Douglas Strange’s 32-year legacy at Lehigh Athletics

Before ever setting foot on Lehigh’s campus, Douglas Strange worked in a hospital-based physical therapy clinic, far from the world of college athletics. 

But one phone call steered his career toward a different path. 

When a former co-worker from the clinic called Strange in 1991, she told him she had the perfect job for him at Lehigh.

Strange said at the time, the co-worker was working at Lehigh under Jack Foley, associate director of athletics for sports medicine. It wasn’t long before Foley called Strange to set up an interview, flew him to the university from Florida for additional meetings and hired him to join the staff. 

In 1992, Strange was offered the job of Lehigh’s second fitness center coordinator. In this role, he said he managed the fitness center and built the fitness program from the ground up, ensuring it was safe, functional and enjoyable for students. 

He went on to work with many different parts of Lehigh, teaching health seminars, mentoring work-study students at Taylor Gym and working up the ranks of his department to become the university’s assistant athletic director.

But after 32 years at Lehigh, Strange retired this week. 

As assistant athletics director, Strange said he oversaw Lehigh’s club sports, intramurals, fitness instructional programs, the sports performance staff for athletes and other operations that go into running Taylor Gym. 

While he was working in a different field prior to joining Lehigh’s staff, he’s long been interested in exercise, fitness and athletics. 

“From my undergrad, I got out as a health phy-ed teacher, and I determined I didn’t want to teach,” Strange said. “I was really interested in movement.”

Strange got a graduate degree in exercise science from Indiana State University. There, he said, he was exposed to students’ curriculum, gained experience as a graduate assistant teacher and enjoyed working in the student-centered fitness area. 

At Lehigh, he’s witnessed evolutions to the fitness and athletic programs and offerings. 

One change he oversaw was the increasing of athletic team strengthening efforts. When he arrived at Lehigh, the only two strengthening teams were the football and wrestling teams, and his boss told him if the university wanted to be competitive, it needed to step up its game. 

Upon his arrival in Bethlehem, he said Taylor Gym also looked completely different, as it consisted of three separate gymnasiums, disconnected offices and only two treadmills. 

He said Lehigh’s fitness center was moved to Grace Hall when it underwent renovations in 1995, and it hasn’t been updated since. Envisioning a larger, more dynamic space where students can exercise and unwind from schoolwork, Strange said he hopes the fitness center can evolve with the needs of the Lehigh community. 

“My hope for the future of not only Taylor Gym but for the deserving students is that a large recreation center gets built to expand the needs of this area and put a value stamp on what we do for the community,” Strange said.

Vincent Jordan, ‘27, an employee at Taylor Gym, has worked alongside Strange for the past year and a half. 

He said Strange is dedicated to his work and is a light for students, as he’s always brainstorming ideas for more innovative fitness facilities. 

Jordan also said while Strange is always hardworking, he has a friendly and outgoing presence. 

“The first time I met him was right after I got the job, and I was nervous,” Jordan said. “Once I said hi to him, he was immediately cracking jokes and a fun person to be around.”  

In addition to being his boss, Jordan said Strange served as a mentor to many, always taking the time to get to know staff members on a deeper level and checking in with them on school work or other activities.

“During finals week, I had a six-hour shift one day, because it was the only time I could work,” Jordan said. “(Strange) insisted that I take off and leave early from work. I only ended up having to work two hours that day.” 

Though he’s excited for his next chapter, Strange said he’ll miss the students he worked with the most. A piece of advice for those entering the athletic industry, he said, is to listen, be open to growth and help people understand what your capabilities are within your roles. 

Genna Albano, assistant director of fitness and instructional programs, has witnessed Strange’s capabilities and growth first hand. 

After joining Lehigh’s athletics program in 2013, Albano met Strange for the first time. 

Albano said during their weekly management meetings, Strange was always open to new ideas, adaptive to new circumstances and attentive to others’ concerns.

She said he was particularly willing to listen and collaborate with others during the COVID pandemic, when a lot of adjustments needed to be made to university programs. Strange also said he’s had student organizations, like the Outing Club and the Weightlifting Club, come to him to express desire in collaborations, and he always tried to accommodate them.

Strange’s tenure at Lehigh, along with his years of experience, is something Albano said she will always appreciate. 

“His management style of being prudent and risk management-minded while also respecting others is admirable,” Albano said.

Albano said a memorable moment for her with Strange was when she and him ran a PreLUsion program for first-year students, which they named “Gympact.” It was just the two of them putting the program together, which was a tall order, as the program saw full participation from students.

“We felt we made a positive impact on these students’ lives as they started their journey at Lehigh,” Albano said. “He’s contributed a lot of his life to Lehigh.”