Lehigh Named Top-Tier Research School by Carnegie Classification

The benefits of these expanded research efforts extend beyond campus and will have a positive impact on the community as well, said local leaders.

Lehigh’s elevation to the top tier of research universities in the country will heighten the ability to market the Lehigh Valley and grow its technology and science-driven economy, said Don Cunningham, president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation.

“The economic renaissance of the Lehigh Valley has been built on the foundation of the region’s excellent and extensive education system and training of skilled workers,” Cunningham said. “As the Lehigh Valley’s only research university, Lehigh adds another dimension in allowing us to attract top-tier companies that can benefit from professor and doctoral-level research, innovation and tech transfer.”

Lehigh has taken significant steps to grow its research in recent years, from opening an interdisciplinary research facility, to creating research centers that tackle some of society's most significant issues, such as preparing for and recovering from natural disasters; making it easier for people with disabilities to navigate their environment and the creation of efficient, reliable and self-sustaining energy systems.

A Major Milestone for the University Research Community

This past year, three interdisciplinary University Research Centers were established: The Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience; The Center for Community-Driven Assistive Technologies (CDAT) and The Center for Advancing Community Electrification Solutions (ACES). The CDAT is an effort by faculty with positions in three of Lehigh’s five colleges.

University leaders hope the centers will expand and crystalize Lehigh’s status as a leader in these fields of research.

“We've hit a major milestone. It's not the end of the road, but it's a major milestone along the way, and it's something we should be proud of, because it's not easy to do,” said Dominic Packer, professor and associate provost for research.

Lehigh’s Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience is pursuing the creation of an “Industry-University Cooperative Research Center” that will bring together those in academia with industry innovators to accelerate research and technological breakthroughs in catastrophe modeling. The center would be funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. A conference in the fall brought national experts in natural disaster risk and insurance to the Mountaintop Campus.

Vinod Namboodiri, who is leading the CDAT, received an NSF grant last January to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities through the development of a new digital app and maps to enhance indoor navigation. His research explores how to enable people with disabilities to navigate unfamiliar spaces where they don’t have any other mechanism of getting information.

Lehigh also was recently awarded a $6 million National Science Foundation grant to speed up the translation of research into actual use, and hosted a statewide symposium on “turning innovation into opportunity” this past fall.

The 200,000-square-foot Health, Science and Technology building encourages interdisciplinary research with its open-concept labs that allow faculty and students across disciplines to work side-by-side on interdisciplinary projects.

“It’s really a signal to the world that we are a serious research institution operating at the very highest level,” Packer said of the designation. “I think one of the concrete gains that reputation has for us is our ability to recruit and retain truly amazing faculty researchers, as well as outstanding graduate students and postdocs.”

What Does it Mean for Students and Trainees?

Students at the Ph.D. level and postdoctoral researchers are looking at specific programs and research outcomes when deciding where to continue their education, Packer said. The designation will show potential students and researchers that Lehigh is oriented toward research and takes it seriously.

Postdocs are very important to advancing Lehigh’s research, which is why university leaders want to boost their number, said Kate Bullard, Lehigh’s director of research development. Postdocs are already trained in various lab procedures and eager to take on research projects.

As Lehigh’s research continues to grow, so will its cohort of postdoctoral researchers, Bullard said. There are currently 62 postdoctoral researchers across Lehigh’s colleges, up from 43 in 2022.

During the past two years, Bullard and her team have created an orientation program for Lehigh’s post doctoral researchers, participated in the National Postdoc Appreciation Week and hosted bi-weekly meetings over coffee as a way to network and socialize.

“When they come here, they feel supported … We are building a community of postdocs, because that can be a really isolating stage of life,” Bullard said. “You're going to work in a particular lab, and they don’t always connect much, even with the rest of the department. Now we are building that community and that’s something we're really proud of.”

What Does it Mean for Faculty?

As far as attracting new professors, “anything we can do to demonstrate that we are serious about creating a successful research environment where you can be productive, successful and build your career is important for the kind of people we want to attract,” Packer said.

Lehigh will be actively recruiting new faculty for its University Research Centers with plans to eventually double the number of faculty working in those centers.

The R1 designation was made possible by Lehigh’s faculty and their work, both Bullard and Packer said. At Lehigh, faculty prioritize innovative, student-centric and interdisciplinary approaches to education and research.

“This designation is something our faculty should be really proud of. Our research is the product of the faculty on our campus,” Bullard said.

The New R1 Designation

Lehigh officials learned last year that they were on the cusp of achieving R1 status, in part because of updates to the way the Carnegie Classifications are determined. The classifications are published and updated on a three-year cycle.

The American Council on Education, which helps manage the classifications, and Carnegie Foundation, had been using a complicated, 10-metric formula that used normative and relative scores and placed a cap on the number of institutions that could be classified as R1.

“The result is an opaque process and a moving target that makes it impossible to determine exactly what an institution must do to become classified as an R1,” according to the Carnegie Classifications website.

The formula had last been updated in 2005. Starting this year, that methodology is more transparent, considering two metrics: research and development spending and the number of doctoral research degrees awarded. Under the new classification, 187 institutions are designated as R1.

Unlike R1, the existing methodology for determining R2 is already based on a threshold, which will continue to remain the same, according to Carnegie.