New Leadership, New Members for Lehigh's Board of Trustees

Lehigh’s Board of Trustees welcomed former Interim President Kevin L. Clayton ’84, ‘13P, as new board chair on July 1st, in addition to two new members and new co-chairs. Clayton is succeeding Brad E. Scheler ’74 ’05P ’08P ’09PG, a nationally renowned corporate restructuring attorney and senior law partner of the Manhattan-based law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. Scheler served as board chair since July 1, 2012.

Starting three-year terms as new trustees are Gary K. Chan ’80, ‘17P, a former senior vice president of finance for Kraft Foods, and Andrew Woodward ‘11, a Boston-based project manager for the Bond construction company.

New vice chairs will be Robert L. Brown III ’78, a retired partner from the PricewaterhouseCoopers Philadelphia office and Lehigh trustee since 2002, and Philip B. Sheibley ’81 '19P, a venture capital investor with a primary focus on the alternative energy and life sciences industries and chair of Fiberight LLC, an advanced biofuel company. Sheibley has served as a trustee since 2011.
Brown and Sheibley will succeed co-chairs Jane Jamieson ’75, a retired executive vice president of marketing at Fidelity Investments, and Clayton, who served in that role since July 2012, with the exception of the year in which he served as Lehigh’s interim president. Both Jamieson and outgoing board chair Schleler will remain on the board.

Outgoing trustees are Michael J. Connor ’80, ‘14P, Vincent A. Forlenza Jr. ’75; Gina N. Whitfield ’05 and Michael J. Yaszemski ’77, ‘78G.

Clayton said he looks forward to serving Lehigh in this new capacity, and to welcoming new trustees Chan and Woodward.

“It’s an exciting time for Lehigh, and I’m eager to work with our co-chairs and new trustees to continue our momentum,” Clayton said. “I’ve had the honor of being a part of Lehigh family my entire life, and I’ve been a part of this group for many years now. I know full-well how dedicated and loyal each and every trustee is to this institution. Together with President John Simon and the extraordinary people who make up the Lehigh community, we will accomplish great things.”

The new trustees are:

Gary K. Chan ’80 ’17P

Alumni Trustee Gary K. Chan retired as senior vice president, finance, after a 34-year career at Kraft Foods and Mondelez International.  Chan served in several top leadership positions at Kraft in finance and strategy in the Global Supply Chain, International and North America businesses. He served as the president of the Lehigh University Alumni Association (LUAA) Board of Directors and on the Board of Directors of the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Chan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Lehigh University in 1980 and an M.B.A. degree in finance from the University of Houston in 1985.

Andrew T. Woodward ’11

Alumni Trustee Andrew T. Woodward of Boston, Mass., is a project manager with Bond, a construction manager and contractor, focusing on energy and utility infrastructure.  Woodward earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, with a minor in economics from Lehigh in 2011. As an undergraduate, he was a member and president of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, co-captain of the rowing team, officer on the Interfraternity Council and played on the ice hockey team. As an alumnus, Woodward served as president of the Young Alumni Council and as a member of the LUAA Board of Directors.  He is currently pursuing an M.B.A. from the Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University.