Exploring New Ideas

A letter from Lehigh President Joseph J. Helble '82.

March 21, 2023

Joseph Helble

Earlier this year, our Lehigh community got its first look at the draft framework for Lehigh’s new strategic plan, which will chart the path for the university’s immediate and longer-term future. This process continues to be a campus-wide e ort, and we are thankful for the commitment and diligence of our working groups and campus community to get us to where we are today.

President Joseph J. Helble '82

We welcomed your feedback on the draft framework through a recent alumni survey and appreciate your unique perspective. As our work continues, we will develop goals and key initiatives that will compose the new strategic plan, to be released in June.

Often I speak about the importance of Lehigh’s core mission as an academic community, one that values learning, scholarship and the exploration of new ideas. A core element of that mission is to foster belonging and the open exchange, discussion and debate of ideas. Our strategic planning initiative, which has been underway since last year, is designed to give rise to new ideas and help shape Lehigh’s educational and research programs, the use of its facilities and the support and engagement of the Lehigh community in the years ahead.

This brings me to the redesign of the Lehigh Alumni Bulletin, presented to you within that spirit of exploration. Data-driven, the redesign by the editorial and design teams in the Office of Communications and Public Affairs incorporates new content and design elements for keeping you better informed about all things Lehigh–initiatives, physical changes to campus, student and faculty research, alumni endeavors and more. “Alumni” is back in the name of the magazine, signifying the value of alumni in our Lehigh community.

In that spirit of exploration, this issue features several innovative alumni who are changing the way we live, dream and communicate—alumni such as architect Jared Della Valle ’93, who develops sustainable buildings with a reduced carbon footprint; Alex Weldon ’14 Ph.D., who helps develop rockets and engines for private space travel; and Annie Wu Henry ’18, who uses her communication skills for broader messaging.

We want to make sure the magazine continues to serve you, our readers, and we invite you to provide feedback on the redesign. You can email editor Mary Ellen Alu at maa614@lehigh.edu, or write her at 301 Broadway, 4th Floor, Bethlehem, PA 18015.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,
Joseph J. Helble ’82
President of Lehigh University