Professors play many roles in a student’s higher education experience. Teacher, mentor, leader, or even friend. Lehigh is delighted to offer the very best minds to its students with no one professor standing out as “favorite.”
We posed the question to our alumni community on social media and quickly learned that many couldn’t choose just one “most” impactful professor.
“I can't list just one,” says Douglas Pitney ’80. “In no particular order and embedded in my Lehigh DNA: J.O. Liebig Jr. ’40 ’49G, David Amidon, J. Richard Aronson, Anne-Marie Anderson, and [retired campus police chief] Eugene Dax.”
LuAnn McCracken Fletcher ’83 ’85G commented, “Many in the English department, but two in particular: Albert (Al) Hartung ’47 ’49G ’57G and Barbara Traister. They inspired me to be the college professor I became. Respect!”
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Professors by College
Richard (Rick) Matthews, Political Science
“He taught me so much. How to think critically and opened my eyes to a lot. I have vivid memories of his classes to this day. He had a profound and lasting effect on my life. What I wouldn’t give to converse with him about the current state of affairs.” — Nicole Kieler Fegley ’98 ’00G
Judith Lasker, Sociology, Anthropology, and Health, Medicine, and Society
“Dr. [Judith] Lasker introduced me to the field of public health — she has had an everlasting impact on my life and career!” — Nishika Vidanage-Lulejian ’07 ’09G
Steven Sametz, Music Department/Choral Arts
“Who knew as an undergrad that singing in a choir would make us better business leaders? Happy retirement, Doc, and thank you.” — Annie Tronoski ’92
Saul Barber, Biological Sciences
“His course in cellular physiology was fascinating. His exams taught me how to construct a clear, concise answer to an open-ended essay question. This served me well in the rest of my academic career and in both my subsequent military and civilian careers.” — Bob Forrest ’78
Bob Harson, English
“He taught me how to take literature seriously by not taking myself too seriously.” — Steve Nazarian ’91
Mari Hayashi, Modern Languages and Literatures
“She helped me so much with learning how to study and looked out for me in the weed-out semester of my major, even though I was just a random engineering student, not even in the anime club, just taking Japanese classes to fulfill my humanities depth. [ … ] I hope she knows how much her concern meant to me and that I did eventually get a master’s degree.” — Francesca Pellegrino ’11
Heather Beth Johnson, Sociology
“Was and continues to be the most significant influence in my college experience and professional development. I have deep gratitude for the opportunity to study with her.” — Sara S. ’02 ’03G
Nicholas Balabkins, Economics
“Latvian-born Nicholas Balabkins, WWII survivor and professor of economics. He taught a class on comparative economic systems. Just to meet a man like that left a lasting impression on me. He passed just last year. An indomitable spirit. Thank you, Professor Balabkins.” — Richard Sherman ’89
Glenn J. Christensen, English (College of Arts and Sciences dean, 1956–1961)
“Prof. Glenn J. Christensen (d. 1908–1988). He was the living embodiment of education reform long before it became fashionable.” — Art Murray ’75
Richard (Rich) Aronson, Economics — Creator/Former Director of Martindale Center
“Eco 1 in my first semester freshman year set the tone for the rest of my time at Lehigh.” — Susan Schmider Galletti ’79
Ken Sinclair ’06P, Accounting
“He was my favorite. Even though I left accounting to become an orthodontist, I always think of him fondly.” — Jean Seibold McGill ’83
Jim Greenleaf ’66G ’93P, Finance
“Having people with real-world experience in their field share their knowledge was impactful.” — Walter Hoehler ’90
Todd Watkins, Economics
“Never officially took Prof. [Todd] Watkins’ economics classes, but during the Martindale program, I learned the most from how he modeled genuine curiosity, scholarly wit, fatherly warmth, and a constant sense of humor.” — Adrian Suarez ’22
Floyd Beachum, Educational Leadership
“Transformative. Honestly, though, my journey was also impacted by others whom I must name: Kathleen Hutnik ’84 (grad student life) and Yvonne Lee (grad student writing director).” — Kadia Hylton-Fraser ’22G
“Dr. [Floyd] Beachum truly possesses a unique way of caring for each of his students’ success while improving education as a whole by advocating for the unique needs in our schools.” — Robert Steckel ’20G
Diane Flisser, School Counseling
“The most impactful for me in the school counseling program was Dr. Diane Flisser, aka Dr. Di. Just a fabulous all-around person and taught very fruitful courses.” — Katrina Durrwachter '23G
Christine Cole, School Psychology; Linda Bambara, Special Education; and Diane Browder, Special Education
“I had many talented professors that made an impact on my Lehigh education. As I transitioned from undergrad to the College of Education, there were three professors that I am still grateful for the opportunity to learn from: Dr. Christine Cole, Dr. Linda Bambara, and Dr. Diane Browder. Their guidance, support, and leadership helped me to build the foundations of my career today.” — Tara Levinson '96 '98G '05G
Craig Hochbein, Educational Leadership
“Dr. [Craig] Hochbein improved my leadership by causing me to think differently, question the status quo, and continually look for improvement opportunities.” — Robert Steckel ’20G
Laura Burke, Industrial Engineering
“I did undergraduate research for her with neural networks. She was brilliant, kind, and a wonderful mentor.” — Charleen Heyn ’93
Richard (Rick) Vinci, Materials Science and Engineering
In 2019, a teaching award was named in honor of Richard Vinci, who died in March 2019 after a three-year battle with ALS.
“I can say with certainty that he had a profound impact on my ’12 MatSci group. It was gut-wrenching when we heard the news.” — Ryan Feuerbach ’12
“Professor Richard Vinci... brilliant, inspiring, and so dearly missed” — Laura Moyer ’99 ’02G ’06G ’28P
“He was a delight and he is missed!” — Rebecca Bay ’14
Wally Richardson, Industrial and Systems Engineering
“I still quote him today, decades later. I can't say I got him while I was there, but as a practicing industrial engineer, his teaching was right on the mark.” — Steven Sturgis ’76 ’77G
“Wally Richardson for his truly real-world approach to teaching.” — David Schwartz ’88 ’20P
Arup SenGupta, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
“Changed my life and made me a better person.” — Lee Blaney ’05 ’07G
Carl Holzinger ’56 ’57G ’63G, Electrical and Computer Engineering
“Taught us how to think as engineers, not just to learn the course material he was teaching us (effectively, too!), so that we would be ready for any technical problem we’d ever encounter.” — Stu Labovitz ’85
H. Robert (Gus) Gustafson ’74, Enterprise Systems Center
“Hands down, Robert Gustafson. Leadership principles and life lessons that have made an impact both professionally and personally.” — Peter Gibbs ’15
Sean Daley, Indigenous Health
“He always listened to students and provided comfort and reassurance that everything would work out with classes and finding jobs/internships. He taught me the importance of advocating for populations that needed a voice.” — Dakota Feldman '24
Fathima Wakeel, Maternal and Child Health
“She is extremely knowledgeable on population health and maternal and child health. Her passion and teaching skills have left a remarkable impact on me during my time at Lehigh, and she continues to be a strong support system for me and my classmates. — Esha Soni '24
