Presidential Search

Message shared with Lehigh community on April 26, 2021:

Dear Members of the Lehigh Community,

I am honored to share the news that the Lehigh University Board of Trustees has selected Joseph J. Helble ’82 as Lehigh’s 15th president. 

Currently provost of Dartmouth College, Joe has distinguished himself throughout his career as an exceptional leader and a respected educator, scholar and researcher. He will assume the presidency on August 16. 

Joe was identified as Lehigh’s next president through a comprehensive global search process led by our Presidential Search Committee, which began its work last September. I was pleased to serve as a member of this committee, and commend my fellow committee members for their hard work and unwavering commitment. I am deeply grateful to the committee, and particularly to committee co-chairs and Board of Trustees vice-chairs, Maria L. Chrin ’87 ’10P and Philip B. Sheibley ’81 ’19P, who worked tirelessly to ensure the selection of the right person to next lead Lehigh. 

The committee’s charge was to identify the best possible person to lead the university. Joe is that person. His impressive track record as an accomplished and forward-thinking educator made him stand out in a diverse pool of truly outstanding candidates. He is a superb choice to drive our university forward. As an alumnus, Joe’s passion for what Lehigh has meant to him personally is coupled with a deep understanding of the university’s strengths and opportunities and what makes Lehigh so special.  

Prior to becoming Dartmouth’s provost in 2018, Joe served for 13 years as dean of the Thayer School of Engineering, during which time he oversaw a record increase in the school’s research funding and a near doubling of enrollment. Before his arrival at Dartmouth, he served as professor and chair of chemical engineering at the University of Connecticut. He also spent a year in Washington, D.C., working on environmental and technology policy as the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Revelle Fellow and eight years in the private sector as a research scientist at Physical Sciences, Inc. Joe received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Lehigh in 1982 and earned his PhD in chemical engineering, with a minor in Spanish, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987. We look forward to welcoming him and his wife, Rebecca Dabora, home to Lehigh in late summer. 

Please join me in offering Joe a warm welcome. He is looking forward to meeting and getting to know all of you — our dedicated faculty, staff, students, families and alumni — in the months ahead. You can learn more about Joe on the website, including in this news story, Q&A, and video. Read sentiments expressed by his colleagues and peers here. Information about the search process can be found here. We also invite the entire Lehigh community to meet Joe during a virtual welcome reception on Monday, May 3, at 7:00 p.m. (EST). Register for the virtual reception at go.lehigh.edu/helblevirtualreception.

As we welcome Joe, I want to thank and acknowledge President John Simon for his strong leadership over the past six years. John’s accomplishments during his time as president will leave a lasting legacy. John will be stepping down on June 30. I want to thank Provost Nathan Urban for agreeing to serve as interim president until Joe joins us on August 16.

Finally, I wish to thank each of you and express my sincerest appreciation for all you continue to do to make Lehigh University a world-class residential educational institution. Lehigh’s future has never looked brighter or more exciting. Go Lehigh! 

Sincerely,

Kevin L. Clayton ’84 ’13P

Chair, Board of Trustees