Our world has changed since we began our work on this edition of the Lehigh Research Review last spring. There has been pain, suffering, and death, and interruptions of lives and livelihoods brought on by pandemic disease. And there has been a new awakening to the pain, suffering, and death, and burdening of lives and livelihoods inflicted upon Black Americans for centuries. Both evoke myriad questions of the kind that scholars have identified and worked to answer for many years. Both cause us to reflect on how our insights might more often give rise to societal betterment.
As we find our way through the pandemic and—we fervently hope—amass the will to address inequities in our society, there will be more to understand and more to learn. We will never proffer magical solutions to complex problems, nor deny that the answers to certain questions may elude us. We will, however, endeavor to empower our students and our society to see more clearly, to have greater foresight, and to act more justly.
We hope that you enjoy this edition of the Lehigh Research Review. Our talented faculty are astute and engaged observers of the world, respected scholars in their fields, eager partners with people who might be affected by their work, and dedicated teachers. In the scholar’s will to take on hard questions, to see circumstances for what they are even when they make us uncomfortable, and to cultivate in others those same capacities, we see cause to look forward with optimism and resolve.
Sincerely,
Alan J. Snyder
Vice President and Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Studies
A previous version of this letter was shared in May 2020.