My first Lehigh memories include spending fall afternoons with my father at Goodman Stadium. As the leaves changed colors on South Mountain, the team on the field racked up numerous Patriot League Championships and even a home overtime playoff win against Hofstra (memories I shared with head coach Kevin Cahill during my interview with him after he took the job).
Another early memory is from 1999, when Katie Couric delivered the Commencement address in front of those very stands as my father, Mike Gross ’99G, received his master’s in electrical engineering.
As I oversee the production of this Bulletin, I find it fitting that Lehigh football is off to its best start since 2013 when it began 4-0, and that Ms. Couric, former anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News” and co-anchor of NBC’s “Today” show, returned to campus. It was a pleasure to cover her kicking off year two of Lehigh’s Compelling Perspectives program in September.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of the first Lehigh figures I became familiar with as I spent time at Lehigh was Joe Sterrett ’76. This issue includes a personal letter from him following the announcement of his retirement from full-time service as the Murray H. Goodman Dean of Athletics at the end of 2024. The last few months have also been a new beginning at the university for many others: Manoj K. Malhotra, the Kevin L. and Lisa A. Clayton Dean of the College of Business; Robin Hojnoski, the acting dean of the College of Education; and Tariq Ameer, the new director of Muslim student life/imam.
Being introduced to the Lehigh family at an early age, I’m both proud and honored to have the opportunity to deliver an issue of the Bulletin filled with stories that capture the memorable experiences, people and moments that make Lehigh so special.
