Lehigh University facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Lehigh University

Motto	Homo minister et interpres naturae (Latin)
Motto in English	"Man, the servant and interpreter of nature"
Type	Private research university
Established	July 27, 1865; 159 years ago (1865-07-27)
Founder	Asa Packer
Accreditation	MSCHE
Religious affiliation	Nonsectarian; historically Episcopal Church
Academic affiliations	NAICU ORAU Space-grant
Endowment	$1.37 billion (2020)
President	Joseph J. Helble
Provost	Nathan Urban
Academic staff	540 (full-time)
Administrative staff	1,196
Students	6,953
Undergraduates	5,178
Postgraduates	1,775
Location	Bethlehem , Pennsylvania , United States
Campus	Small city, 2,350 acres (950 ha)
Newspaper	The Brown and White
Colors	Brown and white
Nickname	Mountain Hawks
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I FCS – Patriot League EIWA MARC
Mascot	Clutch the Mountain Hawk

Lehigh University's "Commercial Seal." In December of 2001 the university attempted to make this the official seal, however, backtracked due to alumni opposition

Lehigh University (often called LU) is a private research university. It is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the eastern part of Pennsylvania. A businessman named Asa Packer started the university in 1865. It was first connected to the Episcopal Church.

Since the 1971–72 school year, both boys and girls have been able to attend Lehigh University. As of 2019, about 5,047 undergraduate students and 1,802 graduate students studied there.

Lehigh has five main schools, called colleges. These are the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business, the College of Education, and the College of Health. The College of Arts and Sciences is the biggest, with 35% of all students. The university offers many types of degrees, from bachelor's to doctorates.

Lehigh is known as a "Doctoral University R2." This means it does a lot of research and offers many advanced degrees.

Campus

An illustrated postcard of Lehigh University's campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1907

Alumni Memorial Building in November 2019

Lehigh University is in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This area is known as the Lehigh Valley. It's about 70-mile (110 km) from Philadelphia and 85-mile (137 km) from New York City.

The university covers a large area of 2,350 acres (9.5 km²). This includes 180 acres (0.73 km²) of sports fields. There are also 150 buildings on campus.

Lehigh has three connected campuses. They are all on or near South Mountain:

• The Asa Packer Campus is the first and main campus. It is built on the northern side of the mountain.
• The Mountaintop Campus is at the top of South Mountain. It has sports fields and Iacocca Hall.
• The Murray H. Goodman Campus is just south of the others. It has a large stadium and other sports places.

In 2012, Lehigh received a gift of 755 acres of land. This gift came from the Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation. This land helped the university grow to its current size. It also allows for future plans for the university.

Admissions

For the Class of 2027, Lehigh received 18,414 applications. They accepted 5,246 students. This means about 28% of students who applied were accepted.

Rankings

Lehigh University is often ranked among the best universities. U.S. News & World Report ranked Lehigh tied for 47th among "National Universities" in 2024. They also ranked it 26th for "Best Undergraduate Teaching."

In 2015, The Economist magazine ranked Lehigh seventh. This ranking looked at how much money alumni earned after graduation. In 2024, The Wall Street Journal ranked Lehigh as the 14th-best overall U.S. college.

Lehigh also won an award for sustainability in 2020. This was for its work on the Solar Collaboration Project.

Academics

Sayre Observatory, an 1896 donation to the university

Iacocca Hall, named in honor of Lehigh University alumnus Lee Iacocca

The university's Packard Laboratory in November 2015

Williams Hall in November 2019

As of 2019, Lehigh has 540 full-time teachers. About 95% of them have a doctorate or the highest degree in their field. Teachers must hold at least four office hours each week.

Lehigh's average class size is 28 students. The ratio of students to teachers is 9:1. This means there are 9 students for every 1 teacher.

Students can take classes or major in subjects from any college. The university uses a semester system. This means the school year is divided into two main parts.

P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science

Students from Lehigh's engineering programs have made important inventions. They invented the escalator and started the Packard Motor Car Company. They also built the locks for the Panama Canal.

Famous alumni from this college include Roger Penske and Lee Iacocca. The engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi, was founded at Lehigh.

College of Business

Lehigh started offering business and economics classes in 1893. The College of Business Administration officially opened in 1918. It was one of the first business schools in the country.

The first professor of economics, John L. Stewart, helped create the college. He designed the first courses and taught many of them. In 1909, Lehigh offered its first degree in business management.

By the 1930s, the college had about 10 professors and 350 students. In 1938, it received special accreditation. This helped student numbers grow.

In 2018, U.S. News & World Report ranked Lehigh's part-time MBA program 20th in the nation. In 2012, BusinessWeek ranked Lehigh's undergraduate business program 31st. They also ranked its finance program 7th and accounting program 21st.

College of Arts and Sciences

This college is located in Maginnes Hall. It offers many courses in humanities and visual arts. It also has many music programs, like a marching band and an orchestra.

The Humanities Center hosts many literature and arts programs. Lehigh also has a program called ArtsLehigh. This program helps students get more interested in the arts.

College of Education

As of 2018, more than 7,000 students have earned degrees from Lehigh's College of Education. These degrees include master's, education specialist, and doctoral degrees. The college also helps students get teaching certificates.

College of Health

Lehigh's College of Health teaches about public health. Classes include biostatistics and epidemiology. This college opened on August 21, 2020.

It was the first in the world to offer degrees in population health. These degrees are for undergraduate, graduate, and executive students. The college is in the Health, Science, and Technology (HST) building.

Administration

Board of Trustees

Lehigh University is a private school. It is managed by its board of trustees. This board was created in 1866. The board must have between 18 and 35 members.

The board chooses the university president. They also choose the vice presidents. These leaders help the board run the university.

Presidents

Student Governance

In 1988, students created a student senate. This group helps govern undergraduate students. It can suggest ideas to the university's board.

The student senate decides which clubs get money. It also decides which clubs are official university clubs. There is a separate student senate for graduate students. This group helps graduate students with grants and travel costs.

Athletics

The Lafayette–Lehigh most valuable player trophy plaque prior to the 144th meeting of The Rivalry in 2009; the series between the two colleges, which are 17 miles (27 km) away from each other in the Lehigh Valley, is the most-played rivalry in college football history with 158 meetings since 1884.

Philadelphia Eagles training camp at Lehigh in August 2009

Goodman Stadium at Lehigh in October 2007

Lehigh is part of the Patriot League. It competes in 25 different NCAA Division I sports. In 2006, 97% of Lehigh student-athletes graduated. This was one of the highest rates among all Division I schools.

Lehigh graduates have become professional athletes. They have played in the National Football League and Major League Baseball. Some have also won gold medals at the Olympic Games.

Basketball

Lehigh's men's basketball team made history in 2012. They played in the NCAA tournament. As a #15 seed, they beat the #2 seed Duke Blue Devils 75-70. This was a big upset in college basketball.

Football

Lehigh University and Lafayette College have a big sports rivalry. Their football teams have played over 150 times since 1884. This makes their game, known as The Rivalry, the most played in college football history.

The rivalry is also the longest without a break. The teams have played every year since 1897. For their 150th game, they played in a sold-out Yankee Stadium.

Wrestling

Lehigh's wrestling team is very famous. It started in 1910. The team has had 158 All-Americans. Many of their teams have ranked in the Top 20 nationally.

Their home matches are held in Leeman-Turner Arena. It is also known as "The Snake Pit." This has been the home of Lehigh wrestling since 1942.

In 2017, Darian Cruz won the NCAA Division I national wrestling tournament. He was the first Lehigh national champion since 2011.

Fraternities and Sororities

Many of Lehigh's social fraternities and sororities have their own houses. Most of these houses are on "The Hill." This area is along Upper and Lower Sayre Park Roads.

Lehigh has a high number of students in fraternities and sororities. About 34% of undergraduate students are members. During new member education, this number goes up to almost 45%.

There are 13 fraternities and eight sororities. All of them have houses on campus. In the mid-1980s, Lehigh had 36 fraternities. Many of these groups were later disbanded. Some of their old houses became sorority houses.

Student Traditions, Newspaper

Lehigh students have many long-standing traditions. The school colors, brown and white, have been used since 1874. The school newspaper, The Brown and White, has been published since 1894.

The football game against Lafayette is a big event. The week before the game is full of traditions. Students decorate fraternity houses and have parties. The Marching 97 band often performs unexpectedly during classes.

Notable People

Alumni

List of Lehigh University alumni Many famous people have graduated from Lehigh University. Some of them include:

• Pongpol Adireksarn, a former deputy prime minister of Thailand
• Ali Al-Naimi, a former oil minister of Saudi Arabia
• Martin Baron, former editor of The Washington Post
• Stephen J. Benkovic, a chemist and National Medal of Science winner
• Stacey Cunningham, the 67th president of the New York Stock Exchange
• Charlie Dent, a former U.S. Representative
• Cathy Engelbert, the commissioner of the WNBA
• Terry Hart, a NASA astronaut
• Lee Iacocca, former CEO of Chrysler
• CJ McCollum, a professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans
• Joe Morgenstern, a film critic and Pulitzer Prize winner
• James Ward Packard, who founded Packard Motor Car Company
• Roger Penske, who founded Penske Corporation
• Jesse W. Reno, who invented the escalator
• Stephanie Ruhle, an MSNBC journalist
• Michael Smerconish, a SiriusXM radio host
• Wendell Weeks, CEO of Corning Inc

Faculty

Lehigh has also had many notable teachers. Some of them are:

• Sirry Alang, a professor of sociology
• Michael Behe, a professor of biochemistry
• Dan M. Frangopol, a professor of structural engineering
• Terry Hart, a professor of mechanical engineering and former NASA astronaut
• Elsa Reichmanis, a professor of chemical engineering
• Stephanie Powell Watts, a professor of English and award-winning author

See also

In Spanish: Universidad de Lehigh para niños

• Lehigh University Press