Lehigh Announces New Structure for Arts, Libraries and Technology

With a new focus on the role of the arts in the university’s strategic priorities, Lehigh University is reorganizing several key areas of the institution to reflect the essential importance of creative expression, technological agility and educational innovation at a modern, world-class research university.

A new unit, Arts and Libraries, will bring together the university’s libraries, Zoellner Arts Center and Lehigh University Art Galleries under one division. With a focus on elevating the arts and enhancing the visibility and impact of of the arts and humanities across the university, the unit will be led by Greg Reihman, vice provost for Arts and Libraries, who will oversee these core cultural and intellectual resources and help align them with the university’s broader strategy.

“The arts and libraries are foundational to our intellectual and academic life at Lehigh,” said Nathan Urban, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “By bringing them together under a unified structure under the Provost’s office, we can better support their work to create greater opportunities for enriching the student experience, enhancing research and forging connections across disciplines at Lehigh. The arts also provide a great way for us to engage our broader communities, welcome visitors to campus and create shared experiences that connect the university to the Lehigh Valley and beyond.”

Simultaneously, the university is strengthening information technology services by aligning it with the division of Finance and Administration. Ilena Key, associate vice president for Information Technology Services and chief information officer, will lead the division. Designating Information Technology Services (ITS) as a standalone unit allows the university to focus on advancing digital transformation, strengthening cybersecurity and future-ready solutions across campus.

“Aligning Information Technology Services with the division of Finance and Administration recognizes the critical role IT plays in supporting both our long-term strategy and daily operations,” said Christine E. Cook, vice president for Finance and Administration. “At the same time, this change allows Lehigh to modernize and position the university for the future by strengthening the creative and intellectual engines that support academic innovation and discovery at Lehigh.”

Elevating the Arts

The creation of the Arts and Libraries division is designed to make clear the central role of Lehigh’s arts organizations in enhancing outcomes for all students, enriching interdisciplinary scholarship and creative work and improving the environment for faculty, staff and students as they do their work of world-class research, teaching and learning at an R1 institution.

This structure will also allow for the arts organizations to explore opportunities for greater synergy of programming, staff and partnerships.

“We are always exploring ways to deepen experiences for community members. This structure will help us connect partners in a more strategic way,” Reihman said.

Strengthening the University’s Digital Backbone

Ilena Key will oversee the university’s digital infrastructure, including networking, cybersecurity and innovation.

Aligning ITS within Finance and Administration is intended to strengthen the operational oversight of the systems that support teaching, research and daily campus operations. This move is intended to enhance and support innovation and improve the user experience for students, faculty and staff.

A Foundation for Creativity Across Disciplines

Reihman said the new structure underscores the role of the arts and libraries as cross-disciplinary hubs that support work across fields.

“Our work at Lehigh is enabled by the technologies and expertise that ITS provides, so those of us in the Arts and Libraries division will continue to work closely with the ITS teams,” Reihman said. “In particular, we will continue to innovate with the use of emerging digital tools for scholarship, creation, engagement and communication.”

By strengthening the connection between these resources, there is greater potential to expand opportunities for students, faculty and staff to engage in creative work while advancing academic scholarship.

Students from every discipline participate in the arts during their time at Lehigh, and the new framework is designed to ensure that both undergraduate and graduate students have strong institutional support for creative pursuits.

“The intersection in physical spaces is an important element of this structure,” Key said. “A library is a facility, yet much of the heart and soul is the librarians, artists, technologists and pedagogical experts coming together in those spaces. In ITS, we will continue to think about how to integrate that into teaching and learning and ensure people have the technologies and support they need. I always ask, ‘How do we let our faculty and students dream big and support them?’”

Additionally, Key said the changes will allow teams within ITS to pool resources to collaborate and strategize how they will continue to innovate, experiment and operationalize artificial intelligence.

Building Bridges with the Community

The new structure also highlights the role that Lehigh’s cultural and intellectual resources play in connecting the university with the broader community.

The university’s libraries, galleries and Zoellner Arts Center serve as gateways for the public to experience the vibrant arts culture on campus. These venues are among the primary ways residents of the Lehigh Valley engage with the university.

Aligning these assets under a shared strategic vision will make Lehigh’s cultural and scholarly resources more visible and accessible to the region.

Enhancing Teaching, Learning and Research

In addition to these structural changes, the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning will now report to Dominic Packer, vice provost for Educational Innovation and Assessment, reinforcing the university’s commitment to evidence-based approaches to advancing teaching practices and supporting faculty teaching.

Research Computing will continue to report to Key while also taking direction from Anand Jagota, vice provost for research, ensuring strong coordination between digital infrastructure and the university’s research enterprise.

These changes aim to create physical and digital environments that enhance teaching and learning, research and the end-user experience for the entire campus community.