From students to professors: Faculty members discuss changes at Lehigh

A few students may recognize professors Loren Keim, Kashi Johnson and Jackie Krasas from lectures, but it is not common knowledge that they once sat in those same halls only years ago.

Keim, ‘88, Johnson, ’94, and Krasas, ’87, all attended Lehigh for their undergraduate years and had different experiences. However, they all agreed Lehigh is constantly transforming and has changed over their tenure here.

Now with the Path to Prominence, change has been topic of discussion across campus.

“Our goal in teaching has morphed into, instead of being overly hard on students, we get everybody to the point where they can do well,” Keim said. “I think some of the classes used to be harder than they are now.”

Johnson mentioned one of the big changes when she was a senior was the transitioning of student mailboxes. Originally, they were located where Starbucks now sits in Upper Court. They were then moved to Grace Hall.

“Two years from now, no one’s gonna know where the mailboxes used to be, and you will have been graduated by then,” Johnson said.

Johnson said growing pains are always rough, but change doesn’t come easily. She said the campus vision is constantly evolving, and that is always a big change.

“Lehigh is a very different place,” Krasas said. “The hills feel bigger. The bottom part of campus is a striking difference when you step out for a while and return.”

Despite many campus changes, new opportunities are what brought the three professors back to Lehigh.

“I started teaching here partly to give back because the person who was the department head at the time asked me to come back and teach,” Keim said.

Krasas agreed that she, too, came back due to a job opening. Johnson said she saw an opportunity for a visiting artist to come to Lehigh and play ‘Mama’ from the play, “A Raisin in the Sun.”

Although opportunity was a driving force, it was not the only reason they came back to Lehigh as faculty members. Each professor had something that they loved about Lehigh, making the opportunity appealing to them.

“No matter how rough your day is, you can always look and realize that Lehigh is such a beautiful place,” Krasas said. “I can still reflect back and say one of the things I love most about Lehigh was being able to connect with professors.”

Krasas said Lehigh taught him to have an intellectual curiosity, while Keim cited a lesson he learned that students need to apply themselves and do what’s required of them in order to succeed.

“I get to do what I love,” Johnson said, “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”