Change Begins with Action: GO Beyond
This moment belongs to Lehigh — and to everyone in the Lehigh community. More than ever before, the world needs us: our distinctive interdisciplinary education; our intellectual rigor and practical application of knowledge; and the exceptional students our singular faculty and programs prepare for the challenges of the world. Supporting the university’s new strategic plan and top priorities, GO Beyond: The Campaign for Future Makers builds on the momentum and progress we’ve made together and sets our sights even higher.
Robust and vibrant programming and curricula in the arts and sciences are essential to Lehigh's reputation as a leading university. Excellence in teaching, research, and artistic activities is our mission. The College needs your help to achieve the highest level of success in our top priorities that includes:
Advancing our research impact in the in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities will push the boundaries of human knowledge to solve the most complex problems facing the 21st century and bring prestige to Lehigh University. Graduate students play a pivotal role in the College of Arts and Sciences ability to attract and retain leading faculty who seek to move their teaching and research priorities forward while preparing the next generation of researchers and scholars. Our graduate students both conduct original research and help realize their faculty mentors’ research goals. The work these students will produce during their careers here—both independently and with faculty mentors—reflects positively and immediately on the College and its departments. What they accomplish and what kind of jobs they receive drive the reputational surveys that determine where our departments rank nationally and internationally.
Our path to national leadership will be paved by the success of our graduate programs.
For over a decade, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), one of the world’s premier biomedical philanthropies, has recognized Lehigh University as a national leader in STEM education by providing more than $9 million in seed-funding, forming the Life Sciences Systems Initiative (LSSI). Lehigh’s innovative curricular models and experiential learning opportunities set an institutional standard for excellence in STEM education. LSSI is defined by continuous innovation, benefits to our students, and a commitment to diversity. Lehigh continues to eliminate boundaries between science and engineering disciplines by actively promoting a collaborative culture through interdisciplinary research, all while increasing diversity in STEM.
Through participation in these programs, students are equipped with skills and talents that bridge multiple disciplines and turn challenges into opportunities. However, financial costs are the main barrier for institutionalizing these programs after HHMI grant funding expires. For these outstanding opportunities to continue, we are seeking philanthropic support.
Arts are an essential part of the human experience of innovation and creativity. The Arts at Lehigh strive to develop students’ ability to think critically and to deal effectively with complexity, ambiguity, and contradiction through composition, performance, and research. Through the academic departments of Art/Architecture/Design, Music, and Theatre, and our world-class Zoellner Arts Center venue that houses the Lehigh University Art Galleries, Lehigh students are exposed to both visual and performing arts, opening their minds to new ideas and new ways of experiencing the world.
We strive to infuse the arts throughout the campus experience as we prepare students for lives of continued learning and experimentation.
Be part of something different. Make a difference. Join the dialogue.
Looking to expand our national footprint around race and cultural discourse through research, we engage students, faculty and the local community around public concerns and social justice issues related to race, politics, gender, religion, and other areas of cultural misunderstanding.
In an increasingly interconnected world with complex challenges and all too frequent misunderstandings, the College of Arts and Sciences interdisciplinary programs are educating the next generation of change agents. The College’s Join the Dialogue initiative invites students into conversations showcasing disparate views on major issues challenging us today. Faculty encourage students to speak up, to question, and to find solutions that may lie outside the norm, and students know they can do so in a supportive and inclusive environment.
Dialogue Toward Understanding, a CAS initiative that fosters student conversations in inclusive settings, makes a compelling case for the unique and essential work of Lehigh’s College of Arts and Sciences and is distinct in emphasis and depth of interdisciplinary commitment from other arts and sciences colleges nationally
For more information about the College of Arts and Sciences and its initiatives, please contact Brad Superka at (610) 758-6197 or brs209@lehigh.edu.
