SPRING 2024 Lehigh Ventures Lab Helps Entrepreneurs Grow Ideas page 36 page 12 Five Arts Professors ‘Take a Bow’ page 23 A Trip to the Arctic Secret Rooms and Artifacts The renovation at the Clayton University Center at Packer Hall yields surprises. page 24 Lehigh ALUMNI BULLETIN
Nematostella vectensis, also known as the starlet sea anemone. New research from the Layden Lab at Lehigh has demonstrated the human brain shares a blueprint with much simpler creatures, such as sea anemones. Photo by Christa Neu.
CONTENTS ON THE COVER: During renovations of the Clayton University Center at Packer Hall, workers found sealed up areas with wall etchings, fossils and items left behind decades ago by students. Illustration by Leonie Bos PRESIDENT’S LETTER 4 CLASS NOTES 45 IN REMEMBRANCE 73 ENDNOTE 80 5 Do Physical Connections Improve the Control of Robot Swarms? Prototypes are put to the test in a drone competition held at Lehigh for the first time. 9 From Discoveries to Prototypes NSF awards $6M to Lehigh as part of its Accelerating Research Translation program. 10 Seeking Solace in the World’s Most Dangerous Places Sean Carberry ’91 pens a new book. 12 Take a Bow Five arts professors leave a rich legacy in their retirements. 21 Leon Panetta Takes Part in Compelling Perspectives The former secretary of defense discusses national security. 22 Ask the Expert: You Have a Great Idea. Now What? 23 A Trip to the Arctic Eugene Vivino ’16 helps manage the cyber infrastructure on research vessels around the world. 24 Secret Rooms and Artifacts Workers renovating the interior of the Clayton University Center at Packer Hall find drawings, fossils and other items. 36 Outside the Box Meet the entrepreneurs in Lehigh Ventures Lab. “Any time you can establish a formal relationship with a tribal nation, it’s a big deal.” —Institute for Indigenous Studies Director Sean Daley, Page 8
2 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | EDITOR’S LETTER Some of the details of Ryan Hydro’s life read like the lyrics of a country music song—job loss, heartbreak, sleepless nights. Turns out, those were just the kind of life experiences to drive Hydro ’95 ’98G ’03 Ph.D. to songwriting success. I learned about Hydro, who earned his undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees in materials science and engineering at Lehigh, in this issue’s Class Notes, which are always chock-full of interesting alumni updates (P. 45). Hydro co-wrote “Merry Christmas from The Keys,” a cut on country music artist Jon Pardi’s project. Intrigued, I reached out to Hydro to learn: Though he had always loved music and writing, songwriting is a side job; he works full-time as a director of process development at a telecommunications equipment company not far from Lehigh. After losing a job and ending a relationship, and prior to pursuing his doctorate, he put his emotions on paper. He couldn’t sleep; ideas for inventions and what seemed like poetry popped into his head. His words had a cadence, so EDITOR’S LETTER The Paths Taken Mary Ellen Alu Editor he bought a book on songwriting and joined Nashville Songwriters International. He is now at the stage of getting sync placements in film and TV and major label artist cuts1. Hydro’s story, fun in the telling, is indicative of the diverse paths of Lehigh’s outstanding alumni. This issue highlights many of their accomplishments—an alum who helps manage the cyber infrastructure for research vessels around the world; the former war correspondent who recounts his experiences in a new book2; and the marine wildlife photographer who works to inspire the next generation of conservationists. The issue also features the Lehigh Ventures Lab (P. 36) and the several entrepreneurs it supports—alumni, as well as faculty and students, in the early stages of launching ventures, including the founders of the dating app fuse and the tick protection product TiCK MiTT. As Future Makers, Lehigh’s alumni are making it new, making a difference, and making it together. No doubt that as students here you spent considerable time in the Clayton University Center at Packer Hall. I’m sure you will enjoy “Secret Rooms and Artifacts” about the drawings, fossils and other items that workers found during its renovation (P. 24). Perhaps you can shed light on the discoveries3. 1. Hydro’s songs have been used in TV shows and series, including “Big Sky,” “Monarch,” “Nashville” and “Unbelievable.” Page 45. 3. The Clayton UC was designed by architect E.T. Potter, whose brother, Eliphalet Nott Potter, was a member of the Board of Trustees and was later appointed a professor of “moral and mental philosophy and Christian evidences.” Page 24. 2. Sean Carberry dedicated his book to his cat, Squeak, whom he found in 2012 while living in Kabul. Page 10. Issue Notes Detective Lt. David Kokinda uses a TiCK MiTT on Grace, one of the Lehigh University Police Department’s K9 therapy dogs. CHRISTA NEU
Lehigh Alumni Bulletin Vol. 109, No. 1, Spring 2024 Editor Mary Ellen Alu Associate Editor Stephen Gross Staff Writer Christina Tatu Contributing Writers Emily Collins, Kristen DiPrinzio, Jodi Duckett, Christine Fennessy, Colin McEvoy, Cynthia Tintorri, Stephen Wilson Class Notes Editor Jessi McMullan ’05 Creative Director Kurt Hansen Art Director Beth Murphy Senior Designer Neha Kavan Photographer Christa Neu Business Support Traci Mindler Send class notes and remembrances to classnotes@Lehigh.edu or call (610) 758-3675 Email address changes to askrecords@lehigh.edu or send the mailing label, along with your new address, to Alumni Records/Lehigh University 306 S. New St., Suite 500, Bethlehem, PA 18015, (866) 517-1552 Lehigh University Communications and Public Affairs 301 Broadway, 4th Floor, Suite 400, Bethlehem, PA 18015, (610) 758-4487 Email: Communications@Lehigh.edu Published three times a year by the Lehigh University Communications and Public Affairs Office, in cooperation with the Lehigh University Alumni Association Inc. Lehigh ALUMNI BULLETIN Follow Lehigh University on X @LehighU and @LehighAlumni Facebook.com/lehighu Facebook.com/lehighalumni Instagram.com/lehighu Instagram.com/lehighalumni youtube.com/lehighu linkedin.com CORRESPONDENCE VALUING A LEHIGH TRADITION When I was a kid, you could always tell when we scored or the game was resuming by the cannon in the distance. I was walking up at Sayre Field one day when I started my studies at Lehigh (mid-1990s) and one of the athletic management people was there working in a storage area. I flagged him down, and during the conversation I told him that I remembered hearing the cannon as a young kid at Taylor and asked why we didn’t have a cannon at Goodman. He said, “It’s missing. It had sentimental value for many of us, so they don't want to replace it.” Nice to see it back and in good hands. I’m all about history and tradition. Gerry Repash ’06G LOST? BUT FOUND I just read Stephen Gross’s story on the Lehigh Cannon. As a member of the KA cannon crew 1988-90, I had recently been wondering if it was ever found. I handled it and fired it at the presentation ceremony, which I thought was 1989, but could have been the ’88 season. KA was successful in handling/storing the cannon in a secret location, and it was stolen shortly after the university took control of it. If I recall, it was stolen from the field house at Goodman Stadium in the offseason. Needless to say, we were a little annoyed at KA that it was stolen shortly after we were relieved of the responsibility of storing it. Sean Carberry ’91 BROOKE EBY ’10: ‘A BEACON OF HOPE’ I just happened to stumble upon Brooke Eby on Instagram. She is a beacon of hope for all. ... Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I think of her. Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading her story in the Bulletin. Joan Brosious REMEMBERING ED EVENSON Despite what I learned in Eco 145 (Stats) and Law 201 (Business Law) about odds and probability, I left my College of Business & Economics science requirement to my last semester, hoping the requirement would be dropped; such would not be the case. Geo 11 (Environmental Geology), with Professor Ed Evenson, turned out to be one of my favorite Lehigh classes, largely due to Professor Evenson’s engaging style of instruction and his passion for his subject matter. The curriculum in Geo 11 had a huge impact on me, then, and continuing to this day. Thank you, Professor Evenson; you made a difference– Hail and Farewell. David Polakoff ’86 Class of 1986 Correspondent WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Email your comments about this issue or send a story idea to the editor at maa614@lehigh.com. Send handwritten letters to Lehigh Alumni Bulletin, 301 Broadway, 4th Floor, Bethlehem, PA 18015 The refurbished brass cannon was fired at The Rivalry game on Nov. 18, 2023. Ed Evenson, Emeritus Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor, holding a ferret, 1992 HOLLY FASCHING ’26
4 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | PRESIDENT’S LETTER I had the opportunity to travel to Latin America late last year to meet with students who are studying abroad, as well as with alumni in Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Panama. I was on the road during the spring semester as well, meeting with alumni across the country to share news about the great progress we are making toward the initial goals of our strategic plan. Much is happening. We recently announced a new University Research Center, the Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience. Led by structural engineering professor Paolo Bocchini, it is the first of three new centers that will be established, with an aim of identifying and exploring problems related to extreme weather, such as hurricanes, pandemics and other events that can become catastrophic because of the interlocking systems they can affect. One of our key goals is to invest in strategic interdisciplinary research, and we believe Lehigh is well positioned to be a national leader in the area of catastrophe modeling. Additionally, aided by a $6 million award from the National Science Foundation, Lehigh is working to increase the translation of scientific discoveries by our faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers into products, programs and services. The aim is to increase the economic and social impact, particularly, of the research. In the area of educational innovation, a team has been tasked with developing ideas for an “exploratory semester” that would allow students to enroll at Lehigh without having to declare a college affiliation. That would give students an opportunity to determine which of the undergraduate colleges might be the best fit, given their interests and career goals. We also are exploring ways to integrate technology into students’ core Lehigh experience, along with business and the arts and humanities, to provide them with a framework to continue in any of those areas. By design, we are not moving forward with every initiative in the strategic plan at the same pace. Trying to do everything all at once would be, in my view, the definition of chaos. Rather, we are implementing the plan in structured and thoughtful ways, so that we can measure our progress and address questions as they arise. I will provide updates as we continue with the plan’s implementation, including our initiatives to transform the Mountaintop Campus and make Lehigh an organization of the future. Stay tuned. Joseph J. Helble ’82 President of Lehigh University Spring, a Time of Renewal SCAN TO WATCH PRESIDENT HELBLE’S VIDEO MESSAGE “WE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED A NEW UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CENTER, THE CENTER FOR CATASTROPHE MODELING AND RESILIENCE.”
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2024 | 5 CHRISTA NEU In nature, swarms can accomplish amazing things: Schools of fish can more efficiently find food and migrate; flocks of birds can confuse predators; bees, ants and termites can work together to feed, defend and build their colonies. Robotics researchers have long tried to harness this ability to explore environments, capture objects and build structures using robot swarms. But how to efficiently control all those robots can prove problematic, said David Saldaña, who leads Lehigh’s SwarmsLab. Saldaña and his team hypothesize that if the robots are connected—like ants that use their bodies to form a bridge for others in the colony to traverse—they may be easier to control, especially in challenging conditions. In time, they said, the drones could be used for tasks such as deliveries to remote areas affected by natural disasters or in search-and-rescue efforts. “In our lab, we don’t buy robots, we make robots,” said Saldaña, who received a $755,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research to design aerial swarms and develop control methods. “And since the robots we’re using don’t exist anywhere else, we have to push the boundary in control theory.” The Competition The team has been working on three types of physical connectors to measure the robots’ effectiveness in grabbing and transporting objects. It was able to test its prototypes during the Fall 2023 semester at a bi-annual Defend the Republic drone competition, held for the first time at Lehigh. Seven other universities also competed, with Lehigh making it to the final round. The competition in High Bay C on the Mountaintop Campus illuminated the goals in Lehigh’s Strategic Plan, Inspiring the Future Makers, which outlines a bold vision for addressing societal challenges, innovating in academics and research, and cultivating collaborations to build community and amplify Lehigh’s impact. Lehigh also aims to transform the Mountaintop Campus into a vital resource for the community. —Christine Fennessy SCAN CODE TO VIEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DRONE COMPETITION ACADEMICS Do Physical Connections Improve the Control of Robot Swarms? Prototypes are put to the test in a Defend the Republic drone competition held at Lehigh for the first time.
6 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST Lehigh President Joseph J. Helble ’82 traveled to four countries in Latin America, delivering the esteemed Chancellor’s lecture at Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) in Ecuador and connecting with alumni, students, families and international colleagues. It was his first overseas trip as president. The trip included stops in Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Panama. Held at the end of the Fall 2023 semester, it continued Lehigh’s long history of engagement and collaboration with Latin American nations. It also aligned with Lehigh’s strategic plan, Inspiring the Future Makers, which calls for broadening the university’s global perspective and impact. “Lehigh is a truly international campus, and global engagement is crucial for our graduates to thrive professionally and personally in today’s international arena,” he said. The Trip Itinerary Helble kicked off the tour with the Chancellor’s lecture, as he addressed the importance of interdisciplinary education and Lehigh’s commitment to deliver the broadest education possible to students. At his next stop at the Galápagos Islands, he met with Lehigh students who were participating in Lehigh Launch, an experiential, integrative learning experience for first-year Lehigh students. Next year’s program will move to Chile. “I was very impressed with the thoughtfulness, curiosity and maturity of the Lehigh Launch Ecuador students and their knowledge of the complex environmental issues and research projects they were undertaking,” Helble said. In each country he visited, Helble attended events hosted by alumni living and working overseas, and he held discussions and provided updates on what’s happening at Lehigh. Cheryl Matherly, vice president and vice provost for International Affairs, said it was appropriate that Helble’s first international trip as president was to INTERNATIONAL A Visit to Latin America In his first overseas trip as president, Joseph J. Helble ’82 connects with alumni and students. At left, President Joseph J. Helble ’82 at the El Chato Tortoise Reserve with Lehigh students. Above, from left, Cheryl Matherly in Panama City with former Global Villagers Tabea Esser ’10 and her husband, Gabriel Wong; and Arlene Dutari. Esser and Wong met in the Iacocca Global Village in 2010. “LEHIGH IS A TRULY INTERNATIONAL CAMPUS, AND GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT IS CRUCIAL. ...” —JOSEPH J. HELBLE ’82 TAYLOR STAKES
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2024 | 7 Latin America, given the university’s deep history of engagement with the Americas. “It’s been a central part of the Lehigh experience since the earliest days of the university’s history,” said Matherly, who accompanied Helble on the trip. A History of Latin America Engagement Lehigh’s first two international students–Hildebrando Barjona de Miranda and Raymundo Floresta de Miranda–came from Brazil in 1868, just three years after Lehigh was founded. The first student club organized by Latin American students in the United States– the Club Hispano Americano– was founded at Lehigh in 1887. A total of 1,003 international students from 82 countries enrolled at Lehigh during the 2023-24 academic year. Additionally, Lehigh has global partnerships with several Latin American educational institutions, including USFQ; Tecnológico de Antioquia- Institución Universitaria, Universidad de los Andes School of Management- Colombia, and Universidad de la Sabana in Colombia; Innova Schools and Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas in Peru. —Colin McEvoy TAYLOR STAKES / HOLLY FASCHING ’26 RESEARCH NSF AWARD TO AID CANCER DETECTION The National Science Foundation has awarded a team of interdisciplinary researchers, led by Anand Jagota, vice provost for research at Lehigh, a four-year, $2 million grant to study DNA-wrapped carbon nanotubes as nanosensors that detect molecules such as biomarkers for cancer, or possibly other diseases. Brian Davison, professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, is a co-principal investigator on the project, which includes members from the Cancer Nanotechnology Laboratory, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Detecting Biomarkers In biosensing, researchers often look for the presence or concentration of a certain molecule or protein, a biomarker, to determine whether a patient is diagnosed with an illness or disease, says Jagota, professor of bioengineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering. Early detection of cancer, he says, requires specific detection of low concentrations of biomarkers in biofluids. Researchers have found that single-walled carbon nanotubes wrapped with a DNA molecule will fluoresce differently in the presence of different biomarkers. Detecting whether certain biomarkers are in the blood can determine if a person has cancer, which is the initial focus of the project.—Stephen Gross President Joseph J. Helble ’82 talks with Diego Quiroga, the rector of Universidad San Francisco de Quito. SCAN TO VIEW MORE PHOTOS AND VIDEO OF THE TRIP.
8 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST In recognition of the Indigenous people who originally inhabited South Bethlehem, Lehigh signed a historical Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Delaware Nation, a sovereign, federally recognized nation of Lenape people. Signed in October, the document signaled an ongoing, reciprocal partnership with one of the Lenape tribal nations whose homelands Lehigh sits on. It enabled Delaware Nation to relocate an extension of their historic preservation office on campus, to facilitate the tribal nation’s work in the region. Delaware Nation is headquartered in Anadarko, Oklahoma. Working Together “Any time you can establish a formal relationship with a tribal nation, it’s a big deal,” said Sean M. Daley, a faculty member with the College of Health who directs Lehigh’s Institute for Indigenous Studies (IIS). “When you look at the way Indigenous people and tribal nations are treated, they are left out of everything,” he said, referring to many major health and educational studies. “Any time an academic institution can bring them into the fold and work with them, it’s a good thing.” The MOU was signed by President Joseph J. Helble ’82, Provost Nathan Urban and President of Delaware Nation Deborah Dotson. College of Health Dean Beth Dolan also attended the signing. Additionally, through a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Pennsylvania Tourism Office and ISS will work with federally recognized tribes to develop a plan highlighting the state’s Indigenous histories, stories and cultures. The grant will allow the Pennsylvania Tourism Office and Lehigh to correct mistakes by including Native people in the storytelling process and promoting the stories, histories and cultures of the tribal nations originally from Pennsylvania. —Christina Tatu Lehigh and Delaware Nation Sign Agreement The partnership will aid Indigenous research and establish a historic preservation office. PARTNERSHIP BY THE NUMBERS RECOGNITION BUSINESS INNOVATION BUILDING WINS DESIGN AWARD The Business Innovation Building received a SARA (Society of American Registered Architects) 2023 National Design Award for design studio Voith & Mactavish Architects. The technology-driven building supports a broad range of pedagogical and collaborative activities across four floors of student spaces. A dedicated suite houses the Lehigh Ventures Lab, a business incubator for early-stage entrepreneurs. The building also provides a permanent home for the Vistex Institute for Executive Education. Lehigh completed its first entire building LED lighting conversion on campus in 2018 and will be continuing improvements through 2024. 1,729,000 Kilowatt hours saved per year due to latest round of upgrades, the equivalent of energy usage in 163 average U.S. homes. $181,500 Estimated cost savings per year for 2023 lighting upgrades. Amount Lehigh invested in LED lighting upgrades across eight buildings in 2023. $1M+ of campus square footage upgraded to LED lighting since 2018 as buildings more than 10,000 square feet in size were prioritized. Approximately 42% 22Campus buildings, out of 162, that have been fully converted to LED lights. JEFFREY TOTARO / MARCUS SMITH ’25
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2024 | 9 The ART leadership team, from left: Henry Odi, Dominic Packer, Lee Kern, Himanshu Jain and John Coulter. In addition, the team includes three faculty members who are leading primary research-translation ecosystem components, and eight other faculty and administrators who compose the senior personnel team. The National Science Foundation awarded Lehigh $6 million to increase the translation of scientific discoveries by faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers into prototypes, products and programs that will benefit society. The NSF’s Directorate for Technology Innovation and Partnerships provided the four-year award to an interdisciplinary, university-wide team led by John Coulter, senior associate dean for research in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, as part of the new federal Accelerating Research Translation (ART) program. The award will support Lehigh’s work to speed up and support its research activities in myriad areas that have the potential to lead to products and services for the general good. Lehigh also will train graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in translational research. Why It Matters “While it’s essential to make discoveries and do fundamental research, as a university we must also be effective in translating new knowledge to solve important problems in the world. This is how we enhance the impact of the research done by our faculty, staff and students,” said Provost Nathan Urban. A portion of the funding will support seed translational research projects that are on the cusp of being applied to practical outcomes, and the rest will support education and training as well as other research translation enhancement activities. The Process “Lehigh will create and operate a comprehensive, inclusive and accessible research translation ecosystem that will guide researchers and project teams along the paths of venture creation, research translation into existing industry, and societal impact," Coulter said. Carnegie Mellon University will serve as a peer mentor institution. The work will build on Lehigh’s strengths and successes, such as the innovative Pasteur Partners PhD (P3) Fellowship, a launchpad for advanced students focused on creating immediate impact in their fields through use-driven research. The NSF award advances the goals outlined in Lehigh’s strategic plan, Inspiring the Future Makers, which aims to allow Lehigh to find pragmatic solutions to the world’s problems through research and scholarship.—Mary Ellen Alu From Discoveries to Prototypes NSF awards $6M to Lehigh as part of its Accelerating Research Translation program. RESEARCH A ‘LEHIGH COMMITMENT’ To expand access to a Lehigh education, undergraduate students with a family income of less than $75,000 will receive full tuition grants, beginning in Fall 2024. “With the Lehigh Commitment, we are expanding our effort to ensure that every student, regardless of their financial background, has the resources and opportunities to achieve their fullest potential throughout their college career,” President Joseph J. Helble ’82 said. The initiative supports the goals in Lehigh’s strategic plan, Inspiring the Future Makers. All current and incoming students are eligible. “Supporting students from all economic backgrounds positively shapes our campus community and makes us a stronger university,” Provost Nathan Urban said. The Lehigh Commitment is part of a broad suite of financial aid programs that Lehigh created to support the success of its students. Overall in 2022-23, $137 million was provided in undergraduate financial aid. ACADEMICS CHRISTA NEU
10 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST CULTURE | ALUMNI ʼ91 Seeking Solace in the World’s Most Dangerous Places Sean Carberry writes about his time overseas in his new book, ‘Passport Stamps: Searching the World for a War to Call Home.’ Veteran foreign correspondent Sean Carberry ’91 has traveled to some of the world’s most dangerous places, including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, where from 2012 to 2014 he served as NPR’s last full-time Kabul-based journalist. During those years in Afghanistan, Carberry reported on the deaths of friends and colleagues as the Taliban began targeting foreign civilians. “I realized over the years of doing that work that it was affecting me, that I was changing,” Carberry said. “You’re just absorbing trauma and the worst of humanity all day long for years.” When he returned home from his overseas trips, Carberry said he was having trouble relating to people. He was always on edge and jumpy when he heard loud noises. He said he started partaking in risky behaviors, something he wouldn’t have done had he been in a better state of mind. Carberry had training for physical safety and security, but there was never any discussion about the psychological and emotional impacts of being a civilian who works in a war zone, he said. In 2021, at the height of the COVID pandemic, Carberry decided to write a book about his experience, “Passport Stamps: Searching the World for a War to Call Home.” The memoir, published by Madville Publishing, has been both therapeutic and eye-opening, he said, while raising awareness of the lack of support for civilian workers stationed in war-stricken areas. “Part of it is trying to educate the next generation, but also … put pressure on news organizations to provide resources and be cognizant that journalists are dealing with different things,” Carberry said. He’s been busy promoting the book, including a presentation to the National Press Club last summer, and presentations to Lehigh journalism students in the Fall 2023 semester. As a student at Lehigh, “journalism wasn’t on my radar as a thing,” Carberry told students in the senior seminar journalism class taught by Teaching Assistant Professor Meredith Cummings. Carberry had majored in urban studies as a fallback if his plans to go into the music industry didn’t pan out. He spent several years working in a recording studio in Boston before getting a job as a producer on a Boston-based NPR talk show. In that role, Carberry researched topics, came up with ideas, booked guests and (Below) Speaking with Afghan villagers in Laghman province, Afghanistan, during an embedment with U.S. forces. (Right) Taking a break in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, Afghanistan, in October 2013 while reporting on the surging opium production there.
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2024 | 11 prepped the show’s host. A few months into the job, 9/11 happened. “All of a sudden, this defining news story, this historic moment is happening in real time and we had to go live on air that morning … ,” he said. “It’s a cliché, but it did change everything.” In the following months, when the war in Afghanistan started, Carberry recalls coming into the office early in the morning and dialing satellite phones in the hope of reaching correspondents on the ground in the midst of the war. “I was sitting in this overly air-conditioned control room in Boston talking to these people over scratchy satellite phone connections, and I just sat there and said, ‘I have to be out there …’ ” Carberry said. “I didn’t know anything at the time about what it really involved, what it took to do that, what it was really like, I just felt the call to get out there.” In the summer of 2007, Carberry landed a job at America Abroad Media to produce a monthly, hour-long international affairs program. Within a few months, Carberry had moved to Washington, D.C., and was hopping on planes to some of the most dangerous locations in the world, chasing his new dream of becoming a war correspondent. In his self-deprecating style of humor, Carberry described himself as the “Mr. Bean” of foreign correspondents during his early days on the job. He said his urban studies degree from Lehigh had helped prepare him for his new career by exposing him to many subjects, including government. A writing-intensive contemporary political philosophy class with Political Science Professor Rick Matthews had helped him find his voice as a writer and inspired him, he added. As he became more experienced as a journalist, Carberry says he grew to understand the nature and importance of foreign reporting, and ultimately, the obligation to the people he was reporting on. “You come into a refugee camp and people swarm around you. They see you as a foreigner and think you can help them in some way,” Carberry said. “Sometimes they literally want money or food from you, other times they want to tell their story because, ‘we want the world to know what happened to us.’” Carberry said he spoke to people whose villages had been destroyed in acts of religious violence. He interviewed people in hospitals who had been assaulted by their government while peacefully protesting. During the Libyan Civil War, he said, he interviewed a father whose child died after being struck by a stray bullet while playing in front of their home. “You’re there doing a job, but you’re interviewing someone who’s had unimaginable things done to them, or suffered incredible pain and horror at the hands of another human being,” Carberry said. “You, as a journalist, have to put that somewhere, and everyone processes it differently.” In 2011, Carberry started working as an international producer for NPR, covering stories in Libya, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. In 2012 he was stationed in Kabul to cover the removal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, as well as the upcoming presidential election there. Violence was on an uptick, with the Taliban targeting foreign civilians and journalists, he said. In January 2014, Taliban gunmen attacked a popular Lebanese restaurant in Kabul, killing eight Afghans and 13 foreigners, including Carberry’s friends and acquaintances. Carberry left Afghanistan in December 2014 when NPR shut down its bureau there. He currently works as managing editor of National Defense magazine. He ends his book with the realization that his years of foreign correspondence have permanently changed him. “The way the book lands, there’s an ending and it’s not a Hollywood happy ending, it’s kind of like, ‘OK, I’ve confronted things, got through the worst of it and realized I’ll never be the person I was before,’” Carberry said. “Figuring out how to work with that and turn it into something is what I’ve been doing.” —Christina Tatu “I REALIZED OVER THE YEARS OF DOING THAT WORK THAT IT WAS AFFECTING ME, THAT I WAS CHANGING. ... YOU’RE JUST ABSORBING TRAUMA AND THE WORST OF HUMANITY ALL DAY LONG FOR YEARS.” —Sean Carberry ’91 Touring an internally displaced persons camp in Peshwar, Pakistan, August 2009.
12 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN As Future Makers, five professors helped transform the musical, theatrical and visual arts at Lehigh, and influenced generations of students. A campus community celebrates their legacy. STORY by JODI DUCKETT PHOTOGRAPHY by DOUGLAS BENEDICT, MATTHEW BLUM, CHRISTINE T. KRESHOLLEK AND CHRISTA NEU aBOW Take
SPRING 2024 | 13 Paul Salerni, in November 2023, conducts the Lehigh University Philharmonic Orchestra in Baker Hall.
14 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN The university was at a crossroads in 1979 when Salerni, Sametz and Ripa arrived looking for a place to share their artistic passions—Salerni and Sametz in music and Ripa in theater. Gans arrived a couple years later and Ussler soon after that, both in art and architecture. To put it into historical context, this was five years after Lehigh went coeducational, and the university was figuring out how to evolve from a male school seen as focused on engineering and business to one more broadly concerned with shaping well-rounded students of both sexes. They seized the moment. Says Sametz: “The then-dean who hired me told me Lehigh was an ‘infertile field for the arts,’ and he did not expect me to stay. I don’t know if that was a challenge, but I think we might have shown there was a lot here waiting to happen.” The number of choral groups quadrupled, providing abundant opportunities for students to perform and have their creations performed. A new Department of Theatre was created. The art department expanded to the Department of Art, Architecture and Design. And Lehigh’s commitment to the arts became engraved in stone in 1997 with the opening of Zoellner Arts Center, which gave the music and theater departments a beautiful home with abundant rehearsal and performance spaces, and included a first-class art gallery and repository for Lehigh’s art collection. Music, theater and visual art were always part of Lehigh’s tradition, but during the decades dominated by these professors, the arts became a draw for students of all disciplines and a powerful recruiting tool. Students soaked up opportunities and took their passion out into the world as Future Makers themselves. Some have become architects, artists, composers, directors or professors; others, engineers, lawyers and scientists with a rich engagement in their creative side. The five also found Lehigh to be a supportive laboratory to create their own art—operas, sculptures, choral works. As they prepare to retire—officially at the end of 2024 and spring of 2025—there’s talk of traveling, spending time with grandchildren and another chapter of artistic creation. There has been much reflection on, and much praise for, their contributions in both private and public demonstrations—concerts, dinners, exhibitions, video tributes and more. Here are snapshots of the careers of these influential professors. Former students surprised Paul Salerni, the NEH Distinguished Chair in the Humanities and professor of music, with a life-affirming tribute concert at Zoellner Arts Center Sept. 24, 2023. They performed original works and offered testimonials of affection and gratitude. Salerni—“Coach” to his students—was celebrated as a champion of the arts at Lehigh, as well as an indefatigable mentor and friend. The concert was organized by a team that included Sametz, who will be feted in spring, and Salerni’s sons—Domenic, a violinist with the Attacca Quartet, and Miles, a percussionist with the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra. Salerni and Sametz arrived at Lehigh at the same time, embracing the challenge to build something lasting. With Salerni leading the instrumental activities and Sametz the choral, they guided the music department through an unprecedented period of growth. 218 years. That’s the astounding number of years that arts professors Paul Salerni, Steven Sametz, Augustine Ripa, Lucy Gans and Christine Ussler ’81 have spent cumulatively in the consequential task of teaching, mentoring and shaping the futures of Lehigh students over more than four decades. As individuals, each has made a significant impact in their discipline and, together, on Lehigh. Music PAUL SALERNI AND STEVEN SAMETZ Lucy Gans with Olivia Fitzgerald ’20 CHRISTA NEU
SPRING 2024 | 15 The basic facts tell much of the story. In 1979, the Department of Music had four full-time faculty and two staff. It was housed in Lamberton, a converted dining hall. There was one choral ensemble, a small string orchestra, a marching band, a concert band and a jazz ensemble. Now there are eight full-time faculty, 32 adjuncts and four fulltime staff. There are four choral ensembles, a jazz program with two big bands and four combos, a complete symphonic orchestra and three bands—marching band, wind ensemble and symphonic band. “The music department was built through the blood, sweat and tears of Paul, Steven and Nadine (Sine—1980-2019, former department chair),” says Travis LaBerge ’98, a Salerni student and close friend who now runs a music school in Colorado. Salerni arrived fresh out of Harvard, looking for a place to teach and create. He wasn’t sure about Lehigh at first, but things started looking up in 1982 with the arrival of President Peter Likins, who was committed to building up the arts and creating an arts center. Likins tapped Salerni and Ripa to help develop Zoellner. Over the years, Salerni has been conductor of the Wind Ensemble and Lehigh University Philharmonic; founder and director of the Lehigh University Very Modern Ensemble (LUVME, a place for new works); and founder and conductor of the Opera and Music Theater Workshop. He was department chair for 10 years, including this final year. He has led students on study abroad programs in Prague, Belgium and Italy. Salerni also has been a prolific composer, supported by the National Endowment for the Arts Distinguished Chair in the Humanities, an honor he held for 18 years. Ultimately, Salerni says, the most satisfying part of his career has been working with “my very bright and talented students. I am so proud of them as people and as artists and teachers.” Salerni says Lehigh’s size and the music department’s welcoming spirit gave undergraduates the opportunity to participate in high-level music activity no matter their academic focus. “I have given Lehigh a broader range of musical styles and opportunities—more opera, more jazz, more contemporary classical music, more art song,” he says. “I hope I have made it possible for more students to have a meaningful experience.” LaBerge says Salerni saw his students as friends and family. Students regularly spend time at the home he shares with his wife Laura Johnson, an opera and stage director, cooking and sharing meals and talking about music and life. “I can think of nothing else this world needs more than for someone to care, to encourage and to coach them, and then to release them out into the world and begin the cycle anew,” says LaBerge, who has led an effort to raise money for an endowed scholarship in Salerni’s honor. Sametz’s journey mirrors that of Salerni, but in the choral arts. Fresh from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Yale, he took over as director of Choral Arts, only the fifth director in 155 years. Sametz directs Lehigh Steven Sametz directs his final Christmas Vespers in Packer Memorial Church in December 2023. DOUGLAS BENEDICT / ACADEMIC IMAGE
16 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN University Choral Arts—an umbrella term for the Lehigh University Choir, Lehigh Choral Union, the tenor-bass Glee Club and Dolce, the treble choir. He founded the Lehigh Summer Choral Composers Forum, which brings aspiring composers from around the world to Lehigh every summer. “The program seemed like there was a lot of room for growth,” says Sametz. “I don’t know that the university anticipated the growth that would happen. It was a wide-open playing field. Nobody had any expectations, and we could dream big.” As founding director of the Lehigh Choral Union in 1985, Sametz created a successful community outreach program that brings students, faculty, staff and community members together for several concerts a year. Over a hundred community members come to campus every Monday for rehearsal. One is Peter Stinson ’91 ’01G, who is now serving as manager of the Choral Union. An engineering and management student who is now a semiconductor design manager, he knows firsthand the opportunities Sametz provided for those interested in music. “All of us were majoring in something else,” he recalled, “but we enjoyed singing as a group and doing these incredibly challenging pieces that we wouldn’t have gotten the chance to do if we had gone somewhere else.” Sametz is the Ronald J. Ulrich Professor of Music, one of two endowed chairs in music. He was instrumental in establishing the Cutler-Sametz Choral Arts Scholarships for students, as well as garnering important support for the choral program from Robert Teufel ’59; Peter Finkel ’81; the Sebastian family in memory of their son, Bear Sebastian ’92; Dan Franceski ’64; Robert Shabaker ’59; and the Pervall family in memory of Stephanie Pervall ’85. Affectionately known as “Doc” to his students, Sametz has taken the choir around the world. He has led choral arts in performances at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Geffen Hall in New York. The final hurrah will be in May, when he leads Lehigh choral participants and alumni on a nineday concert tour of Portugal. “It’s always great to see alumni who want to come back and sing with us and share the gift of Lehigh University with audiences everywhere,” he says. “The choral alumni list is second only to the athletic department. It’s one of our lasting legacies.” Outside of Lehigh, Sametz has been the director of the elite a cappella chamber choir The Princeton Singers for 25 of its 40 years. The choir has been artist-in-residence at Lehigh. Sametz is a renowned choral composer with commissions from around the world. The 2023-24 concert season is in itself a tribute to Salerni and Sametz. The LUVME concert in September featured music written by and for the Salerni family during COVID, including a piece by Sametz. Sametz’s Princeton Singers performed twice, premiering a new work by Sametz in October. A major work for chorus and orchestra by Sametz was on the October program of Lehigh Choral Arts. The Philharmonic concerts in February, “Italian Fables,” featured three pieces composed by Salerni, with text by Dana Gioia, former California Poet Laureate, with whom Salerni has often collaborated. Two March concerts by the Choir, Glee Club and Dolce were a “Best Of,” and featured a premiere of Sametz’s colorful “Strange Music,” with new choreography by Horger Artist-in-Residence Michael Spencer Phillips. About 100 alumni returned in Steven Sametz is a renowned choral composer with commissions from around the world. The choral alumni list is second only to the athletic department. It’s one of our lasting legacies. —STEVEN SAMETZ CHRISTA NEU
SPRING 2024 | 17 December to participate in or enjoy Sametz’s final Christmas Vespers as director. Many also will return May 3-4, when Sametz leads the Choral Arts for the final time. It will conclude with Sametz’s “I Have Had Singing,” which speaks, appropriately, to the simple love of singing and the lasting joy it can bring. It’s not an overstatement to call Gus Ripa the founder of Lehigh’s Department of Theatre. Lehigh had theater classes and performance opportunities when Ripa arrived in 1979 as an assistant professor in the Department of English, division of speech and theater. But his goal was to create a theater department and bring the joy of theater to a wider group of students. The Department of Theatre was officially established in 1989. And Ripa took it one step further, securing accreditation in 1990 by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST). Over the years the department has grown from three to seven tenured faculty, with many more staff and adjuncts. Ripa was department chair for 18 years. After earning his MFA in directing at Northwestern, Ripa spent three years teaching students at Illinois Wesleyan. He came to Lehigh, he says, “in search of a good school with bright students, accomplished faculty and the dedication to ‘going to college’ as a major undergraduate goal.” Ripa’s style and vision led to prestigious positions outside the theater department. He was associate dean of undergraduate programs for four years and director of the Eckhardt Scholars program, the arts and sciences flagship honors program, also for four years. Ripa says those positions made him feel like a full “citizen of the college and of Lehigh.” Ripa says he felt the most pride and satisfaction in “instructing, coaching, mentoring and directing students from all walks of Lehigh’s undergraduate life.” Some students have gone on to work in commercial/professional theater or as college professors. Most have used the skills earned from a serious study of theater—collaboration; oral, physical and written expression; analysis; empathy; diligence; and hard work—to enrich their chosen professions, he says. Ripa loves telling the story of Kashi Johnson ’93, who was struggling as an undergraduate when Ripa cast her as the lead in a production of Samuel Beckett’s tragi-comedy “Endgame.” She fell under his spell and it changed her life—she’s an actor, director and professor who is now guiding Lehigh’s theater program as the department chairperson. Says Johnson: “His mentorship of students, the advising, the wisdom he carried and shared freely, it has been invaluable—we all knew it was a gift. We tried to absorb as much as we could.” Johnson says her goal for the department is to “continue to innovate. To produce new works—world premieres. The department has been forward-thinking for so long. Gus has laid the foundation, and we want to continue to exceed expectations.” As one of his last imprints on the department, Ripa engineered the hiring of assistant professor Joseph Amodei to teach the cutting-edge field of immersive media. Amodei is designing alternative realities for theater productions, taking the department to a place it has never gone before. Gus Ripa says he felt the most pride and satisfaction “instructing, coaching, mentoring and directing students.” Theater AUGUSTINE RIPA CHRISTINE T. KRESHOLLEK
18 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN Gans was the first woman hired as a tenure-track professor in the Department of Art and Architecture. It was 1981, and after working at other institutions, the young art school grad came to teach and create. At Lehigh, she wasn’t pigeonholed—she could teach both 2-D and 3-D and direct her own art studio practice, creating sculpture and drawings. She could pursue her interest in women’s studies and feminist issues. Gans became an advocate for the importance of art in a liberal arts education, which was the title of the graduation address she gave in 1988 in Packer Memorial Church at the invitation of former Lehigh President Peter Likins. “I love introducing students to art making. I think of art as a lifelong skill that one can always fall back on regardless of what their profession is,” she says. “I think the way I’ve shaped art education has been to put everyone in front of a diverse array of ideas and modalities. To show students there isn’t just one way to solve a problem and that we can learn so much from things that can go wrong and how to push through and keep going.” Gans’ optimism and passion influenced Stacie Brennan ’03, who is now the inaugural curator of education at Lehigh University Art Galleries, after spending five years as senior director of visual arts at ArtsQuest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Her job at Lehigh is to create opportunities for both campus and community to engage with the collection and build visibility for the museum. Brennan came to Lehigh as a marketing major, but soon found she wanted to explore her love of art. As her advisor, Gans helped Brennan craft a dual-degree program that led her to a rewarding career supporting artists and connecting them with their communities. “She is someone who is so passionate and is able to help others find their passion,” says Brennan. “You can feel the creativity bubbling out of her.” One of Gans’ major contributions to Lehigh was advocating for every art professor to have one’s own studio. It took six years, her entire pre-tenure period, for her to finally get her own studio on campus, and though the space was cramped at first, she was able to create and work on campus in view of her students and colleagues. Gans also was pivotal in the development of the Women’s Studies program, now the Women, Gender and Sexuality program. As the first faculty director in 1991, she built the entry-level classes. She overlaps women’s studies with her art education, and is well known for her advocacy on behalf of women and social justice issues. In 2013, Gans became the Louis and Jane P. One of Gans’ major contributions to Lehigh was advocating for every art professor to have one’s own studio. Visual Arts LUCY GANS Lucy Gans was honored with her first major retrospective, “Reading Between the Lines,” in Fall 2023. MATTHEW BLUM
SPRING 2024 | 19 Weinstock Endowed Chair in Art and Architecture, the first from her department, which is now the Department of Art, Architecture and Design. It’s a position she held for 10 years and that gave her opportunities to expand her creative endeavors and forge connections with artists and activists nationwide. The exclamation point on Gans’ career came in Fall 2023, when she was honored with her first major retrospective in the Zoellner Main Gallery. “Reading Between the Lines,” which was accompanied by a substantive catalog with pieces written by family and friends, was an expansive, very personal show of sculpture, drawings and prints that explores family narratives, social issues and relationships. The opening reception became a tribute to Gans, with family, friends, colleagues and students recalling her influence on their lives. After graduating in 1981 from Lehigh with a Bachelor of Art in Architecture and Urban Studies, Ussler found her way back three years later. She had just received a Master of Architecture from Columbia University when an assistant professor of architecture, Paul Felder, invited her to work with him at his Easton architectural practice, The Architectural Studio, and assist him with teaching. It was the beginning of a 40-year career as a teacher and also as the owner of her own architectural practice. As Ussler worked her way from adjunct to professor of practice, she also grew a South Bethlehem architectural practice, Artefact, which specializes in historic buildings, major adaptive reuse projects of historic complexes and new buildings. Her professional work has been a boon for students studying architecture. She has been committed to providing experiential learning opportunities and connecting students with the community. “The practice experience has been an important part of my teaching pedagogy at Lehigh,” says Ussler. “I enjoyed bringing real community problems and opportunities into the classroom for students to study, analyze and design for.” Projects include one in the Fall 2023 semester, in which students designed prototypes for art display panels for the South Bethlehem Greenway (under construction in Spring 2024 semester), and another involving the design and construction of the Harmony Pavilion on the Greenway in 2012 with University Distinguished Professor Emeritus Norman Girardot. The New York Times wrote a story in the late 1990s about a student project addressing the reuse of the Bethlehem Steel site. “I really enjoy working with students,” says Ussler, “and seeing them evolve as they learn about architecture. You don’t know how much of an impact you have until you hear back from them.” Jessica Johansson ’13, an architectural designer and project manager, is one of many former students mentored by Ussler who took their lessons successfully into the world. “She doesn’t just teach,” Johansson says. “She gave us real-world applications and knowledge. She gave us tools we would carry into our careers.” Ussler helped with planning the uses of the large spaces when the art and architecture program moved in 2018 from Chandler-Ullmann Hall to Building C on the Mountaintop Campus, where there are enormous factory-like spaces for teaching, collaborating and making. As for the future, Ussler plans to continue practicing architecture at Artefact but will stay connected to Lehigh on community-facing projects the AAD department envisions. L I enjoyed bringing real community problems and opportunities into the classroom for students to study, analyze and design for. —CHRISTINE USSLER '81 Architecture CHRISTINE USSLER ’81 Christine Ussler ’81 has been committed to providing experiential learning opportunities for students. CHRISTINE T. KRESHOLLEK
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