Dear Members of the Lehigh Community,
As President Helble wrote at its launch, our Inspiring the Future Makers strategy was designed to continuously evolve to be responsive to our changing world. Three years into this journey, the landscape of higher education continues to shift, but the resolve and dedication of our community remain strong. Together, our hard work, resilience and shared commitment have driven real progress and reaffirmed the strength of our vision and the vital role our students, faculty, staff and alumni play in shaping the future.
As we enter year four of the strategy, we invite you to pause and celebrate our collective progress and contributions over the last three years. The coming year will build on our relentless pursuit of being a leader in student outcomes and sharpen our focus on the areas where Lehigh can be the first, best or only.
By design, we will evolve and adapt our approach to implementation.
As you review an updated list of current initiatives, you will notice that six of the ten launch initiatives remain unchanged and that the other four launch initiatives have been combined into two initiatives for a total of eight initiatives moving forward. More details on the rationale for those combinations and the resulting new initiatives can be found below. You will also notice some changes in initiative leadership. We appreciate all the hard work and leadership that each past and current initiative lead has brought and continues to bring to the implementation efforts.
While our initiatives define specific projects and actions that support our three goals, there are also common throughlines that will be advanced and supported by the work of the initiatives. These throughlines will recur across initiatives, including Artificial Intelligence, the Arts and Libraries, Athletics, Global and Wellness.
The evolution of the strategy is important for our continued success, and we remain grounded in its vision and goals. We continue to embrace our strengths in interdisciplinary education and research and our strong sense of community. We continue to be inspired to think deeply and create grounded, pragmatic solutions through our research and scholarship. Our goals Make it New; Make a Difference; and Make it Together continue to articulate our shared vision for how we innovate, make change happen and do that work together.
We are a community of Future Makers and the future is ours for the making.
Nathan Urban
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Mark Erickson
Interim Vice President for Strategic Planning and Initiatives
Current Initiatives:
A Data-Informed Organization of the Future
Lead(s): Ilena Key, Yenny Anderson
(Combining the launch initiatives “An Organization of the Future” and “Decision Making Informed by Qualitative and Quantitative Data and Analysis”)
Having advanced much of our foundational data infrastructure, our next step is to strengthen the organizational and human components of becoming more data-informed. This work aligns with the vision of "An Organization of the Future,” where data-informed decision-making serves as a critical engine of an agile organization. As our data sources become more integrated and interconnected, we will be better positioned to draw on a range of tools, including AI, where it adds value to support operational improvements. Together, these initiatives bridge our technical capabilities and our organizational culture.
Advance Research Excellence and Impact
Lead(s): Anand Jagota, Kate Bullard
(Combining the launch initiatives “An Expanded and Strengthened Research Environment” and “Invest in Strategic Interdisciplinary Research”)
Achieving R1 status and establishing three new University Research Centers (URCs) are important milestones. With this foundation in place, we are now focused on improvements to the broad research environment at Lehigh. Combining these initiatives allows us to continue the development of the URCs while cultivating the infrastructure and interdisciplinary ecosystem required to grow research across the university.
A Lehigh For Everyone
Lead(s): Donald Outing, Katherine Lavinder
Enhance Graduate and Lifelong Learning
Lead(s): Sabrina Jedlicka
Enhance the Shared Bethlehem Experience
Lead(s): Jeremy Gibson, Tracey King
Lead in Educational Innovation
Lead(s): Dom Packer, Robin Hojnoski
Redefine a Deeply Interdisciplinary Education
Lead(s): Terry-Ann Jones
Transform Mountaintop
Lead(s): Brett Davidson, Mark Ironside, Nancy Trainer
