FROM THE NEST | SUMMER 2025 | 9 After serving as interim assistant vice president of Development and Alumni Relations since September 2024, Stephanie Fisher assumed the position on a permanent basis July 1. Fisher, who began at Lehigh in 2017 as an associate director of class affinity and was promoted to director of class affinity in 2021, most recently served as executive director of Development and Alumni Relations. She said she has enjoyed meeting and interacting with alumni throughout her time at Lehigh and is thrilled to continue her work in her new role. “I’ve learned how amazing the alumni are, how passionate they are about Lehigh and how much they want to see it succeed and thrive,” Fisher said. “We’ve got a great team—Alumni Relations specifically is a fantastic group of people that are really committed to their work here and to the alumni of Lehigh, and I’m excited to lead them. There is a lot of work to be done, and I’m looking forward to the challenge at this critical time in higher education.” Mentorship, Young Alumni Key One area Fisher plans to focus on is mentorship. She said it’s something alumni want to assist with and it’s also extremely beneficial for current students. She highlighted the university’s “incredibly powerful” alumni network and the “Future Makers” work they’re already doing in the real world. From her time overseeing young alumni engagement, she believes connecting with young alumni is crucial. “Having young alumni buy into all that we do, being engaged and connected, it’s all part of a pipeline,” Fisher said. “It’s critical that we don’t forget about that group, because it’s a very important part of our population.”—Stephen Gross APPOINTED ʼ79 Stephanie Fisher Named AVP of Development and Alumni Relations FACULTY NAMED TO NATIONAL ACADEMY OF INVENTORS Lehigh professors from the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science and the College of Arts and Sciences have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Collectively, the 2025 cohort of 162 senior members of NAI are named inventors on over 1,200 U.S. patents. Yahong Rosa Zheng Professor of electrical and computer engineering Xuanhong Cheng Professor of bioengineering and materials science and engineering Volkmar Dierolf AGF Distinguished University Professor of Physics Jonas Baltrusaitis Associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering Xiaoji Xu Danser Distinguished Faculty Chair in Chemistry Siddha Pimputkar Associate professor of materials science and engineering Matthew Lahey Vice president and university general counsel With more than two decades of legal experience in higher education and private practice, Lahey joins Lehigh after most recently serving as vice president, general counsel and secretary at Oberlin College, where he was the college’s chief legal officer and liaison to the Board of Trustees and its committees. Christine E. Cook Vice president for finance and administration In Cook’s role, she provides leadership, oversight and stewardship for all aspects of the university’s financial resources. She joined Lehigh three years ago as vice president for strategic planning and initiatives, leading Lehigh’s Inspiring the Future Makers strategic planning process. Katherine Lavinder Vice president for student affairs Lavinder is building on more than a decade of dedicated leadership within Lehigh’s student life community. She first joined Lehigh as associate dean of students in 2011, became dean of students in 2017 and was promoted to assistant vice president in 2023. ADDITIONAL RECENT APPOINTMENTS CHRISTA NEU
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