'Lehigh University' is a
private, co-educational
university located in
Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, in the
Lehigh Valley region of the
United States.
It was established in 1865 by
Asa Packer as a four-year
technical school. The university comprises over 4,600
undergraduate students, 2,000
graduate students, almost 600
professors, and almost 1,500
administrative professionals.
The university has four
colleges: the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business and Economics, and the graduate-only College of Education. The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest college, home to roughly 40% percent of the university's students.
[3]
The colleges offer a variety of degrees, including
Bachelor of Arts,
Bachelor of Science,
Master of Science,
Master of Business Administration,
Master of Engineering and
Doctor of Philosophy.
Campus
Main articles: Lehigh University Buildings
Alumni Memorial Building on the Packer campus
Lehigh encompasses 1,600
acres (6.475
km²), with 150 buildings with more than four
million square feet of floor space. It is organized into three contiguous
campuses:
★ the Asa Packer Campus, Lehigh's main campus;
★ the Mountaintop Campus, featuring an
intramural sports field as well as Iacocca Hall; and
★ the Murray H. Goodman Campus, where a 16,000-seat
stadium and other sports facilities are located.
Lehigh's main campus is built into the side of
South Mountain.
Academics
Lehigh's average class size is 25-30 students;
[4] over 80% of classes have fewer than 30 students.
[5] The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 9:1.
The 2008 edition of ''
US News & World Report's ''Best Colleges'' ranked Lehigh in its "Most Selective" admissions category and 31st in the "National Universities (Doctoral)" category.
[6] The ''
The Princeton Review'' classifies it among the "Best Northeastern Colleges."
College of Engineering and Applied Science
Students from Lehigh's Materials Science and Engineering department were chosen to assist in the analysis of debris from the
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
The 2008 edition of US News & World Report's Best Graduate Schools voted Lehigh 42nd in top engineering schools. Lehigh has been voted best engineering graduate school by US News & World Report for the last couple years as well.
Graduates of Lehigh's engineering programs invented the
escalator and founded
Packard Motor Car Company and the companies that built the locks and lockgates of the
Panama Canal.
Roger Penske of
Penske Racing is an alumnus.
Tau Beta Pi, the engineering
honors society, was founded at Lehigh.
College of Business and Economics
In 2007, ''
BusinessWeek'' ranked Lehigh's College of Business and Economics 20th in the nation among undergraduate business programs.
[7] Lehigh's accounting program is particularly strong, ranked as the 6th best undergraduate accounting program in the nation by BusinessWeek.
[8] Accounting and finance majors at Lehigh are heavily recruited by
Big Four auditors, consulting firms, and investment banks.
Most business college classes take place in the Rauch Business Center, which includes two computer labs. The Rauch Business Center also includes a financial services lab where students have access to premium investment research equipment.
College of Arts and Sciences
Based in the
Zoellner Arts Center[9], Lehigh offers a variety of performing and visual arts programs. In particular, it has many music programs, including its Marching 97
[10], the Wind Ensemble and the Philharmonic orchestra. It has a dedicated Humanities Center, which is an active center for discussions in philosophy, literature, religion studies, and other subjects.
Lehigh also has a program called ArtsLehigh
[11], oriented towards enhancing interest in the arts on campus.
The College of Education's logo:
''Bold, Connected, Innovative''
College of Education
:''College homepage: http://www.lehigh.edu/education''
The College of Education offers graduate programs in
Counseling Psychology,
Educational Leadership,
School Psychology,
Special Education, "Teaching, Learning, and Technology", and Transcultural Comparative International Education.
[12] More than 6000 students have received one of these degrees
as of 2007, with some of them going on to receive awards such as MetLife/NASSP National Middle Level Principal of the Year.
[13]
Faculty
As of 2007 Lehigh has 614 total instructional faculty, 443 of which are full-time. Over 99% of the faculty has a Ph.D. or the highest terminal degree in their field.
About three-quarters (74%) of them are male.
Faculty members are required to have a minimum of four office hours per week.
Athletics
Main articles: Lehigh Mountain Hawks
Lehigh University Mountain Hawks logo
Called the Engineers until 1995, Lehigh's teams are now officially known as the Mountain Hawks, although teams prior to 1995 may be referred to by the older title. They mostly compete in the
Patriot League as part of
NCAA's
Division I.
Lehigh competes in 25 different NCAA Division I sports. Despite the rigor of its academic programs, its 2006 student-athlete graduation rate of 97% ranks 12th among all 326 NCAA Division I institutions. In 2002, it won the inaugural ''
USA Today''/NCAA Foundation Award for having the nation's top graduation rate of all Division I institutions. Lehigh student-athletes' success on the field and in the classroom has resulted in Lehigh being one of the 20 Division I schools included in ''
U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best College Sports Programs." Lehigh graduates have gone on to professional careers in the
National Football League,
Major League Baseball,
Major League Soccer,and the
National Basketball Association as players, scouts, coaches and owners. Most known for its wrestling team, Lehigh commonly finishes above the well known big schools in the NCAA Championships. Lehigh graduates have even competed in the
Olympics and the
Super Bowl.
The Rivalry
Main articles: Lehigh-Lafayette football games (The Rivalry)
Lehigh University is notable for their rivalry in sports and academics with nearby
Lafayette College. Since
1884, the two football teams have met 142 times, making
"The Rivalry" the most played in the history of college football. It is also the longest uninterrupted rivalry in college football, with the teams playing at least once every year since
1897. The Rivalry is considered one of the best in all of college athletics and
ESPNU recently ranked The Rivalry #8 in their Top Ten College Football Rivalries. This game is sold out long before gameday each year.
Asa Packer
History
Main articles: Lehigh University History
Asa Packer named his university 'Lehigh' after his other passion, the railroad, despite suggestions from some to call it 'Packer University'. It was founded to provide a well-rounded education for young men, combining a
liberal and
scientific education with the technical skills necessary to increase the prosperity of the region. According to William Bacon Stevens, the first president of the board of trustees, Asa Packer's founding gift of $500,000 was the largest single endowment for a literary institution at that time.
From 1871 to 1891, Packer's endowment allowed the institution to offer its education free of charge by competitive exam.
[14] This, plus its blend of engineering and liberal arts, attracted some of the nation's brightest students, many of whom went on to distinguished careers in industry and engineering.
Unlike other engineering schools of the day, Lehigh was envisioned as a university instead of an "
institute of technology," offering an education that was rooted in both scientific and classical traditions as espoused by
John Amos Comenius.
Initially there were five schools: four scientific (civil engineering, mechanical engineering, mining and metallurgy, and analytical chemistry) and one of general literature. Over time, additional areas of the arts and sciences were added and engineering curricula were both merged and expanded.
Lehigh's seal
The stock market crash accompanying the
Panic of 1893 was a major financial blow to the university, since its endowment was largely invested in stocks, particularly shares of
Lehigh Valley Railroad donated by the founder.
As a consequence, Lehigh decided to drop its
Episcopal Church affiliation in 1897, allowing it to qualify for state and federal government aid.
Based on the experience of Lehigh engineers who went into industry
[15] a College of Business & Economics was added in
1910. Lehigh's business curriculum was unique
[15] in that it combined both the abstract emphasis on
Economics seen in the
Ivy League with the practical skills of management seen in more common
business administration degrees given by other universities.
A similar emphasis on the well-rounded graduate can be seen in Lehigh's approach to education degrees. Lehigh's respected School of Education started as (and remains) a solely graduate-level program. This is based
[15] on the principle that you need to learn primary subject matter well before you can learn how to teach it to others. Thus future teachers at Lehigh often take a five year program earning both a Bachelors Degree in a specialized field and a Masters Degree in Education.
Presidents of Lehigh
#
Henry Coppée (1866-1875), soldier, author, and engineer
#
John McDowell Leavitt (1875-1880), Episcopal clergyman
#
Robert Alexander Lamberton (1880-1893), lawyer
#
Thomas Messinger Drown (1895-1904), chemistry professor
#
Henry Sturgis Drinker (1905-1920), the only alumnus to serve as president
#
Charles Russ Richards (1922-1935), presided over the first graduate degrees awarded to women
#
Clement C. Williams (1935-1944), civil engineer
#
Martin Dewey Whitaker (1946-1960), who worked to develop the atomic bomb
#
Harvey A. Neville (1961-1964), the only faculty member ever elected president
#
W. Deming Lewis (1964-1982), presided over the admission of undergraduate women
#
Peter Likins (1982-1997), electrical engineer
#
William C. Hittinger (1997-1998), electrical engineer
#
Gregory C. Farrington (1998-2006), chemist
#
Alice Gast (2006-present), Lehigh's first female president, chemical engineer
Greek Life
Nearly all of Lehigh's fraternities and sororities have their own houses which are owned by the university; most of the fraternities and six of the sororities are located on the "Hill" along Upper and Lower Sayre Park Roads. The remaining two sororities are located in the Centennial complex near Rathbone Hall. Just off-campus there is one full fraternity, multiple "satellite" fraternity houses, and many sports team have residences off campus.
Fraternities
★
Alpha Epsilon Pi
★
Alpha Sigma Phi
★
Alpha Tau Omega
★
Alpha Chi Rho
★
Beta Theta Pi
★
Delta Tau Delta
★
Delta Upsilon
★
Delta Phi
★
Zeta Psi
★
Theta Xi
★
Theta Chi
★
Kappa Alpha
★
Lambda Chi Alpha
★
Sigma Alpha Mu
★
Sigma Phi Epsilon
★
Sigma Chi
★
Phi Gamma Delta
★
Phi Kappa Theta
★
Phi Sigma Kappa
★
Chi Phi
★
Chi Psi
★
Psi Upsilon
Sororities
★
Alpha Gamma Delta
★
Alpha Omicron Pi
★
Alpha Phi
★
Alpha Chi Omega
★
Gamma Phi Beta
★
Delta Gamma
★
Kappa Alpha Theta
★
Pi Beta Phi
Spirit and traditions
Lehigh students have several lasting traditions: Lehigh's school colors, brown and white, date back to 1874, and the school newspaper of the same name was first published in 1894.
Following the death of Asa Packer in May 1879, the University established "Founder's Day" to be held in October to remember and recognize those have contributed to the success of the University. The event remains an annual tradition.
Freshmen are traditionally inducted into the University in a convocation in Packer Chapel and welcomed at a Freshman-Alumni Rally where their class flag is given to them by the class from fifty years before.
Until the 1970s, freshmen wore small brown hats with their class numbers called "dinks" from the beginning of the fall semester until the Lafayette football game. The week leading up to the big game was full of festivities created to unite the students and fuel spirit. In one of these events, "The Pajama Parade," the freshmen were led across the penny toll bridge in their pajamas singing "We Pay No Tolls Tonight" to the
Moravian College dormitories where they would serenade the women. The week before the game still involves decoration of the Greek houses, a bonfire, parties, rallies and the Marching 97 performing unexpectedly during classes the Friday before the game.
While the riots to rip down the goal posts in Taylor Stadium are a thing of the past, many alumni return for the Lafayette game (which is usually sold out a month in advance) to root Lehigh on, to attend parties at their former living units, and to see old friends.
[18]
Detailed rankings
''US News & World Report''
The 2008 edition of ''Best Colleges'' from ''US News & World Report's ranked Lehigh as "Most Selective" in admissions and 31st in the "National Universities (Doctoral)" category. It ranked as follows among the 126 top-tier universities:
★ 8th in Alumni Giving.
★ 16th in Classes with fewer than 20 students.
★ 28th in Best value.
★ 30th in Retention rate.
★ 32nd in Student selectivity.
★ 32nd in Graduation rate.
★ 36th in Percentage of students in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
★ 36th in Average standardized test scores.
The magazine also included Lehigh in its "America's Best College Sports Programs" list
''BusinessWeek''
''
BusinessWeek'' ranked Lehigh's undergraduate College of Business & Economics 20th overall in the nation in 2007. The school was ranked 15th in academic quality, 8th in median starting salaries for its graduates and 6th in accounting programs.
''The Princeton Review''
The 2008 edition of the ''
The Princeton Review'' included Lehigh among its "Best Northeastern Colleges."
[19] On its scale of 60 to 99, ''Princeton Review'' scored Lehigh as:
★ Selectivity: 96
★ Academics: 89
★ Financial Aid: 88
★ Quality of Life: 69
[20]
It was also ranked in the following social life categories:
★ # 9 in the "More to do on Campus" category.
★ # 13 in the "Homogeneous Student Population" category.
Photo gallery
See also
★
List of Lehigh University alumni
Notes
1. News article from Thursday, May 31, 2007
2. Lehigh at a Glance
3. Class of 2011 Summary
4. AAO Manual FAQ p. 27
5. Did You Know
6. Lehigh University at a Glance from ''US News & World Report''.
7. BusinessWeek rankings.
8. BusinessWeek Undergrad B-School Specialty Rankings: Accounting Rankings
9. Zoellner Arts Center website
10. The Marching 97 website
11. ArtsLehigh from the Lehigh website
12. Academic Programs from Lehigh's website
13. COE Alumni page
14. An Institution is Born, A Tradition Begins
15. Looking Back; A Lehigh Scrapbook, Rita M. Plotnicki, Lehigh University, 1991
16. Looking Back; A Lehigh Scrapbook, Rita M. Plotnicki, Lehigh University, 1991
17. Looking Back; A Lehigh Scrapbook, Rita M. Plotnicki, Lehigh University, 1991
18. Looking Back; A Lehigh Scrapbook, Rita M. Plotnicki, Lehigh University, 1991
19. Princeton Review
20. Note that ''The Princeton Review'' Quality of Life and social life rankings are based on self-volunteered (not random sampled) student opinions and vary considerably from year to year.
Sources
★ ''Looking Back; A Lehigh Scrapbook'', by Rita M. Plotnicki, Lehigh University, 1991
★
Sermon in Stone Packer Memorial Church: A Historical Essay by W. Ross Yates
★
Historic Stones of Bethlehem essay project, Spring 2001
★
History of Lehigh
★
Past Presidents
★
Facts About Lehigh
External links
★
Official website
★
Official athletics website
★
Website of WLVR 91.3, Lehigh's campus radio station
★
Website of ''The Brown and White'', Lehigh's student newspaper
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