Lehigh ALUMNI BULLETIN SPRING 2025 Ideas on the Move Students explore robotics design, complex movement and more at Lehigh’s new Freed Family Robotics Design Studio. Page 26 Schooled in Safety page 10 page 18 page 34 Transforming Community Health and Energy Systems Reclaimed History
The Hope & Healing Juried Art Show, created by Healing Through The Arts president and founder Heather Rodale ’74 ’76G ’05P, was held from Feb. 17 through March 31 in the Health, Science and Technology Building, and featured 144 submissions of artwork created by high school and college students. Artwork from the annual show is displayed in hospitals and healthcare facilities. Photo by Christa Neu
CONTENTS 4 New Process May Offer a Solution to Fracking Wastewater The approach represents a leap forward in dealing with “brine,” a super-salty industrial byproduct. 6 Alumni Aid in Hurricane Relief Ashley Kreitz ’15 raised nearly $10,000 and recruited fellow alumni to help restore homes. 10 Schooled in Safety Peter Luba ’22 co-founded a digital hall pass system that is used in more than 3,800 schools. 17 Lehigh Named Top-Tier Research School R1 status recognizes universities with the highest level of research activity. 18 Transforming Community Health and Energy Systems Lehigh announced two new research centers focused on improving the lives of people with disabilities and creating efficient, reliable energy systems. 26 Ideas on the Move The Freed Family Robotics Design Studio helps Lehigh students explore robotics. 34 Reclaimed History Original wood beams from the Clayton University Center at Packer Hall were used for a table in The Lehigh University Pub. 40 A Championship Culture In just two seasons, head coach Kevin Cahill has changed the culture of Lehigh football. ON THE COVER: Lehigh recently introduced the Freed Family Robotics Design Studio, where students designed Willy, a robotic monkey. Illustration by Sean McCabe PRESIDENT’S LETTER 2 CLASS NOTES 47 IN REMEMBRANCE 75 ENDNOTE 80 “Jack [Lule] is one of the reasons that we call Lehigh a family. He has shaped the lives of countless students, including mine, and we are all better because of Jack.” —Tori Penske Aitchison ’92 ’20P ’26P, Page 24
2 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | PRESIDENT’S LETTER Lehigh Alumni Bulletin Vol. 110, No. 1, Spring 2025 Executive Editor Kristen DiPrinzio Editor Lauren Thein Art Director Beth Murphy Senior Writer Stephen Gross Staff Writer Christina Tatu Contributing Writers Emily Collins Class Notes Editor Jessi McMullan ’05 Creative Director Kurt Hansen Senior Designers Kate Cassidy, Neha Kavan Photographer Christa Neu Videographer Dan Collins Business Support Traci Mindler Send class notes and remembrances to alumni@lehigh.edu or call (866) 758-2586 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. Facebook.com/lehighu Facebook.com/lehighalumni Instagram.com/lehighu Instagram.com/lehighalumni youtube.com/lehighu linkedin.com Follow Lehigh University on X @LehighU and @LehighAlumni The spring semester has brought many successes that advance the goals outlined in our long-term strategy, Inspiring the Future Makers. In February, Lehigh was designated as an R1 research university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, a prestigious honor that places us among the nation’s 187 leading research universities. This designation strengthens our ability to attract top faculty, staff and students who want to be part of a university solving global challenges. We look forward to furthering our research that pushes the boundaries of knowledge and innovation, and drives real change. Consistent with our growth in research, Lehigh recently launched two new University Research Centers (URCs): the Center for Community-Driven Assistive Technologies (CDAT) and the Center for Advancing Community Electrification Solutions (ACES). CDAT will explore novel ways to improve the lives of people with disabilities, while ACES will focus on creating efficient, reliable and self-sustaining energy systems. They join our Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience, which was established last year. Together, these URCs will focus on addressing critical needs and challenges in society. Prior to those exciting advancements, we welcomed students, staff and faculty into the revitalized Clayton University Center at Packer Hall, which reopened in January a full semester ahead of schedule. The reopening reflects Lehigh’s commitment to strengthening the sense of community and connection within the walls of this reimagined iconic core of our campus. An official Building Dedication is planned for fall 2025. Looking ahead, we are eager to launch Explore Lehigh this fall, an exploratory first-semester program consistent with our goal of expanding opportunities for deeply interdisciplinary learning. This pilot program will allow students to enter Lehigh without selecting a specific academic college in advance, giving them opportunity to explore the breadth of the curriculum. Through all of this, our focus and commitment remains clear: advancing Lehigh’s educational and research mission, being nimble and innovative, and fostering a community of belonging that welcomes and supports every individual. I thank you for your continued support. Joseph J. Helble ’82 President of Lehigh University SCAN TO WATCH PRESIDENT HELBLE’S VIDEO MESSAGE. Successes Advancing Lehigh’s Mission The revitalized Clayton University Center at Packer Hall reopened in January, serving as a vibrant hub for the Lehigh community. CHRISTA NEU
EDITOR’S LETTER | SPRING 2025 | 3 Recently, I was flipping through the pages of Lehigh Alumni Bulletins from decades past, taking in the stories, rich traditions and achievements of a university that I have admired since I was a young girl growing up in Pennsylvania near the Lehigh Valley. I started my career writing and editing for universities before landing at national magazines, and it feels surreal and so special to find myself back in an academic setting, where my passion for storytelling took flight. I take great pride and care in continuing to bring important, compelling and inspiring stories to you as the new editor of the Bulletin. Since arriving at the university a few months ago, I’ve witnessed many exciting accomplishments, including Lehigh becoming an R1 research university (page 17), the announcement of two new University Research Centers (page 18), the Mountain Hawks football team winning the Rivalry game and earning their 13th Patriot League title (page 40) and much more. I’ve enjoyed exploring corners of campus I haven’t seen before, like the beautiful, newly renovated Clayton University Center at Packer Hall (page 34), and attending campus events, such as the Compelling Perspectives speaker series (page 14). I’ve also had the pleasure of chatting with alumni and meeting faculty and staff who have welcomed me into the Lehigh family. I am continuously in awe of Lehigh—from the dedicated faculty and staff to the hardworking students carving their own paths to the inspiring alumni engaging future generations. It has been a privilege getting to know you so far, and I am honored and eager to continue building meaningful connections with the Lehigh community through this storied publication. Thank you for this incredible opportunity, and thank you for reading. EDITOR’S LETTER A Special New Start Lauren Thein Editor Students share a moment in a Centennial Complex dorm, circa fall 1971. CORRESPONDENCE SHARING A MOMENT I was pleasantly surprised to see a photo that had been taken in my Carothers House dorm room in the fall of 1971 in the Squawk section of the summer 2024 Alumni Bulletin. The photo was taken the first year that Lehigh went coed (1971) amid fierce opposition by alumni at the time. We had been warned that “coeducation is an experiment.” The “students sharing a moment” shown in the picture (left to right) are Patti Oertle Van Buskirk ’75, me, Janet Scagnelli ’75, Kerry Brown ’75 and Toni Connell ’75. We were among Lehigh’s first graduating class of women and will be celebrating our 50th Reunion in June 2025. Thanks for the nostalgic reflection, Janet L. Scagnelli ’75 WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Email your comments about this issue to the editor at lat624@lehigh.edu. Send handwritten letters to Lehigh Alumni Bulletin, 301 Broadway, 4th Floor, Bethlehem, PA 18015. Lauren Thein, editor of the Lehigh Alumni Bulletin, flips through a previous issue of the Bulletin in a quiet corner of the newly renovated Clayton University Center at Packer Hall. BETH MURPHY
4 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST A new approach developed by Arup SenGupta, P.C. Rossin Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Emeritus, and visiting researcher Hao Chen represents a leap forward in cleaning up and even potentially unlocking valuable resources lurking in the byproduct of industrial processes known as “brine”— wastewater containing levels of salt many times higher than seawater and often contaminated with pollutants. The current methods of dealing with this byproduct often compound environmental damage inherent in industrial processes. Developing methods for concentrating brine to levels conducive to the collection of crystallized solids has been made a priority of the U.S. Department of the Interior and other global water agencies. Crystallized solids can more easily be disposed of, reused for industrial processes and even “mined” for precious metals including lithium. A New Solution SenGupta and Chen have developed a new process, evaporative ion exchange (EIX), to concentrate brine at room temperature using air humidity and ion exchange. It uses a polymeric ion exchange resin bead, a type of gel with a high concentration of charged functional groups, or atoms whose electrical charge binds with ions of opposite charge. When the bead comes into contact with water, the resin’s internal pressure causes it to absorb water quickly while rejecting salts and other compounds. When then exposed to dry air, the resin releases water into the air through evaporation at room temperature without the need for external heat input. “This cycle can be repeated, allowing the resin to continuously concentrate solutions at ambient temperature,” SenGupta said. The Experiment To test the process, researchers conducted experiments using both laboratory-created synthetic hypersaline brine and hypersaline water collected from gas well sites in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Marcellus Shale region. In addition to salt, the Marcellus sample contained high concentrations of barium cations, strontium cations and calcium ions. The EIX beads were placed in a bed, which was then filled with brine until the resin reached saturation. The bed was drained of brine, and then resin was exposed to blown, unheated air for evaporation, and the total volume and the total dissolved solids (TDS) of the remaining brine were measured. This cycle was then repeated using the remaining brine. After four cycles carried out with the Marcellus sample, the concentrations of barium, sodium and chlorine were concentrated beyond the solubility limit, resulting in direct crystallization of barium chloride and sodium chloride salts. “The most remarkable finding of this study is the precipitation/crystallization of salts from the hypersaline water from a Marcellus gas well after four EIX cycles at ambient temperature,” SenGupta said. “According to the literature, no other brine concentration process attains incipient crystallization at ambient temperature.” The study was completed with grant funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance and a Lehigh faculty innovation grant. Looking Ahead SenGupta said the process’s advantages make him optimistic about the potential for the process to be scaled up for widespread use. The next steps would be to run a pilot system and record its process parameters and energy advantages compared to other elevated temperature processes.—Dan Armstrong RESEARCH New Process May Offer a Solution to Fracking Wastewater The approach represents a leap forward in dealing with “brine,” a super-salty industrial byproduct. CRISTIAN MARTIN / ISTOCK
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2025 | 5 RECOGNITION DAN FRANGOPOL ELECTED TO NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING Professor Dan M. Frangopol, the inaugural Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for his contributions to life-cycle civil engineering and leadership in its global development and adoption. Individuals elected to the NAE are among the most accomplished engineers globally, representing diverse fields from across business, academia and government. They are called upon to provide expertise and advice on critical issues affecting the nation and the world. Frangopol is internationally acclaimed for pioneering the field of life-cycle civil engineering. He is credited with the development of the field of life-cycle civil engineering and with setting the stage for its use across civil engineering practice. “Professor Frangopol’s election to the NAE is a testament to his exceptional contributions over a long and distinguished career in engineering education and research,” said Stephen P. DeWeerth, professor and dean of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. “His work exemplifies the innovative spirit and commitment to excellence that define us as an institution. As the creator of life-cycle engineering and a mentor to the first wave of engineers schooled in the field, Dan absolutely embodies Lehigh’s commitment to inspiring Future Makers.”—Chris Larkin Hannah Dailey ’02 ’06G ’09 Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics in Lehigh’s P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, was named a 2024 recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by the Biden administration. The award recognizes exceptional professionals in the fields of science and engineering and is the highest such honor given by the U.S. government. Dailey was one of nearly 400 recipients, all of whom are employed or funded by one of 14 participating agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Dailey was nominated for her work developing a virtual mechanical test that can identify nonunions—a failure of broken bones to properly heal—early in the healing process. Nonunions occur in about 10 percent of shinbone fractures, and patients with such a diagnosis face higher rates of depression, opioid use and addiction. Earlier detection would allow for earlier surgical intervention. Dailey received the NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award for her research in 2020. “Professor Dailey’s groundbreaking contributions at the intersection of mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, computational science and human health are an inspiration to students and faculty,” said Stephen P. DeWeerth, professor and dean of the P.C. Rossin College. “The PECASE award underscores the exceptional caliber of her work and the interdisciplinary research and innovation taking place at Lehigh.” For Dailey, the PECASE award is a highlight of her journey in engineering. “I’m very grateful to NSF for having supported my research, and to Lehigh for enabling me to pursue this vision,” she said. RECOGNITION Hannah Dailey Receives Presidential Early Career Award The professor and orthopaedics and biomechanics researcher was recognized with a top government honor for scientists and engineers for her work on fracture healing. CHRISTA NEU “I’M VERY GRATEFUL TO NSF FOR HAVING SUPPORTED MY RESEARCH, AND TO LEHIGH FOR ENABLING ME TO PURSUE THIS VISION.” —Hannah Dailey ’02 ’06G ’09 Ph.D.
6 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST the mountains in her free time, Kreitz felt a deep connection to the state—one that inspired her to take action and help those suffering from devastation caused by the storm. Jumping into Action In early October, Kreitz took to Facebook to raise nearly $10,000 in donations, gathered via Venmo and PayPal, to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene damage. She also recruited dozens of volunteers, including two fellow Lehigh alumni and a Pennsylvania-based construction crew, to aid in her efforts of cleaning out and restoring damaged homes in Barnardsville, North Carolina. Barnardsville is a small mountain town located about 20 minutes north of Asheville, North Carolina, that was particularly impacted by the hurricane. According to Kreitz, the small creek that runs through the town overflowed during the storm and flooded many homes in the area, sweeping some entirely off their foundations. Kreitz and her friend Gerik Bensing ’14 came across Barnardsville while driving through areas surrounding Asheville, searching for people they could help. The duo drove door to door in the town, handing out envelopes of cash collected from Kreitz’s fundraising efforts to families in need to repair their homes. When a neighbor directed Kreitz and Bensing to check on the home of one particular family of four—a mother, father and two teenage daughters—Kreitz was motivated to expand her volunteer efforts to home restoration. “The whole mobile home was lifted off of its foundation by the flood waters and “AS I WAS DRIVING AWAY FROM NORTH CAROLINA, I REALLY JUST KNEW THAT I WAS GOING THE WRONG WAY AND I HAD TO GO BACK AND HELP.” —Ashley Kreitz ’15 Katie Gregory ’15 and Ashley Kreitz ’15 share a hug while working on restoring a home in Barnardsville, North Carolina. COMMUNITY | ALUMNI ʼ15 Alumni Aid in Hurricane Relief Ashley Kreitz ’15 raised nearly $10,000 and recruited fellow alumni to help restore homes in North Carolina that were damaged by Hurricane Helene. Ashley Kreitz ’15 couldn’t bear the sight of the storm-ravaged North Carolina mountains in her rearview mirror as she drove north toward her home state of Pennsylvania and away from the path of Hurricane Helene— a Category 4 storm that devastated parts of the South in September 2024. “As I was driving away from North Carolina, I really just knew that I was going the wrong way and I had to go back and help,” Kreitz recalled. Helene made landfall in North Carolina on September 27, generating record rainfall and causing severe flooding and landslides that damaged thousands of homes. Helene is one of the deadliest U.S. storms in the 21st century, with more than 100 confirmed deaths in North Carolina alone, according to a report from the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management. It’s disasters like Helene that are at the core of the work being done by researchers in the Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience, Lehigh University’s first University Research Center, established in 2024, as they attempt to assess the risk of these kinds of events and plan for them. Such disasters raise questions about what can be done to ensure communities can withstand catastrophes and quickly rebuild. It is the latter that also became the focus of Kreitz’s volunteer efforts in North Carolina. After spending a few years working as an environmental science instructor in Charlotte, North Carolina, and canoeing and biking through
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2025 | 7 slammed into a tree, causing the back bedroom to break off,” Kreitz said. “It was covered in inches of mud and already condemned.” During the storm, the family of four who lived in the mobile home took shelter in a two-bedroom house next door that they inherited from a recently deceased grandparent. Prior to the storm, the family had been fixing up the house and had planned to sell it, but with their mobile home beyond repair, they were forced to move into the house as their permanent residence. Although the house fared better than the mobile home, the flood waters caused extensive damages that required a gut renovation. “The carpets were completely soaked, and mold was already beginning to grow on the damp walls by the time we got there,” Kreitz said. “We knew immediately that the carpet and lower half of the walls had to come out.” Rallying a Restoration Team After building a rapport with the family and posting images of their home on Facebook to raise funds for the repairs needed, Kreitz took it upon herself to begin the demolition. She turned to Facebook again to round up a crew of volunteers that helped remove the carpeting, subfloor and lower portions of the walls. One of the volunteers from South Carolina was Katie Gregory ’15, Kreitz’s friend who was also an earth and environmental sciences major at Lehigh. “When I saw what was happening in North Carolina, I wanted to help in any way that I could,” Gregory said. “As soon as I found out that Ashley was helping, I reached out to her and asked if I could join her crew for a weekend, and it was awesome.” With limited resources and the construction skills needed to refinish the home, Kreitz had the idea to seek out a construction crew or contractors who were looking to donate their time and services. After posting a call to action and searching various groups on Facebook, she found Relentless Construction, LLC, a Milton, Pennsylvania-based construction company that wanted to volunteer. The construction company also collected donations to help the families with purchasing materials, Kreitz said, and once they arrived in Barnardsville, they teamed up with the volunteer crew led by Kreitz. The group installed new subfloor, flooring, insulation, drywall and ductwork, and the home restoration project was completed in November. “It’s more about trying to get as many homes to a safe spot, and then the family can do the finishing touches whenever they feel that they are able to,” Kreitz said. Building a Lasting Bond For Kreitz, building a bond with the family she helped has been a highlight of her volunteer work. “I feel very welcome for the rest of my life, and it’s just a good connection,” she said. While coordinating everything— from posting renovation progress on Facebook to crowdsourcing volunteers to fundraising to project planning—consumed the majority of her days spent volunteering, Kreitz said she found the work so rewarding. Gregory said she is amazed by Kreitz’s efforts and would love to volunteer with her again in the future. “It has been amazing to see her bring all the people together on this crew to help out this family, and it’s been such a joy to work with her,” she said. “She has been such a superstar.” Both Kreitz and Gregory said they encourage everyone to not be afraid to take action and keep the momentum going on cleanup and relief efforts, as areas like Barnardsville could experience a long road to recovery. “Don’t be afraid that you don’t know what you’re doing; you just have to go do it,” Kreitz said. “Like everything in life, you figure it out as you go. You just have to start somewhere and just go for it.” —Lauren Thein Katie Gregory ’15 and other volunteers gather in front of the home that Ashley Kreitz ’15 and her volunteer team restored in Barnardsville, North Carolina. Ashley Kreitz ’15 and Gerik Bensing ’14 helped remove water, mud and debris from a building in the River Arts District located in Asheville, North Carolina.
8 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST Four Questions philanthropy from our donors. I was on a basketball scholarship and the beneficiary of someone else’s generosity, and that is something I’m always reminded of in the impact it had on my journey. I’m mostly looking forward to helping lead the GO Beyond: Campaign for Future Makers efforts in reaching our goal of $1.25B. When I think about some of Lehigh's core values, I see that they align with mine: integrity and honesty, commitment to excellence, leadership and intellectual curiosity. How did your time at Lehigh help you with your career? I fully embraced the rigor that came with being a studentathlete at Lehigh, and in turn, it prepared me for the rigors of the real world. The Lehigh alumni network is powerful, and I was able to land my first job through a Lehigh Men’s Basketball connection, which paved the way for me to have a career in development/fundraising. You earned a number of accolades playing basketball, including Second Team All-Patriot League and Lehigh Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2005-2006. You’re also second in Lehigh’s record books for most points scored in a game with 45. What did you enjoy most about playing for Lehigh? Of all the accolades, the two I’m most proud of are the Scholar-Athlete of the Year and being honored as the inaugural recipient of the Patriot League Sportsmanship Award. As much fun as we had on the court, I enjoyed the time I had to build strong bonds with my teammates, many of whom I still call close friends today. You’ve worked in fundraising for the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. What brought you back to Lehigh? I’ve stayed connected to Lehigh over the years, even while out on the West Coast during my time at Stanford University. As an alum, I became intrigued with the ambitions of the Lehigh Strategy, Inspiring the Future Makers, and the vision set forth by the leadership at Lehigh. I believed I could help make a difference in pushing it forward. ... It’s amazing to be back. I’m passionate about this place, and some of the best years of my life were spent on this campus. What do you enjoy about fundraising, and what aspects of your new role at Lehigh are you most looking forward to? I enjoy the relationship-building aspects of our work and discovering the personal stories of fulfillment that drive the generous UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP ʼ79 Joey Knight ’07: ‘Pushing It Forward’ Best known for his time on the basketball court when he was an undergraduate studying social psychology, Knight recently returned to Lehigh as associate vice president for development in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. CHRISTA NEU
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2025 | 9 For the first time, Lehigh has been recognized as a Diversity Champion, an honor awarded to institutions that exemplify an unyielding commitment to inclusive excellence and belonging across their campus communities, academic programs and leadership. In addition, Lehigh received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for the sixth consecutive year, reaffirming its dedication to fostering an environment where all students, faculty and staff can thrive. Both recognitions were announced in Insight Into Diversity’s November 2024 publication. Fostering a sense of belonging on campus requires intentionality and the right policies, practices and support systems. It requires continuous assessment—listening to students, faculty and staff to understand their needs and adjust efforts, said Donald Outing, Lehigh’s vice president for equity and community. “As we continue to face an ever-changing landscape in higher education, fostering belonging is crucial to maintaining our competitiveness as an institution and ensuring that our community thrives,” Outing said. “The work we do in this space is essential, not only for the success of individuals, but also for the long-term success of Lehigh University itself.” What Made Lehigh Stand Out Key initiatives that foster belonging at Lehigh include: offering inclusive physical spaces, such as gender neutral facilities, a multicultural center and accessible buildings. Academically, Lehigh strives to create a curriculum reflecting diverse perspectives, combined with equitable teaching practices. Services, including financial aid, counseling services and academic support, have been expanded. Outing aims to expand programs that strengthen the recruitment and retention of all students, while ensuring equitable access and support for those from historically underrepresented and first-generation backgrounds. Additionally, he seeks to refine how his office measures and reports on equity, inclusion and student success initiatives. —Christina Tatu ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Lehigh Receives National Recognition for Commitment to Inclusive Excellence APPOINTED ENDOWED CHAIR NAMED Vinod Namboodiri, a professor with a joint appointment in the College of Health and P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, has been named the inaugural Ellen and Vincent Forlenza ’75 Endowed Chair in Health Innovation and Technology in the College of Health. Ellen and Vincent Forlenza ’75 made the generous gift that created this endowed chair. Namboodiri’s initial appointment will be for five years, during which time he will work to drive innovation in health and technology to advance the mission of the College of Health and the Lehigh community at large. Namboodiri joined Lehigh in 2023. He actively contributes to the College of Health and P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science in research, service, mentoring and teaching. —Jessica Jackson and Katie Jones “THE WORK WE DO IN THIS SPACE IS ESSENTIAL, NOT ONLY FOR THE SUCCESS OF INDIVIDUALS, BUT ALSO FOR THE LONGTERM SUCCESS OF LEHIGH UNIVERSITY ITSELF.” — Donald Outing, vice president for equity and community LEHIGH LIBRARIES RANKED NO. 10 BY PRINCETON REVIEW Lehigh University Libraries ranked 10th best library in the United States, according to The Princeton Review’s 2025 edition of “Best 390 Colleges.” This recognition reflects the libraries' commitment to providing an inspiring, resource-rich environment for the Lehigh student body. The results were based on student surveys conducted in the 2023-24 academic year and/or the previous two academic years. Lehigh’s ability to secure the 10th spot in the rankings was based on a single question: “How do you rate your school’s library facilities?” “Our libraries are places that combine outstanding resources, collections, community events and multiple types of study space that enrich the student experience and promote academic success,” said Boaz Nadav-Manes, university librarian.—Kathleen Frederick RANKINGS ACADEMIC IMAGE / CHRISTA NEU
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SPRING 2025 | 11 Schooled in Safety Peter Luba ’22 co-founded SmartPass, a digital hall pass system used to help manage student movement and increase school safety. As a young man recently named to the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 Education list, Peter Luba ’22 has reached professional success quickly, yet he didn’t follow a conventional, thought-out plan to achieve it. Luba feels that the lack of a specific plan has been a strength as he and a high school friend built an app called SmartPass, which now helps thousands of schools manage student movement and increase student accountability and safety. To Luba, SmartPass was one concept created in response to voids he saw. “We never intended to build out a business,” says Luba about himself and his co-founder Dhruv Sringari. “SmartPass was a side project. It was just fun.” But build a business, they did. SmartPass is used in more than 3,800 schools—mostly middle and high schools—across 50 states. The list includes schools in the Lehigh Valley, such as Broughal Middle School in South Bethlehem. Lehigh is the lead partner with Broughal in the Community Schools initiative in partnership with the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. Through the program, Lehigh’s Community Service Office helps provide support to students, including tutoring, mentoring and social services. In December, SmartPass was acquired by Raptor Technologies, a worldwide leader in school safety software solutions. Raptor story by JODI DUCKETT photography by CHRISTA NEU
12 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN works with 60,000 schools globally, including more than 5,000 K-12 U.S. school districts. As part of Raptor, SmartPass will reach millions of teachers and students. Luba serves as director of product at Raptor. SmartPass is a digital hall pass system that eliminates the need for teachers and administrators to manage students who need to go to places outside the classroom, such as the restroom, the nurse’s office or the principal’s office. “Teachers have the hardest job in the world, and we want to make it easier,” says Luba. The app works this way: Students who want to leave the classroom ask a teacher for permission, then press a button in the app to make a formal request. At that time, a countdown timer will start to let the student know how much time they have. On a practical basis, SmartPass minimizes classroom disruption and provides information about where students are at all times. It can put students in a queue for the nurse or the restroom. It can deny a hall pass to a student if another student of concern is also out of the classroom or if a student has had too many passes in one day. SmartPass encourages students to be responsible for themselves. One of the app’s primary functions is improving school safety. Bullying can be addressed. Vandalism and vaping can be disrupted. And in cases of emergency, administrators will know where all students are, which wasn’t possible under the old system. “The main benefit is it reduces all the hallway chaos that was previously happening,” says Luba. But much more happens in the background. SmartPass collects and analyzes data that provides schools with valuable information to improve student performance. It can tell how much time a student has not been in class and provide insight into why a student isn’t performing well. It can analyze student movement patterns in an era where there are more students and more places to go. According to Luba, schools have reported that SmartPass has resulted in as much as a 60 percent reduction in missed classes and 45 percent drops in behavioral referrals. THE JOURNEY Luba’s path to success has been a whirlwind journey that you might say was in Luba’s genes. The oldest child of a father who worked in product management and a mother in finance, Luba was influenced by both. “I was always tinkering around and building random stuff,” he says, starting with LEGO bricks and K’NEX. Born and raised in the Philadelphia suburbs, Luba was very engaged as a student in the Methacton School District, and he created his first app as a sophomore in high school. He says students were annoyed with the clunky website the school used to share grades, so Luba and Sringari created an app that notified students every time a grade was posted. They named it Sapphire Access, after the old system, Sapphire. Luba wasn’t schooled in creating apps; he says he and Sringari taught themselves. Luba says teachers continued to input grades in the old website, but the app would log in, pull out the information and notify students. It spread like wildfire, with 80 percent of students using it, Luba says, before the school put a new system in place. Then, during a coding class at the end of their senior year in 2018, Luba and Sringari worked with their assistant principal on an app to tackle another school problem— tracking students’ use of hall passes. “Students were wandering around the school hallways. Every single period they were leaving the classroom, and there was no way to monitor this,” says Luba. “Our school had gotten Chromebooks and we wondered why we were still using paper sign-out sheets. Why couldn’t students just click a couple of buttons and notify the teacher where they wanted to go?” They named their app SmartPass, and Luba says teachers immediately loved it. It took bothersome and time-consuming student monitoring out of their hands. “If you wanted to know who vandalized the bathroom at 10 a.m., in a couple of clicks, you would know,” Luba says. Soon after, Luba and Sringari were off to college, but they kept working on SmartPass. Sringari went to Penn State to study computer science. Luba says he chose Lehigh because he could combine his interests in business and technology. He enrolled in the Integrated Business and Engineering program but switched to Computer Science and Business when he realized he wanted to be in the tech space. “I knew that even if I didn’t want to do coding, having the understanding and fundamentals would be super important,” he says. In between classes and activities, Luba and Sringari were improving, marketing and selling SmartPass. Luba says work- “ Teachers have the hardest job in the world, and we want to make it easier.” —Peter Luba ’22
SPRING 2025 | 13 ing on SmartPass in tandem with taking classes “helped solidify my Lehigh education. It made everything so much more real instantaneously.” For example, when he learned about a marketing tactic, he immediately applied it to SmartPass. “All my computer science classes made me literate in talking with our engineers and developers,” he says. Luba says Lehigh excels in providing freedom and opportunity. “If you wanted to do something new, there was nothing stopping you and all the resources were there to absorb. The vibe was very entrepreneurial.” MOVING SMARTPASS FORWARD Luba and Sringari grew SmartPass with an educator-first approach—relying heavily on input from the people closest to school problems. They formalized that approach by creating customer advisory boards to offer immediate feedback on new ideas and prototypes. When Luba graduated, he says he still thought of SmartPass as a side project even though it was being used by more than 200 schools. He took a full-time job as an associate product manager at Salesforce, a Fortune 500 software company, and moved to San Francisco. He says it was an important experience to learn how to work inside a company. But during that time, SmartPass took off. The COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated its growth. When students returned to school, there were more behavioral issues and monitoring them became more difficult. In addition, COVID forced more schools to embrace technology. After seven months at Salesforce, Luba left to commit full-time to SmartPass. By then, it was in 1,000 schools and serving 2 million students. “We realized that SmartPass was not just going to be a thing we could do on the side. This rocketship is going with or without us. This is our time to shine,” says Luba. In 2023, SmartPass raised $2.2 million from investors, led by Reach Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that supports entrepreneurs who develop technology solutions for challenges in education. Within two years, SmartPass expanded its staff from eight to 55, including engineers, designers, product managers, sales and customer support specialists, and operations and marketing professionals. SmartPass is now one of the two largest companies in the digital hall pass space. Luba sometimes feels surprised at his success, but then he reflects on the amount of hard work he put in. “A challenge was how much work it is to build something—especially with competitors. You have to move fast; every minute counts.” He says Lehigh helped him learn to manage time. “I was always juggling a million different things.” Still, Luba doesn’t feel like he is special. He believes that if he could do this, anyone can. “I tell this to a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs. Just start small. Just start right now. There are so many resources online. You don’t have to have a whole business plan. We were super naïve, but we said, ‘Let’s just do this thing and do it one step at a time.’ That benefited us.” He adds, “Embrace not being the smartest person in the room and leverage that.” L Peter Luba ’22 sits in Broughal Middle School in South Bethlehem, which utilizes SmartPass. Below: A demonstration of the SmartPass app in use.
14 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST Nationally renowned news editor Marty Baron ’76 ’76G ’14H and digital journalist and award-winning podcaster V Spehar offered their viewpoints on navigating today’s media landscape as the last two speakers in the 2024-25 Compelling Perspectives event series hosted by Lehigh University. The program aims to create a forum for fostering respectful discourse among differing perspectives on issues of critical and societal importance. The conversations with Baron and Spehar, focusing on the role of media in contemporary society, were led by President Joseph J. Helble ’82. Marty Baron Discusses Journalism and Democracy Reflecting on his 45-year career in journalism, Baron told the crowd gathered in Packard Laboratory 101 that a free press is essential to democracy, but the cornerstone is facing unprecedented challenges. He was the second speaker in this academic year’s series held on Dec. 5, 2024. Baron has served as editor-in-chief of The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and Miami Herald, in addition to holding senior editor roles at The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. Newsrooms under his leadership earned 18 Pulitzer Prizes. He led The Globe’s 2002 investigation into the Catholic Church’s cover-up of clergy sex abuse, which was later portrayed in the Academy Award-winning movie “Spotlight.” “When there’s evidence of wrongdoing, especially great Speakers Marty Baron ’76 ’76G ’14H (left) and V Spehar (below) rounded out this academic year’s Compelling Perspectives events. SPEAKER SERIES4 Renowned Editor Marty Baron and Digital Journalist V Spehar Take Part in Compelling Perspectives The speakers shared their viewpoints on the media’s role in contemporary society. THE WASHINGTON POST / CHRISTA NEU
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2025 | 15 wrongdoing, I think journalists have an obligation to look into it,” Baron said. The Spotlight investigation and its subsequent publicity continues to have an impact on how institutions around the world deal with allegations of sexual abuse and harassment. It also reignited investigative journalism, which “atrophied at a lot of institutions” because it requires a lot of time and money, but doesn’t always guarantee results, Baron said. “Most importantly, it gave voice to people who hadn’t had a voice, and it reminded journalists that we need to listen to people who don’t have power, because they often have very powerful things to say.” It’s journalists’ responsibility to present the facts for the public, but it’s not easy, he said. He believes reporters need to do a better job of understanding the general public and accurately and honestly reflecting the public’s concerns and political views. People need to see they are reflected in the stories being reported. Journalists also need to keep an open mind and not assume they know the answers to a story before it is thoroughly investigated, Baron said. Baron has returned to campus numerous times, including to celebrate the 125th anniversary of The Brown and White. He was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper while at Lehigh. V Spehar Explains Nontraditional Media Challenges Digital journalist V Spehar shared insight into nontraditional media and the challenges and opportunities it presents to journalists during the third and final event of this academic year’s series that took place on Feb. 6 at Baker Hall in Zoellner Arts Center. Spehar is the host and creator of @underthedesknews on TikTok, where they post short-form videos recapping notable headlines to more than 3 million subscribers. Spehar is also the host of the “V Interesting” podcast and creator of a Substack that has more than 73,000 subscribers. Spehar spoke about their unique path to becoming a digital journalist, having studied theater in college before earning their MBA and going on to work in restaurants in New York City. Their first under-desk video appeared on Jan. 6, 2021, when Spehar posted a TikTok explaining the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution while sitting under a desk. “I just thought nothing of it, and I went back to it, and it had millions of views,” recalled Spehar. “My friend [said], ‘You better get back under that desk and tell people what’s going on now’ … and it’s been four years.” Though Spehar has amassed a large following for their news reporting, they said they sometimes struggle with calling themself a journalist, and they continue to explore what being a journalist means in an evolving media landscape. “I think at this point it would be disingenuous for me to say that I’m not a journalist, because saying you’re not a journalist kind of forgives you of any mistakes or intentional misinformation or disinformation you put out,” Spehar said. “You have to hold yourself to certain ethics standards.” Spehar explained the differences between mis- and disinformation, and said misinformation is when a reporter makes a mistake that can be fixed. Disinformation, they said, is the intentional manipulation of somebody for some sort of other gain, and can manifest in the intentional placing of conspiracy theories or lies. Spehar said the means for building a culture around deciphering and better identifying disinformation from fact needs to be further explored. Prior to both Compelling Perspectives events, Baron and Spehar attended question-and-answer sessions with groups of students. Information, including the topic and speakers, for the 2025-26 academic year is forthcoming.—Christina Tatu and Lauren Thein “WHEN THERE’S EVIDENCE OF WRONG- DOING, ESPECIALLY GREAT WRONGDOING, I THINK JOURNALISTS HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO LOOK INTO IT.” —Marty Baron ’76 ’76G ’14H Provost Nathan Urban (left) with Marty Baron ’76 ’76G ’14H (right) and a group of students at a question-and-answer session prior to the Compelling Perspectives event on Dec. 5, 2024. V Spehar CHRISTA NEU
16 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST When Bill Hunter, director of Fellowship Advising and UN Programs at Lehigh, interviewed for his first Lehigh University position in 1999, then-Provost Nelson G. Markley asked, “Where could Lehigh be in five years under your leadership?” Hunter—who at the time worked in a role that served the United Nations—said he believed within five years, Lehigh could be an accredited nongovernmental organization (NGO) at the U.N. Just over five years later, Lehigh became only the sixth university to ever attain NGO status, and the Lehigh University/United Nations (LU/UN) Partnership was born. This academic year, it celebrated its 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades, the Partnership has provided opportunities for all Lehigh University students, faculty and staff to gain skills necessary to become successful global Future Makers by engaging with the U.N. in meaningful ways. The U.N. as a Classroom Each year more than 1,000 Lehigh faculty, staff and students attend U.N. conferences, high-level briefings and private meetings with ambassadors and other U.N. officials in New York City and on campus. Students can engage the U.N. through the United Nations Youth Representative Program, which matches U.N.-accredited NGOs with high-achieving undergraduate and graduate students who serve that NGO’s voice at the U.N. They can also engage through internships, class trips, faculty research presentations, the UNA- Lehigh Student Club and more. Andrew Ward, a professor in the management department, regularly takes MBA students to the U.N. as part of his “Societal Shifts” class to understand the intersection of business and the U.N.’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). “We also bring U.N. personnel to Lehigh to engage with students, offering insights into global issues,” Ward said. “We also set up a scholarship for U.N. personnel to join Lehigh’s MBA program, bringing diverse perspectives to the classroom.” The Partnership has hosted visits to campus from many U.N. officials over the years, including Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya in 2024. Shaping Careers Nur-e Rahman Freedman ’04 was one of the students who went to the U.N. the day Lehigh received its NGO accreditation. She interned at the U.N. and went on to work at Google, primarily focusing on rebranding efforts and change management. In 2023, she began her own consulting company, Kerning Strategies. She described the LU/UN partnership as a foundational experience that helped shape her career. “Getting exposure to these world leaders at such a young age, being in the room where it’s happening and organizing NGOs from all across the world—it’s just a remarkable experience,” she said.—Colin McEvoy GLOBAL LU/UN Partnership Celebrates 20th Anniversary The Partnership has opened doors for the Lehigh community to engage with global leaders. 1,000+ Lehigh students, faculty and staff engage with the U.N. through the LU/UN Partnership each year 20+ Lehigh professors have presented their research at the U.N. 6th Lehigh was only the 6th university to ever attain nongovernmental organization (NGO) status at the U.N. 30 Lehigh students have directly engaged with U.N. Ambassadors from more than 30 countries 6 missions at the U.N. have worked with Lehigh to add sustainability to their offices through the Greening the Blue initiative LU/UN PARTNERSHIP BY THE NUMBERS
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2025 | 17 Inc. With This 1 Move, Google May Have Solved a Huge AI Content Problem Lichao Sun, professor of computer science and engineering, and research colleagues developed a program called HarmonyCloak. The program adds data to music recordings to trick an AI algorithm into thinking it’s already heard the track, which deters the algorithm from incorporating the music into its training data. Business Insider ‘I Just Can’t’: Why So Many Consumers Are Sick and Tired of Online Shopping Jessecae Marsh, professor of psychology, shares why online shopping has become overwhelming with the increasing number of options. “Amazon’s doing what we think the American dream is, which is, have all the choice in the world,” she said. “But choice can be paralyzing.” NPR Recipient of Pig Kidney Transplant Reaches a Milestone Pig organ transplants performed so far, outside of rigorous clinical trials, provide limited evidence, NPR writes. “If this person lives for a good long time, whatever that means—six months, a year, longer—with a pig kidney, that alone is not going to allow us to conclude that this is a solution to the organ shortage,” said Michael Gusmano, professor of health policy. Lehigh Faculty in the Media Lehigh has long been recognized as a university that conducts significant research. Now it is among the top cohort of research institutions—a prestigious honor held by a select few of the nation’s colleges and universities. Attaining R1 status, the highest level of research activity in the Carnegie Classification system, is a milestone that means a university conducts a “very high volume of research” and awards a large number of research doctorates, according to Carnegie. Lehigh is the only university in the Lehigh Valley to have the designation and one of seven in the state. It will attract and retain top faculty, assist in securing funding for academic research and boost the cutting-edge research that attracts doctorate-level students. It also will benefit the community as Lehigh continues to educate a highly skilled workforce. Each year, R1 institutions spend at least $50 million on research and development and produce at least 70 research doctorates. Lehigh was previously an R2, which classifies universities spending at least $5 million on research and development and producing at least 20 doctorates per year. In 2023, the most recent data available, Lehigh awarded 94 doctorates. That same year, the university spent $56.3 million on research, up from $41.2 million in 2021. One of the goals of Lehigh’s strategic plan, Inspiring the Future Makers, is to double research activity over the next 10 years. “We’ve hit a major milestone. It’s not the end of the road, but it’s a major milestone along the way, and it’s something we should be proud of, because it’s not easy to do,” said Dominic Packer, professor and associate provost for research. Since 2024, three interdisciplinary University Research Centers were established, tackling issues including preparing for and recovering from natural disasters and helping persons with disabilities navigate their environment. Lehigh also was awarded a $6 million National Science Foundation grant to speed up the translation of research into actual use. Lehigh officials plan to double the number of faculty associated with those research centers and say the designation will increase the number of postdoctoral researchers. “It’s really a signal to the world that we are a serious research institution operating at the very highest level,” Packer said.—Christina Tatu RESEARCH Lehigh Named Top-Tier Research School R1 status recognizes universities with the highest level of research activity in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. “LEHIGH IS KNOWN FOR RESEARCH THAT PUSHES THE BOUNDARIES OF KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION. THAT WORK ALIGNS WITH THE HIGHEST-LEVEL CLASSIFICATION—R1.” —President Joseph J. Helble ’82 CHRISTA NEU
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