Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - (Page 2)

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK LEARNING THAT LASTS A LIFETIME Last semester, I had the pleasure of attending the Eckardt Scholars Seminar on a day when they were discussing poetry as an expression of human meaning. The Eckardt Scholars Program is a highly selective, university-wide honors program that allows some of our most creative students to engage in advanced scholarly work as early as their first year on campus. On the day I visited, Richard Matthews, professor of political science, was leading a Socratic dialogue on “The Politics of Authenticity.” It was wonderful being with such a talented group of Lehigh students, and it was striking to hear their thoughtful and deep interpretations of poems from “The Favorite Poem Project.” Of course, it had been awhile since I was a student in class and had to respond to questions from the professor. Listening to their insights helped me to better understand the complex world that our students are trying to make sense of every day. There are so many of these exciting revelations and discoveries occurring across campus— and even around the world. I wanted to share with you just a few of the interesting living and learning experiences that our students are enjoying. Over the recent winter break, Magdalena Grudzinski-Hall, of our Global Citizenship Program, and Professors Sudhakar Neti and James Maskulka led a group of 25 undergraduate students and two graduate students to India. After they spent New Year’s Day at the Taj Mahal, most of their itinerary was far off the usual tourist path. The students met with human rights lawyers who work on a pro-bono basis representing the poor, visited a leprosy and AIDS clinic to meet with orphans, and spent time in three IT call centers, where they learned how workers in India are trained to work with and sound like Americans. Back on campus, students in our Integrated Business and Engineering honors program spent two semesters developing working prototypes and market feasibility studies for startup businesses. Some recent groups worked on such innovative ideas as selling future gasoline price guarantees to small and medium-sized businesses affected by ﬂuctuating gas prices and embedding a pressure sensor in golf clubs as a teaching aid. Meanwhile, in South Mountain College, our new residential academic program, the ﬁrst cohort of students is already doing amazing work. Among the individual or collaborative projects focusing on post-industrial communities such as South Bethlehem are: • A documentary ﬁlm on how Bethlehem Steel helped shape the community’s identity, and PUBLISHER Chris Marshall ’88 EDITOR Jack Croft DESIGN DIRECTOR Kurt Hansen ART DIRECTOR Dave Pryor ASSISTANT EDITOR Bill Doherty STAFF WRITER Becky Straw CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Sarah Cooke, Linda Harbrecht, Tricia Long, Kurt Pﬁtzer, Tom Yencho, John Flenders, Madelyn King, Natalia Krepak, Janet Norwood, Alexandra Valasek DESIGNERS Michelle Boehm, Beth Murphy, Karyn Yates COPY EDITORS David Caruso, Amy Kovalski BUSINESS SUPPORT Suzanne Gaugler How to contact us: Lehigh University Alumni Association 27 Memorial Drive West Bethlehem, PA 18015-3734 (610) 758-3135 Fax: (610) 758-3316 Hotline: (610) 758-ALUM www.lehigh.edu/alumni Class notes and remembrances: Jennifer Lax, (610) 758-4399 classnews@lehigh.edu Subscribers: For address changes, send the mailing label, along with your new address, to: Alumni Records Lehigh University 622 Brodhead Avenue Bethlehem, PA 18015-3055 (610) 758-4673 inrec@lehigh.edu Advertising: Pat Mann Lehigh University 125 Goodman Drive Bethlehem, PA 18015-3754 (610) 758-3170 pam8@lehigh.edu Lehigh Alumni Bulletin Vol. 94, No. 2, Winter 2008 Published three times a year by the Lehigh University Ofﬁce of University Relations, in cooperation with the Lehigh University Alumni Association, Inc. © Lehigh University what impact the mill’s closing has had. • A map, made using GIS (geographic information system) software, that shows where products that were forged in the Bethlehem Steel mills have ended up all over the world. • A board game where players enact political struggles played out among interest groups such as workers, executives, local government ofﬁcials, and global capitalists in the transition from an industrial to a post-industrial community. These are just a few of the many significant opportunities Lehigh offers students to cultivate creativity while gaining invaluable real-world experience. It is little wonder that our graduates make a difference in the world. Alice P. Gast President 2 lehigh alumni bulletin http://www.lehigh.edu/alumni

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008

Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Ugly is in the Eye of the Beholder Fitch's Law of Motion A Blessing to the Community The Amidonian Acclamation China Trip Bridges Cultures, Generations From the Publisher's Desk Alumni News The Last Word

Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008

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