Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2009 - (Page 2)

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK LEHIGH’S FOUNDING VISION MORE RELEVANT THAN EVER Asa Packer’s vision for Lehigh in 1865 is strikingly relevant today. Looking at the nation’s problems after the Civil War, Packer knew that an educated workforce was essential to rebuilding our nation. In outlining Packer’s goals for Lehigh, the historian and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean W. Ross Yates described an industrialist who understood that “a strong national economy depended on more than just technical skills” and who had a keen appreciation for an education that combined “practical skills with informed judgments and strong moral self-discipline.” Packer kept this in mind when founding and endowing Lehigh University. Once again our nation’s conﬁdence in its greatness is wavering under threats to our economic vitality, our quality of life, and our national security. We know that Lehigh’s mission of teaching, research, and service is essential to meeting these challenges. As you will see in these pages and throughout our publications and Web sites, Lehigh’s outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni contribute solutions to the grand challenges facing us by creating new knowledge and educating the next generation of leaders. One of Lehigh’s great strengths is our ability to build bridges between theory and practice in ways that have a direct impact on society. Our immediate attention is drawn to the national ﬁnancial system and our economic stability and security. The fear and uncertainty created by the global financial crisis has touched every American, and at Lehigh we have been advancing our understanding of the current ﬁnancial situation. A series of lectures, discussions, conversations, and courses has provided guidance for our students and our entire community. You will ﬁnd summaries of these events, opinion pieces, video clips, and information from Lehigh University faculty and alumni experts as well as from outside speakers on the special College of Business and Economics Web site, “The Financial Crisis,” at www.lehigh.edu/ﬁnancialcrisis. Restoring our nation to prosperity will require more than just economic solutions. A constrained economy limits our ability to respond to a number of challenges, including those in education, energy, and the environment. Another important example of one of Lehigh’s bridges between theory and practice can be found in the College of Education’s Center for Developing Urban Educational Leaders (CDUEL). This center was established to educate the next generation of urban leaders who will promote improvements in education in cities nationwide. Quality education is fundamental to successfully competing in our knowledge-driven global economy. Yet, large numbers of our children are being educated in urban schools, where success is elusive. Left unchecked, this crisis will have devastating long-term social and economic effects on our country. To address this crisis, the young educators in CDUEL will continue to work with teachers, parents, and community leaders in their home 2 lehigh alumni bulletin President Alice P. Gast, right, addresses the throng of Lehigh students, faculty, staff, and alumni who gathered on a plaza near the construction site for the new STEPS building at the groundbreaking ceremony in October. districts to explore new instructional strategies to improve student literacy and change the direction of their schools. The ﬁrst of our urban “principals in residence” is now on campus, and the program promises to make Lehigh a change agent for urban schools and neighborhoods where change is vital to giving students both hope for a better future and the tools necessary to succeed. Also critical to our nation is the discovery of new energy sources, the prudent use of our resources, and a better understanding of our environment. Our new STEPS (Science, Technology, Environment, Policy & Society) initiative, highlighted in this issue, represents an example of how Lehigh integrates teaching, research, and service. From new ways to purify drinking water to the creation of lowenergy lights, new ideas and new discoveries are translated quickly from the laboratory bench to the community. Bringing faculty and students from different disciplines together under one roof in a state-of-the-art facility with modern laboratories and equipment, as well as space conducive to collaboration, positions Lehigh to provide leadership in these critical issues. In these turbulent times, we uphold the vision and heritage of our founding mission and we will not shy away from the hard challenges that confront the world. Rising to meet them is central to our core values as a university. Alice P. Gast, President PHOTO BY THEO ANDERSON http://www.lehigh.edu/financialcrisis

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Lehigh Bulletin - Winter 2009 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Teaming Up to Tackle Global Challenges Positively 4th Street A Sweet Job From the Publisher's Desk Alumni News

Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2009

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