Compelling Perspectives Launches
Compelling Perspectives fosters respectful discourse and engagement on issues of societal importance. Alice and Richard S. Thall ’55 ’87P ’15GP ’18GP ’19GPG, Howard D. Polsky ’73, and Karen and Mark V. Mactas ’74, and the Harmon family in memory of Elaine and John J. Harmon ’59 ’83P provided support to enrich civil discourse on campus.
The 2023–24 series focused on national security, featuring former U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to share their views on national security. The topic for the 2024–25 academic year is the role of media in contemporary society.
Lehigh Fund
The Lehigh Fund had great success in 2024:
- $4.2 million in commitments, the highest total in three years
- 6,000 donors and 732 first-timers
- 1,133 members welcomed into the Brown & White Society for gifts over $1,000 to the Lehigh Fund
- $120,000 from 411 donors for the Women of Lehigh Scholarship Fund
- Nearly $200,000 from 335 Lehigh parents for the Parents’ Fund
Giving Day + March Mania
Single challenges united to great success.
- Giving Day 2023: $728,506 from 1,664 donors
- March Mania 2023: $1,078,097 from 1,805 donors
- Giving Day + March Mania 2024: $2,183,026 from 3,801 donors
Soaring Together Scholars
Twenty-seven students joined Lehigh in 2023 and nine in 2024 as Soaring Together Scholars. The program includes a full-tuition scholarship, financial support for experiential learning programs, and connection to a supportive alumni network. Susan R. and Mark C. Stutzman ’81, Kendall B. ’84 and Kevin O’Brien, and Carole E. Rush and Richard C. Andler ’58 created three new Soaring Together Scholarships.
New Endowed Scholarships
In fiscal year 2024, institutional financial aid was provided to 55% of undergraduate students, with an average need-based award of just over $44,000. Endowed scholarships — providing permanent and ongoing resources for financial aid — are more important now than ever.
- Tim Wilmott ’80 ’81G made a $5 million gift to support engineering students from the tri-state.
- Stephanie L. and Christopher D. Hite ’89 ’20P ’24P created the Hite Family Endowed Scholarship to support varsity athletes with financial need.
- Debra Harmon ’83 and Wendy Harmon created the Elaine and John J. Harmon ’59 ’83P Endowed Scholarship Fund in honor of their mother’s passionate belief in the impact of education.
- The estate of Lillian T. Savage, who had strong ties to Lehigh through her grandfather, Charles Lewis Taylor, valedictorian of the Class of 1876, and her uncle Charles Henry Savage ’42, gifted Lehigh with almost $4 million, with half designated to a scholarship endowment.
Inductees to the 1865 Society
Donors were inducted into the 1865 Society, which recognizes cumulative giving of $1 million or more.
2022 Inductees
- Lionel P. Adda ’49 ’50G ’62G
- Katherine L. Chen ’80G and John C. Chen
- Wanda Rivera and Roy Cravzow ’61
- Cathy Engelbert ’86 ’23P
- Alissa ’22P and Joel Isaacson ’80 ’22P
- Suzanne V. and Charles F. McClurg ’59
- Tara I. Stacom ’80 and Arthur H. Diedrick
- Priscilla K. ’83P and Lawrence A. Walsky ’58 ’83P
- Kevin L. Clayton ’84 ’13P and Lisa A. Clayton ’13P were recognized as new members of the $20 million circle
2024 Inductees
- Anne R. Kline ’81 and Geoffrey P. Pohanka
- Mary T. Kush ’88
- Ann Lewnes ’83 ’22P and Greg Welch ’22P
- Lillian T. Savage
- Pam Sebastian ’96P and John Sebastian ’96P
- Mark C. Stutzman ’81
- Deborah J. White and Clifford A. White ’82
Clayton University Center at Packer Hall
Restored to its original grandeur and reinvented into a vibrant space that fosters collaboration and community among students, the renovated Clayton University Center at Packer Hall, launched by a leadership gift from Kevin L. Clayton ’84 ’13P and Lisa A. Clayton ’13P, will serve as a revitalized crossroads at the heart of campus and include a fire pit, new dining options, and a pub-style restaurant.
Clayton University Center Support
Momentum builds in support of the heart of campus. These 2023 & 2024 fiscal year donors made gifts to specific spaces.
- Judy and Donald M. Gruhn ’49
- Jim ’73 and Michelle Duane ’04P ’06P ’06PG
- Valerie Smith Hirsch ’83 ’10P and Thomas E. Hirsch III ’75 ’10P
- Debra Harmon ’83 and Wendy Harmon in memory of Elaine and John J. Harmon ’59 ’83P
- Mary Beth Tully ’84 ’21P ’21P
- Bill Glaser ’84 ’89G
- Peter ’84 ’18P, Toni ’18P, and Juliana ’18 DeMaria
- Michael ’28P and Catherine ’87 ’28P Hovey, daughter of the late Ralph J. Jaccodine ’87P, a professor of solid-state studies in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science
- Sarat Sethi ’92
- Hal ’02 and Erin ’02 Rechler
- Andrew Glancy ’07
