Lehigh ALUMNI BULLETIN SUMMER 2024 From the Gridiron to the Garden page 10 page 28 When Bones do The Talking page 34 Making ʻInfinite Connnectionsʼ PREDICTING RISK, REBUILDING COMMUNITIES New University Research Center aims to more accurately predict the risks caused by catastrophes so that communities can prepare and recover faster. page 22
Graduates from the Class of 2024 pose in front of Packard Lab. Separate ceremonies were held for graduate and undergraduate students on May 18-19. Photo by Christa Neu.
CONTENTS ON THE COVER: The Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience brings together a team of faculty who attempt to predict catastrophes and assess their associated risks. Illustration by Ana Kova PRESIDENT’S LETTER 3 CLASS NOTES 47 IN REMEMBRANCE 75 ENDNOTE 80 6 Building Bridges Through Jazz Mount Allen III ’11G pushes the limits of computer networking technology to advance educational equity. 7 Exploring the Earth’s Oceans New center brings together an interdisciplinary team to study the vast ocean system. 10 From the Gridiron to the Garden Matt Salvaterra ’03 made headlines playing football at Lehigh. Now he’s tackling organic farming. 21 A ‘Rising Tide’ of Support Lehigh recommits to program aimed at helping small businesses. 22 Predicting Risk, Rebuilding Communities New University Research Center aims to more accurately predict the risks caused by catastrophes so that communities can recover faster. 28 When Bones Do the Talking Bioarchaeologist Armando Anzellini helps analyze human remains at a Romanian burial site. 30 Top 5 Moments from Reunion 34 Making ‘Infinite Connections’ Alumni’s ham radio call signs discovered during the Clayton UC renovation revive memories of Lehigh’s Amateur Radio Society. 41 Giant Debut Former Lehigh pitcher Mason Black makes his Major League Baseball debut. “The Alley House Program brings together an incredible group of partners to imagine new ways to build houses that people can afford to live in.” —Wes Hiatt, architect and co-director of the Small Cities Lab, Page 4
2 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | EDITOR’S LETTER Intrigued by the drawings and ham radio call signs found etched on walls in the Clayton University Center at Packer Hall, we put out a call to alumni on Instagram and on the pages of the spring issue of the magazine: Could anyone shed a light? Who might have spent time in those fifth-floor dorm rooms that had been sealed up for decades? “I try to imagine the students who may have slept there,” said Lois Black, director of Special Collections. She had been fascinated by the opportunity to make a connection to the university’s early history. Opening the rooms during renovations was like opening a time capsule, Special Collections Librarian Ilhan Citak said. Imagine our delight, then, when we learned from a reader about a way to put a name to those ham radio call signs. Writer Christina Tatu was able to track down two of the alums.1 Read her story (page 34) to see where the journey has taken us. I was thinking a lot about what Black and Citak had to say as we put the final touches on this issue. In many ways, your alumni magazine is a time capsule too—of moments in EDITOR’S LETTER Reflections Mary Ellen Alu Editor We’d love to hear from you. You can send an email to communications@lehigh.edu. Lehigh’s storied history; of physical changes to campus; of students, faculty and alumni striving to make a difference. It is, in part, why Special Collections has digitized more than 100 years’ worth of the magazine. This issue captures the launch of Lehigh’s first University Research Center—The Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience (page 22)—and so much more.2 Writer Stephen Gross catches up with Matt Salvaterra ’03, who made headlines playing football at Lehigh.3 Now, inspired by an 1800s Parisian style of gardening, Salvaterra tackles organic farming (page 10). As I write this letter, I am feeling especially nostalgic, which is why I bring up the richness of this magazine. This issue marks my last as editor, a position I have held for the past three years, though I have been involved with the magazine for a decade. I am retiring. It has been a privilege to bring you these stories, which have been so varied—a profile on “Super Producer” Ricky Kirshner ’82; an oral history of “When Lehigh Beat Duke”; an in-depth look at Lehigh’s partnership with community leaders for “Sunrise on the South Side.” Thank you for reading. 1. In the ’60s, the “ham shack” was on the basement level of the Clayton UC, across the hall from the campus radio station, WLRN. Page 34. 3. Matt Salvaterra ’03 was such a popular football star that Lehigh created a bobblehead in his likeness—the only one ever made for Lehigh football. Page 10. 2. One study underway is looking at the issue of “social vulnerability”—who might be more vulnerable and have less resilience to recover after a disaster. Page 22. Issue Notes Matt Salvaterra ’03 excelled both in the classroom and on the gridiron while at Lehigh. Page 10 CHRISTA NEU
Lehigh Alumni Bulletin Vol. 109, No. 2, Summer 2024 Editor Mary Ellen Alu Associate Editor Stephen Gross Staff Writer Christina Tatu Contributing Writers Beth Blew, Dave Block, Emily Collins, Kristen DiPrinzio, Jodi Duckett, Vicki Mayk, Stephen Wilson Class Notes Editor Jessi McMullan ’05 Creative Director Kurt Hansen Art Director Beth Murphy Senior Designers Kate Cassidy, Neha Kavan Photographer Christa Neu Multimedia Content Producer Dan Collins 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 One year in, it’s really quite extraordinary the progress that we have made in the implementation of Lehigh’s strategic plan. I shared that tangible progress with many of you who were able to attend Reunion Weekend in June and found wide support as Lehigh continues to innovate, broaden its research impact and better prepare students for their futures. As The Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience gains momentum, we are continuing to work to expand our interdisciplinary research efforts. We plan to invest in two additional university research centers in key focus areas identified in our strategic plan—improving health through assessments and interventions that occur outside of traditional health care settings, and interdisciplinary research to understand conflict and change. A campus master plan is also underway, with a focus on improving the connectivity among the Asa Packer, Goodman and Mountaintop campus areas. The aim is to reinforce Lehigh as a singular campus, providing a diversity of experiences to its students. As part of that effort, we are working to fully activate Mountaintop’s 740 acres—where important research is already underway, including in the Small Cities Lab, with researchers tackling issues such as affordable housing and other matters plaguing small cities, and in the SwarmsLab, with innovative students and faculty designing and testing robot swarms to improve drone capabilities. In an effort to expand our existing interdisciplinary programs, we also are establishing a new Integrated Business and Health undergraduate degree that will be available to students beginning in Fall 2025. By combining disciplines, the degree will prepare students so that they can contribute immediately to the business side of health and health care following graduation. Working groups also are developing exploratory semesters and doctoral education programs. In this time of extraordinary change in higher education, Lehigh continues to strategically take steps to increase the value of a Lehigh education. For the second consecutive year, we had a record number of applicants—20,396, an 11% jump from the previous year. And, we saw exceptional career outcomes. In the Class of 2023, 95% of undergraduates reported being employed or pursuing continuing education, military or volunteer service a year after graduation. Among graduate students in that class, it’s 86%. I will continue to keep you informed of our progress. As I travel and meet with alumni, perhaps you’ll join me on a #PacethePrez Run too. Joseph J. Helble ’82 President of Lehigh University What a Difference a Year Makes SCAN TO WATCH PRESIDENT HELBLE’S VIDEO MESSAGE. “A CAMPUS MASTER PLAN IS ALSO UNDERWAY, WITH A FOCUS ON IMPROVING THE CONNECTIVITY AMONG THE ASA PACKER, GOODMAN AND MOUNTAINTOP CAMPUS AREAS.” PRESIDENT’S LETTER | SUMMER 2024 | 3
4 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST Lehigh is partnering with Community Action Lehigh Valley (CALV), the City of Bethlehem and New Bethany Inc. in an innovative program aimed at addressing the acute lack of affordable housing in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Under the direction of Wes Hiatt, assistant professor of architecture and faculty co-director of the Small Cities Lab at Lehigh, the program aims to address one component of the issue through a responsible revival of the Alley House— a historic housing type once common in the city. “The Alley House Program brings together an incredible group of partners to imagine new ways to build houses that people can afford to live in,” Hiatt said. “This program will revive the Alley House … to responsibly increase the supply of housing that is both affordable and respectful to our existing neighborhoods.” The Alley House Program is one of several projects pursued by the Small Cities Lab, an inReviving Alley Houses Innovative program addresses affordable housing issue. COMMUNITY terdisciplinary research laboratory that connects faculty expertise across multiple disciplines to work on community-centered projects in small cities nationwide. Real-World Challenges Lehigh students associated with the lab will participate in the design and construction of the first Alley House, as well as related civic and community engagement efforts. “This program presents a unique opportunity for our students to actively contribute by engaging in real-world challenges and collaborating with the City to implement tangible solutions outlined in its housing plan,” said Karen Beck-Pooley, professor of practice in the Department of Political Science and director of the Community Fellows graduate program and Environmental Policy program, alongside her role as faculty co-director of the Small Cities Lab. The community partners were awarded $850,000 in funding for the project through passage of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill. Additional funding includes a U.S. Housing and Urban Development grant for $196,722 to conduct a qualitative survey of accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinances, cataloging best practices and other financial incentives that contributed to the success of ADU reforms in small- to medium-sized municipalities. “Embracing innovation and community collaboration, the Alley House Program presents a remarkable opportunity for Lehigh University researchers and students to address the pressing issue of affordable housing,” said Lehigh Provost Nathan Urban. The program aligns with Lehigh’s research and educational mission, as well as the missions of CALV and New Bethany to help provide access to quality housing options for all community members, and supports the City of Bethlehem’s 2023 affordable housing strategy study. “THE ALLEY HOUSE PROGRAM BRINGS TOGETHER AN INCREDIBLE GROUP OF PARTNERS TO IMAGINE NEW WAYS TO BUILD HOUSES THAT PEOPLE CAN AFFORD TO LIVE IN.” —Architect Wes Hiatt Wes Hiatt SCAN CODE TO WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT THE SMALL CITIES LAB. CHRISTINE T. KRESCHOLLEK
FROM THE NEST | SUMMER 2024 | 5 ON CAMPUS Celebration of Culture More than 45 organizations participated in this year’s 35th Annual International Bazaar, celebrating the unique countries and cultures that compose Lehigh’s community. Musical performances, information tables, fashion shows, international foods and more were showcased during the event in April on the Clayton University Center front lawn. The largest international celebration on campus, the bazaar was hosted by Lehigh’s Office of International Students and Scholars. Lehigh’s first international students arrived from Brazil in 1868, just three years after the university opened. Today, Lehigh’s international community includes more than 1,600 members representing 82 different countries. This year’s bazaar featured Global Union student clubs that participated in previous years, such as the TUMBAO Latin-Caribbean Fusion dance team and the Helius Dance Club. It also included clubs participating for the first time, like the Polynesian Student Alliance, the Lehigh University Association of Ghanaian Students and the Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority. Also featured was food from a variety of local restaurants, including Anatolian Kitchen, Dajudah’s Kitchen, Hocca Bubble Tea, La Lupita, Machu Picchu Peruvian Restaurant, Nawab, The Olive Branch Restaurant, Rakkii Ramen, Thai Thai II and more. POP UP PERFORMANCE Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble performed “POP UP: An Artistic Adventure” on April 27-28. The show was written by and for the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, community. Audience members followed clues on a hand-painted map that took them on a 1.5-mile walk through the community. They were treated to short performances that popped up across the Lehigh campus and Bethlehem’s South Side. Performances took place on the street, and in windows, parks, plazas and businesses throughout the neighborhood. The performances included music, dance, theater and/or visual art and were inspired by interviews with local residents and business owners about South Side Bethlehem. The program brought to life community stories, secrets and dreams for the future. CHRISTA NEU / MARCUS SMITH ’25
6 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST Growing up in Detroit with a pianist as a father, Mount Allen III ’11G was encouraged to explore music. While his sister became a renowned jazz pianist, composer and educator, he went on to make landmark contributions to music in other ways. It was at Lehigh, where he pursued a master’s in educational leadership while working at the Zoellner Arts Center, that Allen grew passionate about addressing inequities in education. He said Professors George P. White and Floyd Beachum spurred his thinking about critical theory. “They can make mistakes. They can try things out, and it doesn’t go to the real Internet. It gives them that hands-on experience, without the real consequences.” “I became aware of how inequitable systems of education can be in America and the role of educational leadership in making a difference in people’s lives,” he said. Allen pioneered the idea of leveraging the high-speed National Research and Education Network (NREN), typically employed in the sciences, for virtual collaboration in the arts. ‘Opening Portals’ Today, Allen, who recently earned an Ed.D. from Cal State-Fresno in educational leadership, is director of operations at the San Francisco Jazz Center. He continues to push the limits of computer networking technology to advance educational equity. Among his efforts, he founded Opening Portals to the World of Jazz, a virtual education community that includes public libraries and schools from kindergartens to universities. One component is making live jazz performances and music master classes available through NREN to children whose schools would otherwise lack access. “There’s an opportunity for this technology to make an impact in the lived experiences of marginalized people, and one of the easiest ways to make this transformation is through cultural experiences,” he said. “Jazz and other improvisational art forms are really great vehicles for this.”—Dave Block Building Bridges Through Jazz COMMUNITY | ALUMNI ʼ11 Dominic DiFranzo The assistant professor of computer science & engineering and his team developed “Social Media TestDrive,” a tool that allows kids to learn digital literacy skills around cyberbullying and the like on a simulated social media platform. PODCAST | FACULTY New Appointments Announced After separate comprehensive national searches, Manoj K. Malhotra was named the Kevin L. and Lisa A. Clayton Dean of Lehigh’s College of Business, and Carol Packard was named Lehigh’s vice president for development and alumni relations. Malhotra was the John R. Mannix Medical Mutual of Ohio Professor of Operations Management and former dean of the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. He succeeds Georgette Chapman Phillips, who retired June 30. Malhotra brings a breadth of experience from holding significant academic and administrative roles. Packard, who was associate vice president for colleges and units at Cornell University, succeeds Joseph Buck. She brings more than 20 years of private sector and higher education experience with demonstrated expertise in strategic business and relationship development. SCAN CODE TO HEAR THE FULL PODCAST “MAKING THE INTERNET A SAFER PLACE.” Carol Packard Manoj K. Malhotra UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP
FROM THE NEST | SUMMER 2024 | 7 A new Lehigh Oceans Research Center, launched by the College of Arts and Sciences, aims to address the most pressing questions facing the Earth’s oceans. Four Lehigh researchers are affiliated with the center: Jill McDermott, associate professor of Earth and environmental sciences and the inaugural director of the center; Santiago Herrera, assistant professor of biological sciences; Michael Layden, associate professor of biological sciences; and John Paul Balmonte, assistant professor of Earth and environmental sciences. Advancing Knowledge “Lehigh Oceans is the vision of an interdisciplinary team of scientists who are committed to studying some of our most pressing environmental issues,” said Robert Flowers, the Herbert J. and Ann L. Siegel Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, at an inaugural symposium. “We can all agree that the world’s oceans are vast, but they are also complex and largely unexplored. Understanding the world’s largest biome is critical to our future. The core team of researchers comprising Lehigh Oceans, along with the students they mentor, will help advance our knowledge about the origins of life on Earth, and what creates a healthy ecosystem and thriving planet.” Exploring the Earth’s Oceans New center brings together interdisciplinary team to study the vast ocean system. RESEARCH ARTIFACTS FOUND More than 90 Native American artifacts—including pieces of pottery, tools and a flint knifepoint believed to be about 3,000 years old—were found on property owned by Lehigh in Upper Saucon Township. The artifacts were being returned to Delaware Nation, a sovereign, federally recognized nation of Lenape people whose traditional homelands encompass the Lehigh Valley, including what is today Lehigh’s campus. The artifacts, which include tools made of jasper, quartz and chalce- dony, were found during a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation archeological survey of nearly 100 acres, about half of which is owned by Lehigh. Delaware Nation planned to display them in their new museum at their headquarters in Oklahoma. Lehigh signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Delaware Nation in October 2023, signaling an ongoing, reciprocal partnership. PARTNERSHIP A Complex Environment The center aligns with Lehigh’s Strategic Plan, which calls for an investment in interdisciplinary research and the redefinition of an interdisciplinary education. Among those in the center are chemists, microbiologists, biologists and other scientists. McDermott, at the symposium, discussed the center’s significance: “One thing we all have in common is that we work in the ocean system. One of the reasons this is vital is that the ocean is such a complex environment, that there isn’t just one system that can fully explain everything. We are better poised to find creative solutions to problems if we can bring together lots of different disciplines of science.” McDermott recently led a team of scientists who discovered five new hydrothermal vents in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The discovery was supported, and in many ways accelerated, by use of a deep-sea robot and a human-occupied submarine. The National Science Foundation funded the expedition.—Mary Ellen Alu Jill McDermott is the inaugural director of the center. Human-occupied vehicle (HOV) Alvin arriving at the sea floor. CHRISTINE T. KRESCHOLLEK
8 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST Four Questions How can art help create change? When families are given the opportunity to experience art, it can be soothing for them. Many students express their emotions by drawing or painting as well as creating sculptures or visiting community galleries. We are very fortunate to have a great variety of community partners who bring programs to the school. We see expressions of art everywhere. Exposure to the arts has a community healing effect. What advice would you give to someone who wants to make a positive change? Get involved, do not be afraid, know your community. There are misconceptions about the South Side community. Yes, there is poverty; many of our families are working two or three jobs to make ends meet. But this community is rich in diversity and resiliency and willing to work together and make a difference. Rosa Carides-Hof is the community school coordinator at Donegan Elementary School in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, near campus. Her position, in Lehigh’s Community Services Office, stems from a partnership with the United Way and the Bethlehem Area School District. A change maker, Carides-Hof was interviewed for the upcoming Lehigh University Art Galleries (LUAG) exhibition (page 16). What is your role? I work closely with all the stakeholders of the Community School Strategy to identify and address the needs of students and their families. I am the link among the students, parents, teachers, school administrators and community partners. We all work together to find solutions to address challenges to ensure that students can learn. Although I am a Lehigh employee, my office is hosted at Donegan Elementary. I work closely with the principal to bring resources that will help the students meet yearly academic and non-academic goals. Once I know the goals, I meet with community partners to bring enrichment opportunities such as after-school and family educational programs. I also coordinate duringthe-day programs and services like tutoring. I work closely with the families to identify community resources such as food, clothing and housing. What kind of change are you working to address? The goal? Stabilizing and empowering families to improve the academic success of their children. We are building future leaders for our community, and I am grateful to be part of this process. CHANGE MAKERS ʼ79 Rosa Carides-Hof: ‘Get Involved’ The community school coordinator is among the community leaders participating in Lehigh University Art Galleries’ Change Makers! Exhibition. STEPHANIE VETO
FROM THE NEST | SUMMER 2024 | 9 The Gothic-style clerestory windows framed with green and red panes of glass in the Great Room of the Clayton University Center at Packer Hall are among those being rebuilt as part of an extensive renovation of the iconic building at the heart of campus. Beyer Studio in Philadelphia has been rebuilding nine windows from what used to be the Asa Packer Room, now known as the Great Room, said Jim LaRose, project manager. Clerestory windows are placed high on a wall, above eye level. “A lot of them were too damaged to be cleaned effectively,” LaRose said, so Beyer Studio is creating new stained glass and putting those windows back as they were. The windows haven’t had any work done to them in decades. They may have been cleaned during the last major renovation of the building in the 1950s, but facilities has no record of that, LaRose said. The windows were made in a diamond pattern and will be fully disassembled of all old leading, the material that holds the glass pieces together. “We will be replacing any broken and missing glass, but retaining and reusing everything that we possibly can,” said Michael Mioskie, general manager of Beyer Studio. “After the glass repairs are complete, the windows will be reassembled with all new leading matching the originals used.” The stained glass will be protected by clear glass on the outside. Another 168 clear glass windows on the Clayton UC have been replaced by Marvin Windows and Doors, headquartered in northern Minnesota. Those windows were from the 1950s, LaRose said. LaRose and the project’s design team looked at historical photographs of the Clayton UC windows as far back as they could find. The new windows don’t have cross-bracing on them so there’s more surface area for light to come in. Designed by architect Edward Tuckerman Potter (1831-1904), the structure was the first one built for Lehigh in 1868 by university founder Asa Packer. The Clayton UC was expanded and renovated in 1956. Launched by a donation from Kevin L. Clayton ’84 ’13P and Lisa A. Clayton ’13P, the latest renovation is expected to be finished in summer 2025. To learn more about the Clayton UC renovation, go to alumni.lehigh. edu/clayton-university-center —Christina Tatu Letting the Light In Clayton UC’s stained glass windows to be rebuilt. RESTORATION RECOGNITION AAAS FELLOW Mayuresh V. Kothare, the R. L. McCann Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He was among 502 scientists and engineers honored this year by the AAAS, the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society. Kothare was recognized for his distinguished contributions to solving engineering problems that require assimilation of concepts from chemical engineering, systems and control theory, applied mathematics, and biomedical/neuroengineering systems. “Mayuresh is an exceptional engineer and scholar working across disciplines, and very deserving of this recognition,” said Lehigh President Joseph J. Helble ’82. ONLINE LEARNING In a continuing effort to advance learning and expand its online offerings, Lehigh will offer a new professional certificate in health analytics on its partner network edX. Lehigh will add three new courses in health analytics, as well as a course in machine learning. Designed to create new pathways for those who want to advance their education and careers, Lehigh’s partnership with edX currently offers a professional certificate in business analytics. More than 3,700 learners have engaged with the courses, which include fundamental courses in Python, economics and statistics. Sabrina Jedlicka, deputy provost of graduate programming, said the partnership has put Lehigh in front of a global audience: 35% of the learners reside in India and 15% in the U.S. Other countries include Australia and Brazil. “That is the edX to-you philosophy—opening education to the world, which is a beautiful idea ,” Jedlicka said. Lehigh joined the network in 2023. As it expands its programming, Jedlicka said, Lehigh recognizes the importance of developing one’s data visualization skills to meet workplace needs, including how to interpret data. INNOVATION SCAN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LEHIGH'S EDX OFFERINGS.
from the
SUMMER 2024 | 11 to the Matt Salvaterra ’03 made headlines playing football at Lehigh. Now, inspired by an 1800s Parisian style of gardening, he’s tackling organic farming. STORY BY STEPHEN GROSS PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTA NEU
12 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN in the late 1990s, early 2000s, Matt Salvaterra ’03 was synonymous with football. Look no further than the bobblehead the university had created in his likeness—the only one ever made for football and one of four ever made for any sport at the university—for evidence of his popularity in the Lehigh community. The four-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll was the first-ever two-time captain in Lehigh’s modern history. His list of accomplishments also include 2002 Patriot League Scholar Athlete of the Year—one of only four Mountain Hawks to ever receive the award—and All-Patriot League twice. Not only was Salvaterra a member of three Patriot League Championship teams, but the squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament twice during his time at the school. Today, Salvaterra is still making his impact felt on the field—just not one that football is played on. With his wife, Jessica, he established and operates Salvaterra’s Gardens, a certified organic farm growing over 100 different types of vegetables on their 10-acre property in Longswamp Township, Pennsylvania. Inspired by an 1800s Parisian style of gardening, he makes the most of the farm’s relatively small footprint. Salvaterra operates a farmer’s stand on the premises, about 40 minutes southwest of Goodman Stadium, and another at the Easton Farmers’ Market, and he sells wholesale, to local restaurant owners and shares of CSA (community supported agriculture). Salvaterra says he never thought gardening would turn into a career that now supports his family of four. He never even envisioned it as a hobby, which is how it started. “I thought I would be coaching football,” Salvaterra says with a chuckle. Yet there are no reminders to Salvaterra’s Gardens’ visitors of his playing days. No evidence of his interest in football, which still remains. He says he doesn’t even own the bobblehead Lehigh made in his likeness and handed out to the first 1,000 fans who attended a Nov. 16, 2003, contest against Bucknell. Only if you broach the topic will you learn of his love of sports—he admits he could talk about sports, including Lehigh football, all day. But to Salvaterra, his current lifestyle reminds him of his football days. It’s one of the reasons he believes he enjoys it so much. “This fits my personality,” Salvaterra says. “It mimics a lot of things football was, like where you’re on a schedule. There’s a goal. I’m competitive, so there’s competition because you own a business. In your head, you think, ‘If I work harder than everybody else,…’ you know it's that kind of thing, so it fits [the football mindset].” at LEHIGH
SUMMER 2024 | 13 THE GARDENS A stone’s throw from Bear Creek Mountain Resort, Salvaterra’s Gardens sits across from two-story homes along a back road overlooking Alburtis, a borough of approximately 2,500 people. Turning onto a long paved driveway to enter the property, visitors pass his ranch home, about 75 feet from the road, and his children’s outdoor play equipment to their left. Past the house, where the path turns to gravel, is his farm stand and a parking area. On this day early in the growing season, Salvaterra works with one of his employees in the farm stand. The back wall is lined with freezers that include his produce as well as local breads and meats, such as chorizo, sausage, chicken and steaks, which he sells especially when his own offerings are limited out of season. His short hair and chin stubble from his playing days have been replaced by a full beard and long hair, pulled back into a man bun. As he walked toward his field of tunnels sprawled out across almost the entire east side of the property, he says it was tough to estimate exactly how much land is used for growing because his gardens are not a typical, square growing area. Despite having 10 acres of land, Salvaterra does not grow on all of it. He will never compete with a full farm, he says, and grows produce to fill the void of what big farms don’t always grow. “A lot of your bigger farms that have more land are going to be much more aggressive growing things like corn, potatoes, broccoli, things that are going to take up a lot of space,” he says. “But things like lettuce mix become too labor intensive for them. And in the dead of the summer, to get it to germinate and then to harvest it in between thunderstorms? They’re not going to have enough tunnels, so they just don’t do it. We kind of fill that niche, but in order to fill it, you have to protect the crop or else it’s too up and down.” Most everything on the property is grown in tunnels—long rows with a half-moon structure over top covered in plastic—using a no-till farming method because he has found that it leads to less weeds. And with the setup, weeds must be picked by hand, and paying staff only to weed, he says, wouldn’t be profitable. The tunnels are covered, but not closed on the sides in the summer. They’re covered to keep water off the leaves of the plants and regulate exactly how much water they get using his irrigation system using groundwater. A particularly heavy thunderstorm, hail or wet summer can wreak havoc on their crops without the cover. Salvaterra first started without tunnels, but the yield was too unpredictable and not up to the quality he prefers when selling. In the first small tunnel, one of 100 on the property, he had dill growing on May 1, with space for eggplant to be planted. He also had three medium-sized tunnels, and in the only heated tunnel on the property, just behind his house, Salvaterra had tomatoes growing; he expected them to be ready to be picked the second week of the month. Despite having a heated tunnel, he says he’s still careful about what he grows in there. For instance, he doesn’t grow tomatoes year-round; he’d need supplemental lighting for that, which –Matt Salvaterra ’03 “ This fits my personality. It mimics a lot of things football was.” Matt Salvaterra was named the MVP of the 2000 Rivalry game played between Lehigh and Lafayette in Easton.
14 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN wouldn’t be cost-effective. Instead, he uses the heated tunnel to extend his growing season for tomatoes. “People generally are going to bring cherry tomatoes [to markets] in July,” Salvaterra says. “You’re going to get a lot of months where there’s not a lot of them, so you’re not competing with anyone, but you’re not going to pay to do that in the winter.” In the winter, he limits what he grows to produce that doesn’t need as much light and can freeze and thaw, such as kale, spinach and Swiss chard. ‘I WOULDN'T CALL IT FARMING’ Salvaterra got the idea for his process from a book he read when he first started gardening about farms on the outskirts of Paris in the early 1900s. Those farmers used methods to grow crops effectively on small plots of land, much like what Salvaterra is doing, to provide those in the city with vegetables year-round. They used cloches— Salvaterra describes them as glass carboys with the bottoms cut off—to protect the plants and extend the growing season. At night, the plants would be completely covered, and during the day, the cloches would get tipped up to let air underneath. They also timed everything out so that while one type of produce was being harvested, others were already growing. Salvaterra noted how labor-intensive it was, which is why he made modifications for his own use. “Everything out here is more gardening, but it’s like a standardized form of gardening,” Salvaterra says. “I wouldn’t call it farming. It’s farming, but it’s not like a farm when you’re driving by cornfields. If you see romaine growing in California, it’s not like that. It’s more like a standardized form. And the beds are constantly rotating. They always have something growing in them. To make enough money, you have to have a plan that you’ve worked on for years where the timing’s all right.” His plan for what to plant when, and how much of it, to make the most of his limited space took years of trial and error. With each part of the country different due to light and temperature, he couldn’t talk to anyone outside the area for tips on timing. He set out a schedule, wrote down all the dates, saw what worked and what didn’t, and tried again the following year. “If you plant spinach, you have to know exactly when you’re going to plant it because it can’t be too big going into the winter, but it can’t be too small,” “ I wouldn’t call it farming. It’s farming, but it’s not like a farm when you’re driving by cornfields.” Salvaterra’s Gardens features a farmer’s stand (top) on the property. Matt Salvaterra’s wife, Jessica (middle), assists with the CSA, their farmer’s market stand and their website. – Matt Salvaterra ’03
SUMMER 2024 | 15 Salvaterra says. “If it’s too small, it’s not going to actually be harvestable. When the light conditions drop, it won’t be harvestable until the next February. If it’s too big, it actually just causes disease problems.” Salvaterra even has a strategy for field mice. Knowing they’ll snack on the crops, in one tunnel he plants more dill than he plans to harvest on the outside and then the eggplant goes in the middle. He says the field mice eat the first thing they find and leave the eggplant alone. GETTING INTO GARDENING Salvaterra excelled both in the classroom and on the gridiron while at Lehigh. But it’s his memorable moments on the field that make him well-known to many Mountain Hawk fans, including a Rivalry game MVP and one of the most dramatic comebacks in recent history. With the Lehigh football team trailing Lafayette 10-7 in the 136th edition of The Rivalry, he recorded his first of two interceptions on the day, both of which led to points for Lehigh and helped the sophomore become just the third defensive player to earn the MVP award for the 2000 regular season finale. Two years later, after switching positions from cornerback to strong safety, Salvaterra picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown after suffering a slight concussion and delivering a pep talk to his teammates, who were down 17 points at halftime. The play was part of a 24-point fourth quarter that rallied the Mountain Hawks and extended their regular season win streak to 26 games, the longest in the nation at the time. After graduating from Lehigh with a degree in education and psychology, Salvaterra taught fifth grade in the Bethlehem Area School District. His wife worked at Wegmans, a regional supermarket chain. They lived in Allentown, and looking for something to do during his summers off from school, Salvaterra put in a garden while redoing things around the house. Enjoying it, they rented pieces of land to expand their hobby. The couple quickly realized they were yielding more crops than they could use and joined Easton Farmers’ Market to sell their excess produce. It was the perfect summer job for a teacher. Wanting kids—they now have two—they decided Jessica would eventually stay home to raise their family. He would continue to teach and farm, so they bought the property that would become Salvaterra’s Gardens. When they bought their current home during the 2008 housing market crash, none of it was a farm. “It was just fields and woods,” he says. They kept their full-time jobs and farmed until Jessica became pregnant with their first child. Even then, Salvaterra continued to teach and farm. “That was kind of a crazy idea,” Salvaterra says. “We did it for a while.” In addition to the farmers’ market, they now operate a CSA. They were involved in selling wholesale, which they stopped during the pandemic, but Salvaterra says they’re getting back into it and plan to do even more. They also have supplied different restaurant owners in the area, such as the owners of Bolete Restaurant and Mister Lee’s Noodles at the Easton Public Market. Pausing wholesale sales when COVID-19 hit opened up another opportunity—a farm stand right on the premises that they sell out of all year long. “They were shutting so much stuff down in March [2020], right when you’re starting [to grow],” Salvaterra says. “Basically what happened was all the farms that are the same as us, going to markets, things like that, we just all sold to each other off our property. So I would buy their stuff and bring it here and I’d sell them stuff.” In addition to Salvaterra, the Gardens have two full-time employees and one part-time worker. Home-schooling their children, Jessica no longer helps in the field, but assists with the CSA, the farmer’s market stand and their website. L There are 100 tunnels on the property, one of which is heated and can be used to extend the growing season for some crops, such as tomatoes.
16 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN Change Makers! Community Members Making a Difference From advances in technology that are regularly touted in the news, to the upcoming presidential election and local community activism, if anything is certain, it’s that change is all around—influencing work, lives and art. It was this ebb and flow that inspired Lehigh University Art Galleries’ (LUAG) exhibition, Change Makers! on display from Sept. 3, 2024, through May 23, 2025, across campus. “We thought about this broad topic of change and how that manifests in different ways,” said LUAG Director William Crow, professor of practice in art, architecture and design. “We thought, ‘Could change be a lens through which we really look at works of art and start conversations with other people about how change occurs? What do we do, or can we do, to create positive change in our local community or in the world?’” The exhibition will include historical photos that show people making change, whether through political action, community organizing or teaching, and artwork that pushes the boundary of tradition and calls for change in media or subject matter. Selected works also will be accompanied by recorded interviews with change makers from the Lehigh Valley. The interviews, conducted by Lehigh students, reveal insights, strategies and ambitions for positive change in the community. The exhibition will be shown in the Alumni Memorial Gallery, Fairchild Martindale Study Gallery, Siegel Gallery, Dubois Gallery, The Gallery at Rauch Business Center and the South Bethlehem Greenway. Selected images can also be viewed online at luag.lehigh.edu “I think we are all trying to navigate a new world after a global pandemic,” Crow said. “We are in a moment where you have a lot of upheaval and unrest, Exhibition LEHIGH UNIVERSITY ART GALLERIES
FROM THE NEST | SUMMER 2024 | 17 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: “BIRDS IN FLIGHT,” 1974, FRANÇOISE GILOT; “REST ON THE FLIGHT,” 1954, FRITZ EICHENBERG; “WASHING THE DUST DOWN: MIKE SABRON AND BUDDIES DRINKING BEER AFTER WORK, NO. 9 MINE,” 1967, GEORGE HARVAN; “CULTURE HERO MASTERPRINT, JILL JOHNSTON EXPOSED: SPECIAL ISSUE—COVER,” 1970, LES LEVINE; “TVA WORKERS, FORD LOUDON DAM, TENNESSEE (LENOIR CITY, TENNESSEE),” 1942, ARTHUR ROTHSTE I N ACADEMICS NEW INTER-COLLEGE DEGREE Starting in Fall 2025, undergraduate students will be able to enroll in a new inter-college interdisciplinary program offered by the College of Health and the College of Business: Integrated Business and Health (IBH). “The new Integrated Business and Health undergraduate degree combines disciplines in a way that aligns with our strategic planning goal of providing a deeply interdisciplinary education, and will prepare graduates to contribute immediately to the business side of health and health care,” said Lehigh President Joseph J. Helble ’82. “Students will gain knowledge and insights that come from combining the core principles of business with an in-depth knowledge of the multiple determinants of health, the health system and health policy,” he said. “These future leaders will better understand and address the vital conditions that shape community health in different areas and different populations.” Currently, students in the College of Business may complete any of 10 minors in the College of Health, but the new IBH program will offer much more in-depth training in health policy and health economics than is possible by combining a bachelor’s in business with a College of Health minor. Likewise, students in the College of Health can, and do, declare a Dual Degree program or a minor in the College of Business. The IBH program will offer students more solid grounding in the business tools needed to solve complex health challenges in society. not only on college campuses, but nationally and globally. I think a lot of people are questioning where we are collectively headed and how we can make changes so that we have something more positive on the horizon for all of us.” Change makers who were interviewed include local community leaders (page 8) and business owners, educators and artists. Students will continue to conduct interviews throughout the year, so new change makers will be added throughout the exhibition. —Christina Tatu
18 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST FACULTY Celebrating 50 Years of Teaching Laura Katz Olson continues ‘full steam ahead’ in her dream job at Lehigh. A new fiction book, ‘Wrinkled Rebels,’ is set for release this summer. Fifty years ago, when Laura Katz Olson arrived at Lehigh with a Ph.D. in political science and a passion for teaching, she felt like a “curiosity” on campus. It was 1974 and women were an uncommon sight. Lehigh had just become co-ed, and the first small class of female undergrads had yet to graduate. Women professors were few. To Olson, Lehigh was seemingly a sea of men wearing sport coats in pursuit of engineering degrees. To say today’s Lehigh is a different place is an understatement. The political science department is now composed predominantly of women. Nearly 50 percent of Lehigh students are women. And Lehigh is engaged in providing an interdisciplinary, well-rounded education to students of all genders. Olson has been in the middle of the change, and some might consider her a trailblazer. She just sees herself as someone who has been lucky enough to so far spend 50 years in her dream job. “I love teaching. I love writing. I love researching. Lehigh essentially pays me to do what I love,” says Olson. “Professionally, I feel very satisfied.” Olson, at 78, continues full steam ahead from her home base—a tiny office on the third floor of Maginnes Hall packed full of books, accolades and awards, memorabilia and photos. It’s from there that she plans her classes, meets with students and operates a veritable publishing business. Olson has written nine nonfiction books on her research specialties of politics, health care, women and the elderly, as well as two fiction books. Currently, she is working on a book about private equity’s influence on the nursing home industry. She also is deep into another passion—writing fiction. “Wrinkled Rebels,” a story of six college friends who were active in the Civil Rights Movement and reunite for a weekend as 80-year-olds, is scheduled for release this summer. She had been researching and writing it for three years. “It was fun,” she says. “I loved writing it and missed it when I was finished.” A Path to Lehigh Olson grew up in the Bronx, in the working-class neighborhood of Pelham Parkway. She attended the High School of Music & Art and went on to the City College of New York, aspiring to be a geneticist—“they do such important things”—but soon discovered it wasn’t for her. What better suited this activist child of the 1960s was political science, and she went on to get her master’s and doctorate from the University of Colorado. In Boulder she got to know Charles McCoy, then chair of Lehigh’s Department of Government, who recruited her to teach political science at Lehigh. McCoy was a founder of the New Political Science group, a caucus of the American Political Science Association, and Olson was a member. “He was very determined to have a female in the department,” says Olson, who received the Charles A. McCoy Lifetime Achievement Award from New Political Science in 2009. “He wanted “BECAUSE THERE WERE SO FEW WOMEN FACULTY, WE ALL KNEW EACH OTHER. WE SUPPORTED EACH OTHER. WE LEANED ON EACH OTHER TO A GREAT EXTENT.” —Laura Katz Olson CHRISTA NEU
FROM THE NEST | SUMMER 2024 | 19 the political science department to be more diverse.” Olson thrived at Lehigh. She says she and three other female professors put together a Women’s Studies program. They started a daycare center. They made their voices heard. “Because there were so few women faculty, we all knew each other. We supported each other. We leaned on each other to a great extent,” she says. “We were asked to be on every committee because they wanted at least one woman on the committees. The positive was that … we really became very involved in Lehigh and were very much a part of Lehigh.” Over the years, Olson’s courses have included The American Presidency, Introduction to American Government, U.S. Health Politics and Politics of Women. Olson says she became interested in health care and elder care because she discovered that although the country spent a lot of money on the elderly, they didn’t seem to be thriving. “They tended to be poor, especially elderly women,” she says. During her tenure, Olson took a few side steps to further her knowledge. She worked for a year as a Scholar at the Social Security Administration, for a semester as a gerontological fellow at the Area Agency on Aging in Madison, Wisconsin, and as a Fulbright scholar in Finland. Olson’s books reveal how politics and corporate influence affect health care and the elderly, usually with negative results. Her most recent book—and she says most impactful—is “Ethically Challenged: Private Equity Storms U.S. Health Care,” published in 2022. Olson says it’s the first book that tackled how predatory private equity firms are buying everything from opioid treatment centers to hospice agencies. Their goal is solely profit, and, as a result, the quality of services has declined, she says. The book has received numerous awards, and Olson has received invitations to conferences and speaking engagements. In 2016, Olson combined her research with her personal experience in “Elder Care Journey: A View From the Front Lines.” She chronicled the difficult challenge of navigating the health care system on behalf of her elderly mother, a woman of limited resources. “As I say in the book, I studied elder care for years, decades, but the reality was somewhat more stark,” says Olson. “It’s one thing to say how challenging it is to get help, it’s another to actually try to get help. It was really an eye-opener for me.” At first, Olson managed her mother’s care long distance, but eventually moved her mother from Florida to the Lehigh Valley as her condition deteriorated. “I decided to write a book about it because I think it was important for people to understand what it was like. The conclusion is we need to make a lot of changes to the system. Because the system is not working for elder care. Especially home care,” she says. Hope for the Future In “Wrinkled Rebels,” Olson tells the fictional story of college friends who struggle—individually and collectively—to make sense of their lives now that they are in their 80s. They recall the past, confront their demons and find that, despite decades of separation, they still speak the same language. While Olson tapped into her experiences, the book is not autobiographical, she says. It is, however, an optimistic story that reflects Olson’s attitude toward life. Olson says she is impressed by the students in her orbit. She says they are engaged and enthusiastic and make her hopeful that her passion will be carried on by future generations. Olson has been director of the political science internship program since she arrived at Lehigh and sees students doing great work at local, state and federal levels. Asked what she considers her biggest accomplishment, Olson jokes, “Being here for 50 years.” And she continues to enjoy her work. She will be teaching The American Presidency and the Community Internship classes in the Fall 2024 semester.—Jodi Duckett Olson, left, with her late mother, Dorothy Katz. Her experience in navigating the health care system on her mother’s behalf helped inform an earlier book, “Elder Care Journey: A View From the Front Lines.” STEPHANIE VETO Lehigh recognizes the leadership and accomplishments of Lehigh women like Laura Katz Olson and the impact of coeducation through Soaring Together, a celebration marking 50 years since the admission of undergraduate women. Read more at lehigh.edu/soaringtogether
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