time) |
| Administrative Staff: | 1,196 |
| Campus: | Small city[3] |
| Campus Size: | 2350acres |
| Colors: | Brown and white[4] |
| Sports Nickname: | Mountain Hawks |
| Mascot: | Clutch the Mountain Hawk |
| Logo Upright: | 1.0 |
| Free Label: | Newspaper |
| Free1: | The Brown and White |
| Religious Affiliation: | Nonsectarian; historically Episcopal Church |
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was initially affiliated with the Episcopal Church. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been coeducational since the 1971 - 72 academic year.[5], the university had 5,047 undergraduate students and 1,802 graduate students.
Lehigh has five colleges: the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business, the College of Education, and the College of Health. The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest, with 35% of the university's students.[2] The university offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Engineering, Master of Education, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.
The university is classified among "Doctoral Universities R2: High Research Activity".[6]
Located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the historically industrial Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, which is located between two of the nation's largest cities, 70miles from Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-largest city, and 85miles from New York City, the nation's largest city.[7]
Lehigh encompasses 2350acres, including 180acres of recreational and playing fields and 150 buildings comprising four million square feet of floor space. It is organized into three contiguous campuses on and around South Mountain, including:
In May 2012, Lehigh was the beneficiary a gift of 755 acres of property in nearby Upper Saucon Township, Pennsylvania from the Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation. The gift from the estate of the long-time benefactor allowed the university to expand to its current size of 2,350 acres across all its campuses, and to consider new long-term potential uses for the university's new properties.[8]
For the Class of 2027, Lehigh received 18,414 applications and accepted 5,246 for an acceptance rate of 28%.[9] [10]
| Arwu W: | 701–800 |
| Thes W: | 601–800 |
| The Wsj: | 14 |
| Qs W: | 591–600 |
| Usnwr Nu: | 47 |
| Usnwr W: | 850 |
| Forbes: | 67 |
| Wamo Nu: | 65 |
U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking ranked Lehigh tied for 47th[11] among "National Universities", tied for 26th for "Best Undergraduate Teaching", and 24th for "Best Value Schools" in its 2024 edition of "Best Colleges".[12] In 2015, The Economist ranked Lehigh seventh among national universities in its ranking of non-vocational U.S. colleges ranked by alumni earnings above expectation.[13] In its 2024 ranking of best U.S. colleges, The Wall Street Journal ranked Lehigh the 14th-best overall.[14]
Along with three other Pennsylvania colleges, Dickinson College in Carlisle, Lafayette College in Easton, and Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Lehigh was a 2020 recipient of the Campus Sustainability Achievement Award issued by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education in commemoration of its participation in the Solar Collaboration Project.[15]
See also: Lehigh University faculty., Lehigh has 540 full-time faculty members, with 95% holding a doctorate degree or the highest degree in their field. Faculty members are required to have a minimum of four office hours per week.
Lehigh's average class size is 28 students; the student-to-faculty ratio is 9:1.
The university offers undergraduate enrollment to all its colleges except its College of Education. Students are permitted to take courses or major and minor in subjects outside of their respective college.[16] The university operates on a semester system.[17]
See also: List of Lehigh University engineering highlights. Graduates of Lehigh's engineering programs invented the escalator[18] and founded Packard Motor Car Company[19] and the companies that built the locks and lockgates of the Panama Canal. Other notable alumni include Roger Penske, Lee Iacocca, John W. Fisher, and Terry Hart. Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, was founded at Lehigh.[20] In 2005, George Tamaro, a Lehigh University master's degree in civil engineering alumnus, was the John Fritz Medal award recipient, issued by the American Association of Engineering Societies.[21]
Starting in the late 19th century, the need for specialized schools for business and economics became prominent, and after Robert E. Lee established the first business school in the United States, Washington and Lee University's Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics in 1898. This resulted in many of America's university to open their own business schools with 143 dedicated business schools opening from 1915 to 1924, including Lehigh's College of Business Administration in 1918 based out of Coppée hall.[22]
Prior to this, Lehigh had introduced business and economics classes as part of the department of Arts and Sciences in 1893, with the first dedicated classes in economics being offered in 1897, with the first professor of economics being hired by the school, John L. Stewart, in 1898. Stewart is credited with creating the College of Business, establishing its original courses, and teaching most of the classes himself. In 1909 Lehigh offered its first degree in business management and in 1918, University President, Henry Sturgis Drinker, made the decision to split the school into 3 colleges; the College of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Business Administration. The College's inaugural class of 1922 numbered just 77.
Through the 1930's the College of Business Administration stayed consistent, with around 10 professors and 350 students, and in 1938 was accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, with enrollment that year jumping to 465, or 25% of the total student body. In 1952 the College of Business Administration began offering a five-year course in Industrial engineering and business, as well as graduate courses for Master of Business Administration degrees and was expanded to include Master of Science degrees by 1964. In 1957 the College moved from Coppée hall to the purpose-built Drown Hall.
In 2018, U.S. News & World Report ranked Lehigh's part-time MBA program 20th in the nation.[23]
In 2012, BusinessWeek ranked Lehigh's College of Business 31st in the nation among undergraduate business programs.[24] In 2012, BusinessWeek ranked Lehigh the seventh-best overall undergraduate finance program in the nation, and ranked its undergraduate accounting program the 21st-best in the nation.[24]
In 2012, Entrepreneur Magazine and The Princeton Review named Lehigh the 24th- best undergraduate college for entrepreneurship.[25]
Based in Maginnes Hall,[26] Lehigh offers a variety of humanities courses and visual arts programs and many music programs, including a marching band, the Wind Ensemble, and the Philharmonic orchestra. It has a dedicated Humanities Center, which is the site for many literature and other arts-based programs, including the Drown Writers Series.[27]
Lehigh also has a program called ArtsLehigh,[28] oriented towards enhancing interest in the arts on campus.
More than 7,000 students have received master's, education specialist, Pennsylvania Department of Education teaching certificates and certifications, doctoral degrees, and professional certificates from Lehigh's College of Education .[29]
Lehigh's College of Health offers classes in biostatistics, epidemiology, population health data science, and others related to population health.[30] The college opened on August 21, 2020, and was the first in the world to offer undergraduate, graduate, and executive degrees in population health. It is based at the Health, Science, and Technology (HST) building which opened in January 2022.[31]
As a private institution, Lehigh University is governed by its board of trustees, established 1866. The board can have no less than 18, nor more than 35 members at any given time. The board selects the university president, as well as their vice presidents who operate as "executive agents" of the board.[32]
| No. | Name | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Henry Coppée | 1866-1875 | Mexican–American War veteran and President of the Aztec Club of 1847. Christmas Hall renovated, Packer Hall and President's house constructed.[33] |
| 2. | John McDowell Leavitt | 1875-1880 | Episcopal priest, lawyer and journalist. Linderman Library constructed. |
| 3. | Robert Alexander Lamberton | 1880-1893 | Lawyer. Coppee Hall and Chandler-Ullmann constructed. Phi Beta Kappa founded. |
| 4. | Thomas Messinger Drown | 1895-1904 | Created MIT's chemical engineering program. Led school through Panic of 1893. Williams Hall constructed. |
| - | William H. Chandler | 1904-1905 | Chandler, a professor at the university, served as acting president after Drown's sudden death during a surgery. |
| 5. | Henry Sturgis Drinker | 1905-1920 | Class of 1871, first alumnus to hold position. Fritz Lab, Drown Hall, Coxe Lab, Taylor Hall, Taylor Gym, Taylor Stadium, and Lamberton Hall constructed. Split school into colleges. |
| - | Natt M. Emery | 1920-1922 | Drinker resigned in 1920. His vice president, Natt M. Emery, served as acting president until 1922. |
| 6. | Charles Russ Richards | 1922-1935 | Graduate school opened to women, Alumni Memorial constructed. |
| 7. | Clement C. Williams | 1935-1944 | University of Iowa's dean of engineering, Richards and Drinker dorms built. Retired in 1944. |
| 8. | Martin Dewey Whitaker | 1946-1960 | Manhattan Project alumni. Dravo, McClintic-Marshall, and Centennials I dorms built. Whitaker Lab built. |
| 9. | Harvey A. Neville | 1961-1964 | First and only elected president. |
| 10. | Deming Lewis | 1964-1982 | Bell Labs alumnus. Maginnes Hall, Whitaker Lab, Mart Science and Engineering Library, Sinclair Lab, the Seeley G. Mudd Building, Neville Hall, Rathbone Dining Hall, Centennial II, Brodhead, Trembley Park, Saucon Village dorms, and the Philip Rauch Field House, and the Stabler center constructed. |
| 11. | Peter Likins | 1982-1997 | Purchased Mountaintop Campus from Bethlehem Steel. Demolished Taylor Stadium to make room for Rauch and Zoellner Halls. Resigned to become an advisor to George H.W. Bush. |
| - | William C. Hittinger | 1997-1998 | Class of 1944. A 22-year veteran of the board of trustees. Selected as interim President after Likins resigned. |
| 12. | Gregory C. Farrington | 1998-2006 | Helped raise $250 million for the endowment of professors as well as another $75 million for the recruitment of new professors. |
| 13. | Alice P. Gast | 2006-2014 | First female president. Opened Lehigh's Stabler Campus. in 2010 named to the post of science envoy by Hillary Clinton. Resigned to be named President of the Imperial College London. |
| - | Kevin L. Clayton | 2014-2015 | Alumnus from large family of alumni, 22-year veteran of the board of trustees. |
| 14. | John D. Simon | 2015-2021 | Former provost of the University of Virginia. Established the College of Health. SouthSide Commons, Singleton, Hitch, and Maida dorms constructed. |
| 15. | Joseph J. Helble | 2021–present | Class of 1982. Renamed Packer hall to Clayton hall. |
In 1988, a student senate was created at the university to act as a governing body for undergraduate students, though it is empowered only to offer recommendations to the university's board. Still, the student senate still has an impact as it determines which clubs receive funding and which are authorized to be listed as official university clubs.[34] [35] [36] A separate student senate exists for graduate students, known as GSS, which focuses on advocacy for grant procurement and graduate student travel costs to visit sites.[37] [38]
See main article: Lehigh Mountain Hawks.
See also: Lehigh Mountain Hawks football, Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's basketball, Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's lacrosse and Lehigh Mountain Hawks women's basketball. As a member of the Patriot League, Lehigh competes in 25 different NCAA Division I sports. Lehigh's 2006 student-athlete graduation rate of 97% ranked 12th among all 326 NCAA Division I institutions.[39] In 2002, it won the inaugural USA Today/NCAA Foundation Award for having the nation's top graduation rate of all Division I institutions.[39]
Lehigh graduates have gone on to professional careers in the National Football League, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, and the National Basketball Association as players, scouts, coaches, and owners. Lehigh graduates have competed in the Super Bowl and won gold medals for the U.S. at the Olympic Games. While it is not a school sport, a number of Lehigh alumni, including Roger Penske, Al Holbert, and John Fitch, went on to successful careers in auto racing.
See main article: Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's basketball. Lehigh's fifth trip to the NCAA tournament in 2012 proved to be their most notable to date, thanks to its first-round game as a #15 seed on March 16, 2012, against the #2 seed Duke Blue Devils. Despite being a heavy underdog, thanks to CJ McCollum's 30-point heroics, the Mountain Hawks pulled off the stunning upset, defeating the Blue Devils 75-70 and making it only the sixth time that a 15th seed had defeated a second seed.[40]
See main article: The Rivalry (Lafayette–Lehigh). Lehigh University and nearby Lafayette College are rivals in sports. Since 1884, the two football teams have met over 150 times, making the game between the two programs, known as The Rivalry, the most played in the history of college football.[41]
The rivalry between Lehigh and Lafayette is also the longest uninterrupted rivalry in college football; the teams have played annually since 1897. For the 150th meeting, the teams played before a sold-out Yankee Stadium in New York City.[42]
The week leading up to the game features traditional festivities, including decorating fraternity houses, parties, rallies and the Marching 97 performing unexpectedly during classes the Friday before the game.[43]
The most storied athletic program at Lehigh is its wrestling team, which began in 1910. Over the past several decades, the Lehigh wrestling team has produced 158 All-Americans and had numerous squads finish with Top 20 NCAA national rankings, including finishing second in the nation in 1939.[44] In 2008, the athletic department hired Pat Santoro, a two-time national champion and two-time winner of the EIWA Coach of the Year (2009, 2012) as Lehigh's head wrestling coach.[45]
Home dual meets and tournaments take place in Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall, on the university's main campus.[46] Commonly known as "The Snake Pit", it has been the home of Lehigh wrestling since 1942.[47] [48] [49] In 2013, Grace Hall was converted into the Caruso Wrestling Complex, including a visiting area and Lehigh's College Wrestling Wall of Fame.
In March 2017, Lehigh wrestler and Bethlehem native Darian Cruz won the NCAA Division I national wrestling tournament,[50] becoming Lehigh's first national champion since Zach Rey, Lehigh's current assistant wrestling coach, won the title in the heavyweight division six years earlier, in 2011.
A large majority of Lehigh's social fraternities and sororities have their own university-owned houses; most of the fraternities and sororities are located along Upper and Lower Sayre Park Roads in a region known as "The Hill".
Lehigh has one of the highest levels of student participation in fraternities and sororities; approximately 34% of undergraduates are members of a fraternity or sorority. During new member education, Greek life membership rises to almost 45%. There are 13 fraternities,[51] all of which are housed on campus, and eight sororities, all of which are housed on campus.[52]
Lehigh's "golden age of fraternities" came in the mid-1980s when there where 36 fraternities on campus, all located on "The Hill". Sororities were notably forced to operate off campus. When the drinking age was increased to 21, fraternities started to run into frequent hazing incidents and disciplinary issues which resulted in many of them being forced by the school to disband in the 1990s. Many of their former houses were transitioned to sorority houses and a few were demolished to make way for more dorms. As of 2024, some of the houses on "The Hill" remain vacant.[53]
Lehigh students have several lasting traditions. Lehigh's school colors, brown and white, date back to 1874, and the school newspaper, The Brown and White, has been continuously published since 1894.
See main article: Clery Act and Murder of Jeanne Clery.
On April 5, 1986, Jeanne Clery, a 19-year-old Lehigh freshman, was raped and murdered in her Lehigh dorm room; the perpetrator was apprehended, tried, and sentenced to death. In 1990, the backlash against unreported crimes on numerous campuses across the country led the United States Congress to pass the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, known as the Clery Act, which requires that colleges reveal information regarding crime on their campuses.[54] [55]
See main article: List of Lehigh University alumni. Notable alumni include:
Notable past or present faculty members include: