President's Address for Our Lehigh Tour

Friday, October 30, 2015

Presentation to alumni during the fall 2015 Our Lehigh tour: New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Pittsburgh

Good evening. It is wonderful to be here tonight with you as part of the “Our Lehigh” tour. There is an amazing amount of energy in the room tonight. I have enjoyed listening to memories of your Lehigh experiences and aspirations for Lehigh’s future. You are fiercely passionate supporters of Lehigh University. These events attract members of the university alumni spanning 60 years, a large fraction of Lehigh’s history, and tonight is no exception.

I want to tell you about my commute. I live in the President’s House, and the trip door to door is just over 100 steps and takes about 2 minutes. But this is not just your ordinary commute and it often takes me longer than it should. Every day I have the opportunity to walk by the statue of Asa Packer and travel through Leadership Plaza. I often stop and gaze upon the names and years etched in those stone benches. Doing so grounds me in understanding that the excellence Lehigh stands for today is due to the founding vision of Asa Packer and the generous and loyal alumni who have supported the institution over the past 150 years.

To make great things happen requires taking risk, moving out of our comfort zone. We ask our students to do this. As a great university, we have to do the same. And alumni can and do provide great examples of this. Let me tell you two such stories.

This past February, I was in L.A. on business and Joe Kender suggested we visit Lee Iacocca to present him with the 2015 Alumni Award. Words cannot adequately describe my visit. I was in the presence of one of our great alumni, an icon of American business, an innovative and inspirational leader whose imprint on American manufacturing is legend. How can one describe meeting the leader who brought the Ford Mustang into reality (the coolest car of my generation!)? In my new role as president, I am inspired and guided by one of his many quotes:

“Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then … do something. Don’t just stand there, make it happen.”

I think Mr. Iacocca captures what all Lehigh alumni do – you make things happen. Mr. Iacocca certainly led this way, and when it comes to his relationship with Lehigh, he still leads this way. I want to talk about how he “made it happen” at Lehigh. A decade ago, in 2005, people like Tom Friedman were stressing a need to think differently in order to remain competitive in a global market where historical and geographical divisions are becoming increasingly irrelevant (or, in Friedman’s words – the world is flat). At this same time, Lehigh realized that in order to best position our graduates to succeed in the global arena, we needed to do more to enhance their global competencies.

Responding to these global changes, and to the university’s desire to prepare students to work in the world, Mr. Iacocca took the risk on our vision: In 2011 he generously donated a matching grant to establish an international internship program, creating a cutting-edge program that offered undergraduates access to a broad range of work opportunities in foreign countries. Today, 4 years later, our vision is reality; we all worked together to “make it happen.” This past summer we sent nearly 100 interns abroad to all corners of the globe. The Iacocca International Internship Program positions graduates for leadership in the global marketplace. It also serves to advance global leadership as a hallmark of a Lehigh education.

I recently invited the Iacocca interns to the President’s House for pizza. I had the opportunity to hear their stories, their experiences around the world, working in India, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Czech Republic, Singapore, Japan, Uganda …. Mr. Iacocca would be the first to say the most important measure of success is the impact this program has on the lives of the students. My discussions with these interns proved to me that their experiences do change their lives, and this is just one example of how we make that happen and do it exceptionally well.

My second story also focuses on alumni who are taking a risk with the university, and who have helped shape a vision for what is happening on top of South Mountain. In the former Bethlehem Steel research buildings on the Mountaintop, we are pushing the boundaries of higher education once again by creating what I like to call an incubator for innovation in higher education. Two of our alums, Scott Belair and Dick Hayne, founders of Urban Outfitters, took a risk to support our vision for changing how education connects theory to practice before all the details were worked out. These buildings house interdisciplinary teams of students, in partnership with our passionate faculty, creating new knowledge and ways to approach real-world problems. Not only are the students learning to define projects and pull from the knowledge in multiple disciplines to create new insights and new devices, but the faculty are learning how best to foster an environment that encourages and supports such creativity and entrepreneurship. Recently, there was a great article about the Mountaintop experience in the Washington Post. I’ve spent quite a bit of time at Mountaintop and am truly inspired by the student engagement, by the deep practical learning, and by the understanding that going from ideas to impact requires iteration, reflection, and the willingness to engage ideas from multiple disciplines. Similar excellence is on display in classrooms and laboratories throughout campus.

I think it is important to note that this learning, this growth, this ongoing evolution of our students as they move toward maturity, doesn’t end in the classroom. It’s woven into everything they do at Lehigh, and is guided with intention, and with a conviction that draws meaning from these varied experiences.

The Iacocca International Internships and the Mountaintop initiative that I have mentioned are just two examples of the many ways Lehigh continues to innovate, to take risks, and to lead. They are also examples where alumni partnered with us in taking that risk to forge a better university. One of the most rewarding aspects of joining Lehigh has been the opportunity to meet with alumni, so many of whom are leading interesting lives. You see, when alumni leaders partner with the university community, great things happen. I saw this at Duke, I saw this at UVA, and I’m seeing this at Lehigh.

I am truly enjoying Lehigh athletics, and as my Instagram will show, I attend many games. It was an amazing experience to attend the 150th events in New York City and the game at Yankee Stadium last year. This summer I read The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. For those of you who have not read it – you should – the book tells the story of Joe Rantz and the University of Washington’s nine-member rowing team and their path to the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Their coach, Al Ulbrickson, when asked about his team’s success, said this: “Every man in the boat had absolute confidence in every one of his mates … why they won cannot be attributed to individuals … heartfelt cooperation … was responsible for the victory.” This book was my introduction to the rowing concept of “swing,” which was put into words by George Pocock (the leading designer and builder of racing shells in the 20th century, whose philosophy of rowing inspired countless oarsmen and coaches): “When you get the rhythm in an eight, it’s pure pleasure to be in it. It’s not hard work when the rhythm comes – that ‘swing’ as they call it. I’ve heard men shriek out with delight when that swing came in an eight, it’s a thing they’ll never forget as long as they live.” That’s what I envision, that’s the way I see the Lehigh team performing. And who is on the Lehigh team? Faculty, students, staff, parents, administrators, trustees, and YOU. Our team covers a wide range of talents, abilities, and knowledge. And when a great team works together, anything is possible.

If you could have joined me for my onboarding experience this past spring, if you could have been at my side watching, listening, and talking to Lehigh faculty, staff, and students, you would feel like I do.

I am inspired by what we are doing, what we believe we can do, and where we want to go. Two weeks ago, I was installed as president during the Founder’s Day ceremony. This was a great event, revealing once again the strong sense of community at Lehigh and the commitment of our trustees to assure that our future is bright. Preparing for my speech that day gave me the opportunity to read about Lehigh’s history, the changes it has undergone as an institution over the past 150 years, and most importantly, an opportunity to learn our institutional values and our commitment to excellence. Specifically:

  • We are committed to our students at all levels, and we aspire to deliver the best in education in an inclusive community that respects differences, encourages collaboration and teamwork, and supports each individual as they find their voice and excel to their maximum potential.
  • We are committed to our faculty and staff – to hiring and retaining outstanding educators in order to create the learning environment that we desire and our students deserve. And we must realize it is a highly competitive landscape today for hiring and retaining excellent faculty and staff.
  • We are committed to providing distinctive excellence in our curriculum, in how we teach, in how we facilitate student learning. We are committed to new areas of knowledge and to providing the educational opportunities for our students here and around the globe, in fields that will serve them well in the 21st century.
  • We are committed to innovating our educational model. Lehigh continues to excel in this area (the excellent and distinctive interdisciplinary programs such as IBE, IDEAS, and the Baker Institute serve as examples), and our activities on the Mountaintop are setting the foundation for our future leadership in educational innovation. We do “interdisciplinary” well. Others claim to do it, but we do it better than anywhere I have worked. We make it happen.
  • We are committed to our community and to service to our community. I am working with the South Bethlehem community through its government, schools, and businesses, and we are reaching out to community organizations to improve the quality of life for everyone in the area.
  • And we are committed to our alumni, in the ways we engage you in our educational efforts. Do not underestimate your impact. Alumni inspire our students by showing them the opportunities and careers they can achieve through their Lehigh education – and by effectively leveraging the investments our alumni make in Lehigh’s future. All gifts (time and philanthropy) to Lehigh are investments in the quality, value, and reputation of every degree, and they help support the development of our students who will become the leaders of tomorrow.

I am honored to have this opportunity to lead Lehigh in making it happen, to assuring our continued commitment to these principles, to follow in the footsteps of Asa Packer, to exceed the expectations of those many individuals etched in the benches on Leadership Plaza. To achieve our full potential, I ask each of you to consider how you will partner with Lehigh, how you will help us to “make it happen”: by coming back to campus to interact with the students; by attending events and then telling your friends, colleagues, fellow alums, and prospective students about the exciting things taking place here; by showing up for Moov-In, by providing internships and externships and career advice to current Lehigh students; and by making Lehigh one of the primary beneficiaries of your charitable investments. I say again: Don’t underestimate the impact you can have on today’s students – you are their inspiration. You demonstrate what is possible through earning a Lehigh degree. These are all important ways one can participate actively in the inspiring work of the university, making the Lehigh experience and a Lehigh degree ever more distinctive.

I have been fortunate in my career to spend many years at several great institutions. I recently left the public sector, where there are urgent issues, where thinking is short-term and the crystal ball murky. Unlike many schools, we do not have a crisis on our hands. On the contrary, Lehigh has a solid foundation, loyal and passionate alumni, and dedicated staff and faculty. While we would be fine if we simply kept doing what we’re doing, I don’t think anyone in this room aspires to be “fine.” I challenge us to be great – by both deepening our efforts in core areas that define Lehigh AND by moving into new frontiers that will further enhance our university in the years to come.  

The people I have met at Lehigh, the ideas and aspirations for its future that I hear from the university’s leadership and faculty and friends, confirm why I chose to join the Lehigh family. I see opportunities here that I do not see at other institutions, and I believe we have the right people in place to make great things happen. Together, we will work to find our “swing.” It was and is with great excitement and optimism that I accepted the challenge to lead this great institution. Now, I invite you to join me.