Before scores of student-athletes and their families, coaches and faculty, Jeremy L. Gibson was sworn in as the Murray H. Goodman Dean of Athletics at the Smith Performance Center during Founder’s Weekend at Lehigh University on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Lehigh President Joseph J. Helble ’82 and Provost Nathan Urban praised Gibson for his ingenuity, energy and commitment to the university’s core mission.
“Jeremy’s ability to balance competitive success with holistic student development aligns perfectly with Lehigh’s values as a university,” Helble said.
Prior to joining Lehigh in January, Gibson spent more than 27 years in collegiate athletics, including as vice president for athletics and deputy chief of staff at Merrimack College and before that for 17 years at Harvard University in roles that included senior associate director of athletics.
Gibson hit the ground running at Lehigh and, among other innovations, played a key role in adding women’s wrestling as its 26th varsity sport in May, with official competition beginning this fall.
“Jeremy has been here for just a few months but already you can see the kind of impact, the kind of creativity and innovation that he brings to the role and the degree to which he sees athletics here at Lehigh as an important and integral part of what it is that we are seeking to accomplish across the university” Urban said.
Gibson has already lived up to his glowing references, Helble said.
“Those who knew him spoke so eloquently about his commitment, about his intellect, his curiosity, his creativity, his integrity and I’ve seen it all on display in the first 10 months he’s been here,” Helble said. “You can see the sparkle in his eye when he has an idea, which is about every other nanosecond, whether for engaging more fans, enhancing the fan experience, accelerating the transition to [varsity] for women’s wrestling or supporting all of our existing programs and teams.”
Gibson told the crowd he was overwhelmed by the number of student-athletes, coaches, faculty and others who came to his installation and vowed to reward their support with great success on the field and off. He praised Joe Sterrett, who retired as Dean of Athletics at the end of 2024 and pledged to be a careful steward of his legacy.
“Stated simply, we seek to become the premier athletic program in the Patriot League, in competition, in academics and in outcomes, we strive to be the best,” Gibson said. “This means being relentless in our pursuit of Patriot League Championships and leveraging our success to amplify all that is great about Lehigh to a broader audience. But more importantly, our ambition demands that we must set the standard for the holistic student development of all the people sitting in front of us right now. We will not compromise; our students will be champions in the classroom and on the field, and the level of success requires all of us…to dare to be great.”
He cited recent championships in the Patriot League as well as Lehigh students winning national and world titles.
“What we’re creating is a renewed belief in what is possible and a heightened energy on this campus that is palpable,” he said. “It goes well beyond athletics.”
Gibson, Helble, and Urban thanked the Goodman family for their “incredible generosity” for endowing the Dean of Athletics chair and paid tribute to the late Murray H. Goodman ’48.
“He supported, endowed and helped us establish this position many years ago because of his belief in the educational power, the educational value and the community value of athletics and what it would mean for Lehigh to be different and be one of the few, perhaps even the only, university in this country that treats the athletic director as a teaching member of the community, as an educator with the title of dean of athletics,” Helble said.
Story by Margie Peterson
