News

Lehigh student Ryan Javier '26 has been selected as a 2023 Frederick Douglass Global Fellow, a prestigious program that will take him to Cape Town, Dublin and Washington D.C. this summer as part of a study of social justice leadership. Javier is one of 12 students of color selected for this opportunity, from institutions such as Arizona State University, Georgetown University, Howard University, Purdue University, Stanford University and more. The Fellows, chosen for their demonstrated...

The Marcon Institute, established at Lehigh in 2022, is dedicated to research and study that influences perspectives, practices and policies on racial justice. The Institute's inaugural Radical Love Conference, based on the works of bell hooks, had the theme of "Radical Love Ascending" and focused on showcasing Lehigh's commitment to antiracism. Events included panel discussions, a screening of a bell hooks documentary, art viewing, poetry readings, zine making, and more. Attendees included all members of...

Lehigh staff volunteers took part in the national MLK Day of Service, observed officially on campus for the first time this year. Lehigh volunteers were spotted at the Miller Blood Center, Gress Mountain Ranch, the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, New Bethany Ministries, and other locations in and outside of Bethlehem. Nationally, the MLK Day of Service encourages people to volunteer in any capacity to better their communities, in honor of the late Rev. Dr...

The results of the 2022 Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Diversity and Equity campus climate survey are in, showing little change from the last survey in 2020. Lehigh first participated in the HEDS Survey in 2020 as part of continuing efforts to foster a diverse and equitable campus community. The 2020 results served as an initial baseline for the campus climate, and the survey is readministered every two years to show a snapshot over time...

Forty years ago, Lehigh's first Hillel House opened on Summit Street, offering a warm, inviting space to the university's Jewish community. Over the years, the warm welcome never waned, but the space became too small to host all of the students who wanted to be involved in the activities offered there by the student-led Hillel Society and the Office of Jewish Student Life. During Founder's Weekend, a new Jewish Student Center was dedicated a few...

Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times staff writer and creator of "The 1619 Project" spoke to an audience at Baker Hall at the Zoellner Arts Center on Lehigh's campus about the backlash against her work and what that means for the United States. The project, named for the year the first enslaved Africans arrived in America, was published in The New York Times Magazine to coincide with the 400th anniversary of first slave ship's arrival. Later...

Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement, reflected on the upcoming five-year anniversary of the hashtag going viral on social media while delivering the 42nd Tresolini Lecture on Lehigh's campus. Though Burke had first used the phrase "Me Too" back in 2006, it went viral in October of 2017 when actress Alyssa Milano sent a tweet following revelations about film producer Harvey Weinstein. Milano encouraged those who'd been harassed or assaulted to share their stories...

Lehigh has been recognized by Insight into DIversity Magazine as a receipient of the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for a fourth consecutive year. Insight Into Diversity is the largest and oldest publication dedicated to diversity issues in higher education in the United States, and the HEED Award is the only national honor recognizing institutions' commitment to diversity and inclusion. “Though we still have work to do, this recognition validates our efforts as...

A recent gift made by Linda Kagan Horowitz '86 '18P '19PG '21P and Seth Horowitz '18P '19PG and '21P will support the Office of Jewish Student Life and the student-run Hillel Society, both of which are headquartered in the Jewish Student Center (JSC) on Packer Ave. These two organizations offer students opportunities to learn leadership and cooperation skills while promoting Jewish values and developing lasting friendships. “Campus diversity is important for students, and Judaism is...

Dr. Donald Outing, vice president for equity and community, hosted the first of a planned series of town halls to explain the creation of the Diversity, Inclusion & Equity (DI&E) Strategic Plan, discuss how the university will evaluate progress and answer community questions about the process. “An important part of this effort was to ensure that we were creating a plan where we could create the environment where all members of our community felt welcomed...