Our Future,
Our Lehigh

An open dialogue on the strategic direction of the University

About Our Strategic Planning Process

The structure of the planning process provided opportunities for members of our community to participate at in-person events and asynchronously through an online Idea Portal, enabling a truly open dialogue on the strategic direction of the University.

Key stakeholders for the strategic planning process include theme co-captains; faculty and staff working groups; through-line content champions; faculty, staff, students, and other key stakeholders; and an advisory council comprising deans, the faculty senate, vice presidents, and senior leaders, as well as the president, provost, and vice president of strategic planning and initiatives. Four conversation themes will drive the fall ideation phase, with the through-line values and initiatives informing the shape of the emerging ideas.

Beginning with forums early in the fall 2022 semester, the Lehigh community had access to a robust Idea Portal for real-time and asynchronous input and engagement. Weekly wrap-up messages and an event dashboard provided frequent reminders of what was happening throughout the planning process. Four themes drove the fall ideation phase and the working group discussions, with the through-line values and initiatives informing the shape of the emerging ideas.

Before formally launching the strategic planning process in fall of 2022, President Joseph Helble requested a study of the progress achieved as part of the 2009 plan to identify any lessons learned and inform our future efforts. Called Phase 0, this effort was conducted largely by members of Lehigh faculty and staff who were involved in the 2009 plan.

Four themes, identified with community input over the spring and summer of 2022, drove the fall ideation phase:

  • Education With Purpose
  • Lehigh User Experience (LUX)
  • Research for Impact
  • Smart Growth

Four working groups were charged with exploring a theme throughout the fall semester, including convening stakeholders, engaging the Lehigh community through various events and engagement opportunities, and providing updates to the Lehigh community. 

Members:

Education With Purpose- Bill Gaudelli (Co-Captain), Himanshu Jain (Goalkeeper), Sabrina Jedlicka (Co-Captain), Mike Raposa, Gregory Skutches, Andrew Ward, Mark Wilson

Lehigh User Experience (LUX)- Scott Burden (Goalkeeper), Jackie Krasas, Carolina Hernandez, Deirdre Kwiatek, Kathy Iovine (Co-Captain), Greg Reihman (Co-Captain)

Research for Impact- George DuPaul, Michael Kramp, Anand Jagota (Co-Captain), Alberto Lamadrid, Terry-Ann Jones (Co-Captain), Dominic Packer (Goalkeeper), Cynthia Kane 

Smart Growth- Beth Dolan (Co-Captain), Anne Meltzer, Leslie Gonnella (Goalkeeper), Nick Sawicki, Erin Kintzer (Co-Captain), Oliver Yao 

Through-lines were values and initiatives that were identified as being already underway and that were required to inform the emerging ideas from the working groups. 

Through-lines and champions:

Through-line champions served as advocates in ensuring those values were infused in the emerging key initiatives.

Members of the Lehigh senior leadership were joined by the theme co-captains and goalkeepers as well as the through-line champions every other week throughout the fall semester to hear the progress and provide feedback on the emerging ideas. The Advisory Council made recommendations regarding priorities and strategic initiatives for implementation.