Murray H. Goodman ’48 ’88H, Visionary Real Estate Developer, Philanthropist and Namesake of Goodman Campus and Goodman Stadium, dies at 99

Former trustee Murray H. Goodman ’48 ’88H—prominent American real estate developer, generous philanthropist, and the benefactor of the Goodman Campus, Goodman Stadium, Goodman Center of Real Estate in the College of Business and the Murray H. Goodman Dean of Athletics position—has passed away at age 99.

For almost 75 years, Goodman was the sole owner of the real estate development firm The Goodman Company, which was established in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1960 and later headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida. At the helm, Goodman developed more than 25 million square feet of commercial retail space, industrial buildings and regional malls. Widely respected as a leading visionary in commercial real estate development, especially during the mid-to-late 20th century, Goodman developed an impressive and vast portfolio of retail, hotel, and office properties across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Ohio and Florida.

Goodman is considered a pioneer of the “super-regional mall,” a retail concept popularized in the 1950s and ’60s—a pivotal period for the retail and suburban development boom in America. Always the visionary, Goodman imagined and realized destination-style shopping centers that attracted customers from a broad geographic area with a wide variety of specialty stores, restaurants, and entertainment options—all in one convenient location. Examples of Goodman Company super-regional malls include the 1.2 million square foot Granite Run Mall outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the 1.1 million square foot Westmoreland Mall located near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Goodman is also known for his development of luxury shopping centers including 150 Worth (Esplanade) and Neiman Marcus, an award-winning shopping complex located on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Florida. He was ranked as one of the leading developers and managers of shopping malls by Shopping Center World, a highly respected trade publication.

“Murray Goodman was a symbol of American ingenuity, grit, and determination; he was also one of the most generous men I’ve had the privilege to know,” said President Joseph J. Helble ’82. “Because of his extraordinary generosity and vision, countless Lehigh students, athletes, and fans will enjoy the Goodman Campus and Goodman Stadium—just a few of the named contributions Murray Goodman made to Lehigh—in perpetuity. His passing is a tremendous loss for the Lehigh community, and he will be deeply missed.”

Local Bethlehem Boy Becomes Leader on National Real Estate Stage

The Goodman family immigrated from Lithuania in 1910 and settled in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to raise the next generation. Murray Goodman was born in 1925 and grew up in Bethlehem, graduating from the local high school in the middle of World War II. His high school basketball coach encouraged him to apply to Lehigh, which he did, but the war put his college plans on hold, and he spent almost three years in the U.S. Air Force as a qualified bombardier navigator before matriculating at Lehigh.

Attendance at Lehigh was a family affair, as Goodman’s two uncles—Joseph Goodman ’18 and Robert “Pep” Lewis ’25—were graduates. Though Goodman didn’t necessarily see himself as a “university man,” he commented in a 2020 interview that, at the time, “getting a job was more important to me.” Yet Lehigh became one of the places nearest and dearest to his heart. A self-proclaimed “people person” who believed in the power of human relationships to make things happen, Goodman forged some of his deepest friendships on campus. As an undergraduate, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu national social fraternity and the varsity basketball team, of which he was captain during his senior year.

“At Sigma Alpha Mu, I met my two closest, lifelong friends, Herb Siegel ’50 and Morgan Miller ’48. Those Lehigh relationships stood the test of time, and the university remains close to my heart,” said Goodman in a 2020 interview. “Lehigh and the relationships I built there were very important to my future success.”

While a student at Lehigh, Goodman also enjoyed his time as captain of the basketball team and considered sports a strong vehicle for personal development. “It was a great personal achievement to have played varsity basketball at the collegiate level and the competitive environment helped with my success in the business world,” said Goodman. “The personal friendships are something that will never be forgotten and the loyalty to Lehigh helped me get through the accelerated program in order to graduate in less than four years.”

Goodman graduated from Lehigh in 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He began a career in the general contracting business before launching M.H. Goodman & Company in 1960; he changed the name to The Goodman Company in 1967. From 1979 to 2000, Goodman served as a member of Lehigh’s board of trustees, with Lehigh awarding him an honorary doctor of letters degree in 1988. Goodman’s basketball prowess led to his induction into the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.

In 2022, Goodman was honored with a Lifetime Commitment to Lehigh award, which recognizes outstanding achievement among Lehigh University alumni and honors those whose success has impacted their respective industries and communities.

"Mr. Goodman may be the most deserving of this lifetime achievement award," Lehigh's Murray H. Goodman Dean of Athletics Joe Sterrett '76 said in a video commemorating the award. "He's been extraordinarily timely in his ability to have an impact and I'm not sure he even realizes the extent of the impact that he's had.”

A Lasting Legacy at Lehigh

The extent of Goodman’s impact is indeed vast and lasting. A man with an unerring vision in the business world, Goodman also had clear ideas for how to invest in and grow the future of his beloved alma mater, and he did so in spades.

Perhaps most notably, in 1983, the Saucon Valley campus was named the Murray H. Goodman Campus in recognition of Goodman's generous contribution to develop and endow the 550 acres, a mile and a half south of the main Asa Packer Campus, into a sports and athletic complex. The campus includes the 16,000-seat Murray H. Goodman Stadium that is home to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team and the Goodman Track and Field Complex.

The impetus for this campus-altering gift has a whiff of legend about it now. Former President Dr. Peter Likins said in 2022, “Lehigh today is a very different place because of one sentence from Murray Goodman.”

The story goes that, at a retreat held in the Poconos mountains, the board of trustees was discussing where to locate what was to be the Rauch Business Center, as well as a suggested performing arts center. The conversation centered on the fact that it’s no easy proposition to build on South Mountain, when Goodman spoke.

According to Likins, Goodman said, “We need to tear down that existing stadium, put these buildings where the stadium is now, and I will build for you a new stadium on the other side of South Mountain.”

The rest is history.

In 1986, Goodman made another pledge that enabled construction of the Murray H. Goodman Stadium, the centerpiece of the Goodman Campus with picturesque South Mountain in the background, which opened in 1988.

“The amount of prestige that the Goodman Campus and its facilities bring to the athletics department and to the university as a whole is tremendous,” said former head football coach Kevin Higgins. “Goodman Stadium and the entire campus is a major focal point of [Lehigh's] recruitment process.”

While Goodman undoubtedly has had a permanent impact on Lehigh athletics, he believed equally in supporting academics. Former President Likins said, “I'm sure today people think of Murray in the context of athletic spaces…but I think his primary impact on Lehigh is cultural. He was one of the major players in helping us evolve into a more sophisticated, much more intellectually diverse, kind of learning environment.”

In the years that followed the development of the Goodman Campus and Stadium, Goodman continued to be deeply invested in helping to build the future of Lehigh. In 1991, he signed a formal agreement pledging to endow the Murray H. Goodman Center for Real Estate Studies. He also recognized former Lehigh President W. Deming Lewis in 1993 with a leadership gift for an indoor tennis facility on the Goodman Campus to be known as the Lewis Tennis Center. In 2002, Goodman created his third endowment to support the head basketball coach, naming the position the Murray H. Goodman ’48 Head Basketball Coach.

However, Goodman’s generosity did not end there. In 2004, as an honorary chair of Lehigh’s Shine Forever campaign, Goodman endowed the Murray H. Goodman Dean of Athletics position and established the Webster A. Collins and Murray H. Goodman Endowed Chair in Real Estate Studies jointly with Webster Collins ’57.

Although a number of elite colleges have endowed positions in athletics, the title of “Dean of Athletics” is believed to be the first such distinction at a Division I institution. The gift also provides funding for full-time assistant coaches in a number of men’s and women’s sports as well as new positions that aid student athletic development, such as strength and movement training.

Goodman’s background as a highly successful real estate developer, coupled with his love for Lehigh, gave him a unique vantage point to be a valued adviser. He was instrumental in guiding Lehigh as it expanded its campus to South Mountain and beyond. His real estate expertise helped transform the Packer Campus with new buildings such as the Rauch Business Center and the Zoellner Arts Center. It is with great pride that Goodman is recognized as one of Lehigh’s most generous donors and part of the 1865 Society for lifetime giving and Tower Society for support of the endowment.

Sterrett, with whom Goodman had a more than 40-year bond, said that Goodman was a man with “great vision, who has the ability to see things that don't exist and…weld them into being.”

More Than a Lehigh Man

Beyond his impressive real estate career and generous commitment to Lehigh, Goodman was an enthusiastic civic and community leader for most of his life. While still living in Allentown, Goodman became active in the United Jewish Appeal, a significant Jewish philanthropic organization in the United States established in 1939 to support Jewish communities worldwide; it is now known as the Jewish Federations of North America. Through his engagement with the United Jewish Appeal, he was a major contributor to the development of a school in Ma'alot, Israel.

He supported numerous civic and charitable organizations, such as the U.S. Holocaust Museum, the Jewish Federation, and national educational programs. He was a director, trustee or founder of the U. S. Equestrian Team Foundation, Inc.; Schepens Eye Research Institute; The Jewish Federation; Palm Beach Day School; Palm Beach Civic Association; Good Samaritan Hospital; and the Treasure Coast Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. His contributions have left a lasting impact on both the commercial real estate industry, community development​ and civic engagement.

Goodman is survived by his wife, Joanie Mellor Goodman, five children and four grandchildren.

Katelyn Silva and Lauren Thein contributed to this story.