Lehigh released the 2023 Strategic Plan, “Inspiring the Future Makers.” In an email sent Tuesday to the campus community, University President Joseph Heble introduced the plan, which will guide Lehigh students, faculty and staff over the next 10 years.
About 76,000 Lehigh community members, including alumni and families, were surveyed as part of the planning process.
The process, named “Our Future, Our Lehigh,” ultimately involved 2,444 perspectives in 105 in-person or virtual engagement sessions, over five months, including four categorical “working” groups. This produced nearly 350 ideas and 1,000 comments.
The plan and website explain an updated vision, goals, initiatives and impact.
Three overarching goals are outlined: make it new, make a difference, and make it together. These topics emphasize innovation, interdisciplinary study and research, external partnerships, community impact, internal equity and inclusion, and global perspectives.
Two kinds of initiatives are laid out to achieve the goals: key, which define specific actions to support goal achievement, and foundational, which keep infrastructure and values in place during growth.
The initiatives include investing in interdisciplinary education and research development, classroom innovation, external local connections, post-graduate and graduate programs, welcoming environments, efficient university processes, data collection and analysis, and specifically the Mountaintop Campus. These are subject to change over time as needed.
According to the website, the university “will remain nimble to respond to changes and adjust our actions as needed while recognizing that in many areas sustained focus and effort will be needed to achieve our goals.”
The plan also introduces a dashboard to measure the university’s progress toward achieving each goal.
“In the fall, I look forward to discussing together the implementation of our plan and the ways in which our goals will come to fruition,” Helble wrote in the email.
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