A Revamped Iacocca Hall

Visitors to Iacocca Hall on Lehigh’s Mountaintop Campus will notice that the outdated furniture, drooping drapes and 70’s-era color scheme are gone. In their place are sleek and contemporary furniture and materials, open spaces flooded with light, and updated technology—all part of a redesign and renovation project that enhances the building’s capacity as a conference center for the university and surrounding community.

“Iacocca Hall has always been seen as a prime venue for special events, conferences, meetings and even gallery space, but it needed an update—a refresh if you will—to continue to offer that appeal,” said Mary Kay Baker, director of Conference and Special Housing Services.

Originally part of Bethlehem Steel’s eight-building Homer Research Labs complex, Iacocca Hall was acquired by Lehigh in 1986. The parcel on which it was sited—along with 742 acres of land—was purchased from Bethlehem Steel for $18.75 million.

Today, it houses the College of Education, the department of biological sciences, the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering, the Center for Chemical Process Modeling and Control, and the Emulsion Polymers Institute.

Iacocca Hall was named in honor of one of its patrons, automobile magnate and former chair of Chrysler, Lee Iacocca ’45, who was instrumental in Lehigh capital campaigns during the latter part of the 20th century.