With a gift of $1 million, Kevin Kennedy ’77 has established a new fund to support Lehigh graduate students working in areas related to artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, and electrification, in a sustainable world. It will also support the recruitment of graduate students working in these fields.
“Addressing the rapid growth of AI and the corresponding demand on energy systems requires interdisciplinary research to create innovative, systemic solutions. This fund supports our graduate students as they directly tackle these pressing global challenges at the critical intersection of technology, electrification, and sustainability,” says Nathan Urban, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “We are grateful to Kevin for his example and support. AI seems likely to be the defining economic force for the next half-century, and we want to make sure that Lehigh graduate students are leading in their use of and research with these quickly developing new tools.”
Kennedy, a technology executive, investor, and board member, advises companies in industries such as electrification, data centers and AI, and semiconductors.
“I am proud to support Lehigh’s growth as a research university and destination for talented graduate students, while at the same time investing in research around AI and data centers,” he says. “It is so important to understand and support sustainable and community-friendly development in this rapidly growing and uniquely consequential area so we can be sure to invest and build in the right ways.”
Lehigh was designated a national R1 university in 2025 as a result of its rapidly growing research activity, a key focus of its Inspiring the Future Makers strategy. Graduate students make this momentum possible, driving laboratory breakthroughs, conducting field experiments, analyzing complex data, and translating emerging technology into real-world applications.
Lehigh’s research programs are well positioned to address the challenges presented by the rapid expansion of generative AI and data infrastructure, including how to scale computational capacity while mitigating the strain on local, regional, and national energy grids. Lehigh’s Institute for Data, AI, Society, and Computation studies questions involving human interaction with AI, trust, responsible and explainable AI, health, business, public policy, and the broader societal consequences of new technologies. The Center for Advancing Community Electrification Solutions, one of three University Research Centers, conducts research that will help communities meet the increasing demand on electrical grids through practical and scalable solutions developed with the people most impacted by today’s energy challenges.
By funding graduate scholars whose work spans both computing power and power grids, the Kevin Kennedy Data Center and AI Graduate Student Fund enables Lehigh to deliver comprehensive solutions that ensure technological progress does not come at the expense of environmental or community health.
In 2025, Kennedy was No. 7 in the Wall Street Journal’s ranking of 250 Most Influential and Effective Corporate Directors. He has served as a director of Digital Realty, a leading data center developer, since 2013. Kennedy is also a member of the board of directors of UL Solutions and KLA-Tencor. His experience has spanned over 17 public and private boards, including 4 private to public transitions.
Prior to this, Kennedy served as the chief executive officer, and a member of the board of directors of Avaya Inc., a global provider of real-time business collaboration and communications solutions. Before that, he was a director and chief executive officer of JDS Uniphase Corporation, a provider of optical communications products. Earlier in his career, Kennedy worked at Openwave Systems, Cisco Systems, and AT&T Bell Laboratories and was a presidential appointee to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.
Kennedy holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University and three graduate degrees from Rutgers University: a Master of Science, a Master of Philosophy, and a Doctor of Philosophy. In 2019, he helped to establish the Kennedy-Chacko Endowed Scholarship Fund.
