Cultivating Lab-Grown Meat page 28 page 38 The Power of Community page 10 TikTok Phenom DESIGNING CHANGE Architect and developer Jared Della Valle ’93 strives to build innovative, sustainable buildings. An all-electric skyscraper in Brooklyn is his latest project. Page 16. Lehigh ALUMNI BULLETIN SPRING 2023
1 | LEHIGH BULLETIN Lehigh Launch Ecuador hosted its first cohort of students in Fall 2022 after a two-year pandemic delay.
ON THE COVER: Jared Della Valle ’93 at his minimalist country home for his family in Hudson River Valley. (see page 16). Photo by Benedict Evans “I enjoy the way I’m impacting the space industry now, and I think there’s a lot more opportunities for private astronauts.” —Alex Weldon ’14 Ph.D. page 34 CONTENTS 4 Marcon Institute Hosts Radical Love Conference The conference was built off the works of author bell hooks. 10 TikTok Phenom Annie Wu Henry ’18 gained national attention in her use of social media for John Fetterman’s U.S. Senate campaign. 28 Cultivating Lab-Grown Meat Kelly Schultz leads a team of researchers in a project considered key to future sustainability. 38 The Power of Community When Nic Altenderfer ’23 suffered a life- threatening head injury in a skateboarding accident, his Sigma Phi Delta brothers jumped into action—and helped save his life. 8 Lee Iacocca’s Iconic Speeches Digitized Lehigh Libraries Special Collections has made more than 500 of Iacocca’s speeches searchable and available online. 14 Returning to Her Roots Recently retired pro soccer player Gina Lewandowski ’07 returned to her alma mater as associate head coach of the women’s soccer team. 12 Gateway to Himalayan Art The exhibition runs through May 26 in Lehigh University Art Galleries’ main gallery. CORRESPONDENCE 5 CLASS NOTES 47 IN REMEMBRANCE 73 ENDNOTE 80
2 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! When we decided to redesign the Lehigh Alumni Bulletin we knew we wanted to deliver a magazine that accurately reflected our university— a dynamic, national research university where innovation, collaboration and interdisciplinary endeavors are hallmarks. We also wanted to make the magazine, in both content and design, more engaging and interesting to all our alumni, no matter the age, no matter the class year. When we embarked on this journey, we solicited input from you, our readers, who offered several, and sometimes competing, ideas. What you told us was this: You wanted a bigger font size to make the magazine easier to read, shorter articles mixed with longer content, campus updates, and stories on both younger and older alums who have had a mix of career and life experiences. In response, you will find more interactive content, more images and more alumni stories across disciplines, new and bigger fonts, and the word “alumni” back in our name. “From the Nest” will bring you news from the Lehigh campus and community, including faculty and student research, initiatives, culture, athletics and physical changes to our campus. You will find our three feature stories interspersed throughout the front section of the magazine. We would love to hear from you about our redesign. Tell us what you like—and don’t like—as we continue our work. Fill out the survey or email at maa614@lehigh.edu. You can also drop me a note via snail mail at 301 Broadway, 4th Floor, Bethlehem, PA 18015. As always, thank you for reading. A Fresh Look for the Lehigh Alumni Bulletin Don’t Miss! Friendship, Family & Survival Christina Perrier ’23 recounts the harrowing skateboarding accident—and remarkable recovery—of friend and fellow classmate Nic Altenderfer ’23. Pg 38 TikTok Phenom Annie Wu Henry ’18 finds herself in the media spotlight with her work for a U.S. Senate campaign. Pg 10 Squawk Here’s what you had to say on social media about your favorite place to eat at Lehigh. Pg 36 Ask the Expert Ann Newberry ’79 gives tips on downsizing in this new alumni column. Pg 26 Up, Up and … At Blue Origin, Alex Weldon ’14 Ph.D. works to help make space travel accessible to everyone. Pg 34 Mary Ellen Alu Editor SCAN TO TELL US WHAT YOU LIKE ABOUT THE NEW ALUMNI BULLETIN AND BE ENTERED FOR A CHANCE TO WIN LEHIGH SWAG.
SPRING 2023 | 3 Earlier this year, our Lehigh community got its first look at the draft framework for Lehigh’s new strategic plan, which will chart the path for the university’s immediate and longer-term future. This process continues to be a campus-wide effort, and we are thankful for the commitment and diligence of our working groups and campus community to get us to where we are today. We welcomed your feedback on the draft framework through a recent alumni survey and appreciate your unique perspective. As our work continues, we will develop goals and key initiatives that will compose the new strategic plan, to be released in June. Often I speak about the importance of Lehigh’s core mission as an academic community, one that values learning, scholarship and the exploration of new ideas. A core element of that mission is to foster belonging and the open exchange, discussion and debate of ideas. Our strategic planning initiative, which has been underway since last year, is designed to give rise to new ideas and help shape Lehigh’s educational and research programs, the use of its facilities and the support and engagement of the Lehigh community in the years ahead. This brings me to the redesign of the Lehigh Alumni Bulletin, presented to you within that spirit of exploration. Data-driven, the redesign by the editorial and design teams in the Office of Communications and Public Affairs incorporates new content and design elements for keeping you better informed about all things Lehigh–initiatives, physical changes to campus, student and faculty research, alumni endeavors and more. “Alumni” is back in the name of the magazine, signifying the value of alumni in our Lehigh community. In that spirit of exploration, this issue features several innovative alumni who are changing the way we live, dream and communicate—alumni such as architect Jared Della Valle ’93, who develops sustainable buildings with a reduced carbon footprint; Alex Weldon ’14 Ph.D., who helps develop rockets and engines for private space travel; and Annie Wu Henry ’18, who uses her communication skills for broader messaging. We want to make sure the magazine continues to serve you, our readers, and we invite you to provide feedback on the redesign. You can email editor Mary Ellen Alu at maa614@lehigh.edu, or write her at 301 Broadway, 4th Floor, Bethlehem, PA 18015. Thank you for your continued support. Joseph J. Helble ’82 President of Lehigh University Provost Nathan Urban discusses the draft framework of the strategic plan with faculty, students and staff. Exploring New Ideas SCAN TO WATCH PRESIDENT HELBLE’S VIDEO MESSAGE Lehigh Alumni Bulletin Vol. 108, No. 1, Spring 2023 Editor Mary Ellen Alu Associate Editor Stephen Gross Staff Writer Christina Tatu Contributing Writers Jodi Duckett, Emily Groff, Christina Perrier ’23, Cynthia Tintorri Creative Director Kurt Hansen Art Director Beth Murphy Senior Designers Kate Cassidy, Neha Kavan Photography Christa Neu, Stephanie Veto Videographer Stephanie Veto 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 Twitter @LehighU and @LehighAlumni Facebook.com/lehighu Facebook.com/lehighalumni Instagram.com/lehighu Instagram.com/lehighalumni youtube.com/lehighu linkedin.com
4 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST The Marcon Institute was built on the foundation of author bell hooks’ works in which she outlined and theorized about love, says Holona Ochs, the Institute’s director and associate professor of political science. In March, the Institute dove further into hooks’ works and theories, hosting its inaugural Radical Love Conference, modeled on hooks’ understanding of the transformative power of love. Ochs says she believes hooks’ theory of love as an organizing principle is “our best hope as a community to come back together after all of the trauma we've been experiencing and are still experiencing.” Each of the conference’s five days had a theme—beginning with Defeating Destructive Dogmas and wrapping up with #EmbraceEquity. “Everyone, and I mean this, everyone in our community has something to contribute to this conversation. … You don't have to have a Ph.D. to understand how love impacts your life, you just simply do not. Love is not a complicated set of ideas. It is care, commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect and trust, as defined by bell hooks.” In its first year, the conference focused on the Lehigh and local communities, but Ochs says she envisions expanding the conference to be a regional, state, national, and eventually, international event. “This conference is an opportunity, every year, for us to come together and think about, How do we want to organize policy?” she says. “What do we really want our culture to be in the Valley? How can we uplift each other and work together?” —Stephen Gross Top, Afiwa Afandalo ’24 speaks about her work during the Radical Love Conference’s Artist Exhibition Gallery Viewing. Attendees, above, participate in an art activity. Marcon Institute Hosts Radical Love Conference The conference was built off the works of author bell hooks. DIVERSITY & INCLUSION “EVERYONE, AND I MEAN THIS, EVERYONE IN OUR COMMUNITY HAS SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS CONVERSATION.” —Marcon Institute Director Holona Ochs CHRISTA NEU
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2023 | 5 CORRESPONDENCE REVISITING MILES ROCK Thank you for the excellent article about my great-great-grandfather Miles Rock that appeared in the Fall 2022 Lehigh Bulletin. To my knowledge, I am the only descendent of Miles Rock to have graduated from Lehigh in recent time—I earned my B.S. in geological sciences from Lehigh in 1980. My cousins, David and Chris Grace, informed me they had donated the vast collection of articles that were in the attic of their Trumansburg, N.Y., home, and I was thrilled that Lehigh was willing to accept and house the collection. Few of Miles Rock’s possessions were passed down to my side of the family (all I have is his map of Guatemala on the wall of my office), though I do have three of [his son] Alfred Rock’s university notebooks on geology given to me by David and Chris’s mother many years ago. I also knew very little about Miles Rock’s life, so the article in the Lehigh Bulletin was illuminating and educational. I will be keeping that copy of the Bulletin with my keepsake possessions. As a side note, my Lehigh education served me well over the years also. I worked as a professional geologist in the environmental consulting industry then transitioned in midlife to a tenured faculty position at Harrisburg Area Community College. I have since retired from that position and currently live in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. James E. Baxter ’80 Just want to say just how much I enjoyed your Fall 2022 Alumni Bulletin, especially the Miles Rock article. So well researched, written and illustrated. And kudos to your art director for the entire issue, great design elements and readability. Bob Teufel ’59 Share your thoughts by sending a letter to the editor at maa614@lehigh.edu. CHRISTA NEU The Lehigh-UN Partnership brought nearly 100 students, faculty and staff to the United Nations in February for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly. The event, which had sustainable development as its theme, aimed to bridge women in science and the international community and connect science and policy. Ginny McSwain (left), associate professor of physics, and Gabrielle String (below), assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering and the College of Health, presented. Four students served as rapporteurs, helping to coordinate the event, take notes and produce a post-conference report. Lehigh Joins UN Assembly GLOBAL
6 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST Growing up in India, where the love of cricket runs high, Pratheek Palanethra ’16G developed a strong emotional connection to the sport. He eventually chose academics over the pursuit of a professional cricket career, but he always sought ways to combine his passions for both cricket and entrepreneurship. Enter freebowler, a startup he initially co-founded with a fellow student while pursuing his M.Eng. in technical entrepreneurship at Lehigh. The com- “As a part of our curriculum, as part of current events back then in the mid-’80s, we were introduced to Lee Iacocca, who single-handedly, as we all know, had revived Chrysler. And I was simply fascinated by what he did. It was a bit of a fanboy moment at that time.” pany developed a non-electric, portable ball thrower—the first of its kind—for individuals and teams to use for practices. Freebowler was born of necessity, Palanethra has said. While a student at Lehigh, he had recognized the need for a personalized bowling machine after racking up miles on his car to travel out of state for an hour of cricket practice. The experience was inconvenient, frustrating and expensive, he said. Shark Tank India In February, with business partner Vishwanath HK, Palanethra appeared on Shark Tank India to seek investors for the company, which has so far sold 1,000 products in about 15 countries. He and his partner were in the “tank” for over an hour, he said, though only a portion aired. “It was a great experience, but they grilled us to an extent that we didn’t expect,” said Palanethra, in a Zoom call from India. The experience paid off. Palanethra said one “shark” offered to invest $100,000 in the venture, which will allow freebowler to expand to additional international markets. He said the company saw a surge after the show aired, leading to other partnership and investment opportunities. —Mary Ellen Alu For the Love of Cricket Pratheek Palanethra pitches his bowling machine on Shark Tank India. ENTREPRENEURSHIP | ALUMNI ʼ16 Sanjay Shah ’89 MBA Founder, CEO & Chief Architect at Vistex discusses the American Dream and how he ended up at Lehigh, revealed below. PODCAST | ALUMNI ʼ89 ATHLETICS Tradition, Legacy and Winning The Lehigh football program took what it hopes is a step toward getting back to its winning ways by introducing Kevin Cahill as the 30th head football coach in school history. Cahill comes to Lehigh from Yale University, where he spent the past 10 seasons and was a member of the coaching staff for three Ivy League championships. During the interview process, Cahill said he was repeatedly asked, “Why Lehigh?” and he gave three reasons: tradition, legacy and winning. “You can build a program on those three things, and we’ll be leaning on those over and over and over again in developing this program to be winners,” Cahill said at a press conference inside the Cundey Varsity House.—Stephen Gross SCAN CODE TO HEAR THE FULL PODCAST FROM SANJAY SHAH ’89 MBA. MOHIT DAMANI / CHRISTA NEU
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2023 | 7 The project will connect young teachers with mentors who can help with skills. Kristi Morin is passionate about autism research. When asked what drew her to the field, she repeats a well-known quote from advocate Stephen Shore: “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” People with autism often have problems with social interaction, may exhibit restricted or repetitive behaviors and have different ways of learning. But it’s the unique presentations that make it such a challenge for new educators to meet the specific needs of individuals with autism, said Morin, an assistant professor of special education. Project STAY That’s why Morin and her colleagues developed Project STAY, Supporting Teachers of Autism in Years 1-3. The four-year project will develop an induction program designed to meet the needs of new teachers working with autistic students in high-needs schools or districts. “Let’s give them the support that they need so they don’t also leave,” Morin said. The team is developing online modules to connect young teachers with mentors who can help with skills, such as how to communicate appropriately. She plans to launch a pilot program for a small group of new teachers to get feedback, then roll it out to a larger group of school districts. Early Career Award Morin received a National Center for Special Education Research Early Career Research Award of $700,000, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. She is collaborating with Grace Murphy, a doctoral student in special education, and Lee Kern, professor and director of the Center for Promoting Research to Practice at Lehigh, and director of Lehigh’s Autism Services Clinic.—Christina Tatu Helping Autism Educators STAY Project aims to help new teachers working with autistic students. RESEARCH TREATING DISEASE THROUGH NEUROSTIMULATION Mayuresh Kothare, the R. L. McCann Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and researchers from four other universities are investigating how the neurostimulation of peripheral nerves—the nerves located near various organs—could be used to treat other diseases, just as pacemakers are commonly used to help regulate heart function. With about $2.2 million in support from the National Institutes of Health, the team is developing software and modeling tools for optimizing the delivery of neurostimulation signals to peripheral nerves to treat conditions such as cardiac arrhythmia and hypertension. The team includes researchers from Emory University, University of Pittsburgh, Thomas Jefferson University and San Jose State University. Retired Lehigh computer science faculty member Mark Arnold as well as several students and postdocs from across the institutions are also collaborating on the work. RESEARCH ILLUSTRATION BY RAYMOND BIESINGER / LARRY FINK
8 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST Lee Iacocca ’45 gave hundreds of speeches full of anecdotes about his time presiding over and turning around the beleaguered Chrysler Corporation. The renowned businessman had a way with words. In 1980, he convinced President Jimmy Carter and Congress to provide a $1.5 billion loan to save Chrysler. Iacocca felt so strongly about Chrysler’s vehicles, he became known for his television commercials featuring the bold catchphrase, “If you can find a better car, buy it.” And in 1982, when he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as leader of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Iacocca’s powerful speeches encouraged people across the United States to donate nearly $500 million for the restoration of the two historic sites. More than 500 of Iacocca’s speeches are now available and easily searchable online, thanks to a digitization effort by Lehigh University Libraries Special Collections. The speeches, gifted to Lehigh in 2012, cover a period from 1978-2011. During that time, Iacocca, who became known as a symbol of American ingenuity and resilience thanks to his legendary career presiding over operations for two of the Big Three automakers, was invited to speak at Apple Computer, the 1984 Rose Bowl, the National Football League (NFL) Alumni Association and Maserati, among other well-known businesses and events. Throughout his stellar career, Iacocca was proud to remain loyal to Lehigh, delivering Lehigh’s commencement speech in 1983, returning in 1988 to dedicate the Iacocca Institute and again in 2011 to launch the Lee Iacocca International Internship Challenge. “The Iacocca speeches have always been a priority for us, particularly getting them in the hands of our faculty and students,” said Lois Black, curator of Special Collections. But digitizing the speeches involved a lot of time and energy. “Part of it is just a challenge of scale. … It’s a complex project,” said Alex Japha, a digital archivist for Special Collections. Librarians had to take an inventory of the 515 black binders SPECIAL COLLECTIONS | ALUMNI ʼ45 Lee Iacocca’s Iconic Speeches Digitized Lehigh Libraries Special Collections has made more than 500 of Iacocca’s speeches searchable and available online. “HE WAS AN ALUMNUS, A LEADER, A LABOR LEADER, INVOLVED WITH LIFE-CHANGING EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.” —Special Collections Librarian Ilhan Citak ASSOCIATED PRESS
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2023 | 9 containing Iacocca’s large-print speeches, many of them featuring his scrawling handwriting in the margins. “There would be the speech itself in the binder, then all the supplementary material,” Japha said. “Sometimes it was a photocopy of the speech, but in other cases there were printouts of slides he would have presented, or Q&A questions he was preparing for … I personally wasn’t expecting that.” Two to three students scanned the items, and four students added the metadata, which is a spreadsheet documenting what was scanned. The first binder was scanned last October with the project to be completed over winter break this year. The speeches are searchable by title and keyword. Ilhan Citak, an archives and Special Collections librarian, believes the collection will appeal to many individuals and researchers. “He was an alumnus, a leader, a labor leader, involved with life-changing events in the history of the United States,” Citak said. “He’s a local person from Allentown who still has family roots here. If you talk to anyone from the Lehigh Valley, they are proud to be mentioned as being from the same region as Lee Iacocca.” The son of an immigrant hotdog vendor, Iacocca began attending Lehigh after graduating from William Allen High School in Allentown in 1942. After graduating from Lehigh in 1945 with a degree in industrial engineering, Iacocca realized he preferred business and went into sales for Ford, where he worked for 32 years, eventually becoming the company president when he was 46 years old. During his tenure at Ford, Iacocca was credited with introducing the design of the 1964 Mustang and appeared on the cover of Time magazine that same year. He was also partially responsible for the Lincoln Continental Mark II, the Ford Fiesta and the revival of the Mercury brand. His move to Chrysler came in 1978 following a power struggle with Henry Ford II, grandson of Ford’s founder. Iacocca was hired as president for the nearly defunct Chrysler Corporation and would eventually help reverse the firm’s misfortune. In addition to the $1.5 billion governmental loan he was able to acquire, Iacocca also had to close plants and negotiate with labor unions to accept layoffs and wage cuts. His success at Chrysler landed him another cover of Time in March 1983. Iacocca died at his home in Bel Air, California, on July 2, 2019, when he was 94 years old. —Christina Tatu More than 500 black binders containing Iacocca’s speeches are housed in Lehigh Libraries Special Collections. ADMISSIONS It’s a Record A record number of high school students applied to Lehigh to be part of the Class of 2027. Lehigh received more than 18,000 applications with all three rounds—Early Decision I, Early Decision II and Regular Decision. That’s a 21% increase over last year’s end-of-the-year tally. The Demographics Lehigh received more applications from women than men for the first time ever, and saw more applicants across geographic categories and nearly every ethnic and racial category. Lehigh also saw a 47% increase in applications to the College of Health, as well as a 38% increase in applications to intercollegiate interdisciplinary programs. In a video message to the prospective students, President Joseph J. Helble ’82 identified top reasons students say they are drawn to Lehigh—engaging academic experiences, the natural beauty of campus and a strong sense of community. Early Decision Across the two binding early decision rounds, Lehigh saw a 26% increase, with a 51% increase in Early Decision II alone. “It is exciting that not only have more students applied to Lehigh than any time in its history, but more students have made Lehigh their first choice,” said Dan Warner, vice provost for admissions and financial aid. “It is also gratifying to see that Lehigh remains a top choice across demographic groups.” CHRISTA NEU / RYAN HULVAT SCAN CODE TO VIEW THE DIGITIZED SPEECHES OF LEE IACOCCA ’45
10 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST CULTURE | ALUMNI ʼ18 TikTok Phenom Annie Wu Henry’s use of social media for John Fetterman’s U.S. Senate campaign has gained her national attention. The most viewed TikTok on U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s account is a 2022 video clip from his race against Dr. Mehmet Oz, who, at the time, was defending himself from criticisms that he was not from Pennsylvania. “I grew up just south of Philadelphia,” Oz says. The video cuts to a map of Philadelphia, then pans south to show New Jersey. A music mashup featuring Smash Mouth’s “All Star” plays, “Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me, I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed.” The post received nearly a half million “likes” and was viewed over 4 million times. It was the brainchild of Annie Wu Henry ’18, whose social media efforts for Fetterman’s successful Senate campaign have brought her national attention, leading to a 1,700word profile in The New York Times and a Q&A with Slate. Henry assisted the Fetterman campaign both online and off, but her most significant contributions came via TikTok, running an account that grew to more than 241,000 followers and produced videos that exceeded a total of 3.5 million likes. “Annie is a quintessential self-starter constantly working hard to make measurable impact,” said Matt Veto, journalism teaching assistant professor at Lehigh and faculty adviser of The Brown and White. “At the paper, she ran our social media accounts her senior year and basically tripled our Instagram following and engagement in mere months. Her professional success is a testament to her determination and skill.” Henry said she was hired by the Fetterman campaign because she “understood the online and digital space in a unique way.” Though given a large amount of freedom with TikTok, her task was challenging. For some projects, she said, she had to articulate her vision to colleagues who didn’t always understand how the specific social media medium worked. Those gathering the content, such as the video producers, had to trust her instincts. She also had to gauge the right time to post content for the widest audience. As much as Henry tried to plan, she had to be flexible. “With news clips and the nature of social media, it’s all about timing,” Henry said. While TikTok was her focus, she pitched in on other ideas, such as a “Let Them Eat Crudité” sticker in response to another video by Fetterman’s opponent. Above, in a photo posted on her Instagram account, Henry captures a moment during John Fetterman’s U.S. Senate campaign. MICHELLE GUSTAFSON
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2023 | 11 She also contributed on Twitter, finding trends and events important to the campaign, such as in support of striking workers at the Philadelphia Art Museum. The Lehigh Experience Henry said her research for her senior honors thesis at Lehigh, in which she was trying to understand how people present themselves online and how that’s perceived by others, aided her in implementing Fetterman’s social media campaign. Her thesis advisor, Jeremy Littau, associate professor of journalism and communication, noticed. “I always saw her flexibility and open-minded pursuit of impact as enabling her to get the most out of Lehigh because she had things she wanted to know before deciding how to act,” Littau said. In following her work on the Fetterman campaign, he said, he was reminded of the questions she asked in her research. “So her success doesn’t surprise me, given how much thought and care she put into preparing the road she was about to travel.” One of her thesis findings was that people can’t differentiate between what they know of someone online and what the person is like in real life. In essence then, she said, what people post becomes part of their identity. A large part of the Fetterman campaign focused on the candidate’s authenticity and values, she said, and that had to coincide with the picture painted online. Overall, Henry said, the Fetterman campaign didn’t have a singular moment that defined its message; it consistently produced moments online. She said the staff also made sure the people engaging with the campaign felt they were being seen and heard. Online content was created specifically for each platform. “I didn’t want it to just feel like a campaign ad, or a ploy to get people to donate,” Henry said. “It was really to showcase who this campaign was— John—and what it stood for, and be fun.” ‘The Right Decision’ Unsure of a career path at Lehigh, Henry expanded her options by majoring in journalism and minoring in political science and sociology and anthropology. An internship through the Marketing Club gave her additional experience. After graduation, she landed jobs in and out of politics that included organizational work and took her to the country’s East and West coasts. While she had job offers in politics, she hesitated jumping in fulltime because she was looking for more stability. It was her father, who grew up in York County, Pennsylvania, just as Fetterman did, who first brought her attention to the politician. At the time, her dad admired Fetterman’s work as mayor of Braddock in the western part of the state. In 2022, Henry offered freelance help to Fetterman’s Senate campaign since she felt passionate about the race. Instead, she was offered a full-time position as social media producer. “I had kind of wanted to stick with my organizing that was in the space that’s still a bit more stable,” Henry said. “But it ended up being the right decision.” Henry is taking her time deciding on her next adventure, but still receiving opportunities. The White House invited her to a viewing party of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, and she live-tweeted from @Annie_Wu_22. She received a surprise visit from first lady Jill Biden and was among the first to greet Biden when he returned to the White House. “I don’t want to pick a job just because this is what’s going to look the best on a resume, or this is the job because it pays the most money,” she said. “I want to do something because I really care about it and believe in it and think I can make an impact there.” —Stephen Gross “ANNIE IS A QUINTESSENTIAL SELF-STARTER CONSTANTLY WORKING HARD TO MAKE MEASURABLE IMPACT.” —The Brown and White Faculty Advisor Matt Veto From left, in photos posted on her Instagram account, Henry reads a copy of The New York Times article featuring herself; with her parents; a viewing party for the State of the Union at the White House; and with political commentator Ayman Mohyeldin on his MSNBC show. Henry will be at the Women’s Summit event on April 29. See page 46 for details.
12 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | FROM THE NEST Traveling Exhibit Creates ‘Gateway to Himalayan Art’ From intricate painted scrolls depicting colorful deities representing the Buddhist values of compassion and wisdom, to objects such as a silver and wood prayer wheel studded by turquoise stones, Lehigh University Art Galleries’ (LUAG) latest exhibition gives viewers an entry point into the varied world of Himalayan art. Through May 26, LUAG’s main gallery at Zoellner Arts Center will be the first stop for “Gateway to Himalayan Art,” a traveling exhibition through the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea, New York City. Four other universities are included on the tour, lasting through 2025. The collection features painted scrolls called “Thangka,” sculptures and objects used in ceremonies and to promote health and wellness. The exhibition has three areas of focus: Symbols and Meanings, Materials and Technologies, and Living Practices. “They are works of art that really communicate stories about culture, belief systems and history,” said William Crow, director of LUAG and professor of practice in art, architecture and design. “I think it’s a great fit for Lehigh because they also share a lot of interdisciplinary connections between the natural world, the arts, science, medicine and wellness.” There are about 100 artworks on display, Crow said. Sponsors for the exhibit include the Henry Luce Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities. At Lehigh, the Office of International Affairs, Asian Studies Program and Department of Religious Studies sponsored the exhibit.—Christina Tatu Exhibition
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2023 | 13 FRANCHISE RECORD | ALUMNI ʼ13 THREE’S COMPANY CJ McCollum ’13 set a New Orleans Pelicans franchise record with 11 3-pointers in a 127-116 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 30, 2022. Only five other players have had more 3-pointers in a game in NBA history (Steph Curry achieved the feat twice). McCollum, who is in the midst of a four-year term as president of the National Basketball Players Association, netted a game-high 42 points, which tied the fourth-highest point total of his NBA career and most since he joined the Pelicans in a mid-season trade last season. Three days later, McCollum and the Pelicans traveled to Philadelphia for a rematch where Lehigh alumni and friends were in attendance to cheer on the former Mountain Hawk. McCollum’s Pelicans fell to the Sixers, 120-111, but the 10-year NBA veteran tied for a team-high in points with 26.—Stephen Gross GLOBAL Teaching in a Complex World Seven faculty named global fellows. How do educators show up in places not necessarily home to them, with students and local residents both like and unlike them, all with their own fears and desires, to create meaningful engagements that positively shape a shared future? To help faculty design innovative international education experiences, Lehigh’s Global Citizenship Center for Pedagogies of Self, Other and World Well-being has named its first cohort of Global Teaching and Learning Fellows: Nandini Deo, associate professor of political science; Rochelle Frounfelker, assistant professor of community and population health; Almut Hupbach, professor of psychology; Terry-Ann Jones, professor of political science and director of the Africana Studies Program; Mary Anne Madeira, assistant professor of international relations; Ziad Munson, professor of sociology and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology; and Xiaochuan Tong, teaching assistant professor. “Our desire is to give faculty the space to thoughtfully consider what it means to teach about and in the world in this particularly complex moment,” said center Director Lina Rodríguez. The cohort will travel to Rishikesh, India, in the Himalayan foothills, in May 2023 for an immersive weeklong seminar led by Rodríguez and William Crow, director of the Lehigh University Art Galleries (LUAG), where they can reflect on what it means to study abroad and how to use place-based learning in their classrooms. As part of the initiative, the fellows will engage with LUAG’s Gateway to Himalayan Art exhibition (at left). —Emily Groff CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: CHARIOT RITUAL (BIRMARATHA PATA), NEPAL, DATED BY INSCRIPTION, 1902; HAND HELD PRAYER WHEEL, CENTRAL TIBET, EARLY 20TH CENTURY; MANDALA OF CHAKRASAMVARA, TIBET, 14TH-15TH CENTURY; BODHISATTVA KSHITIGARBHA, TIBET, 17TH CENTURY; VAJRAVARAHI, NEPAL, DATED BY INSCRIPTION, 1822. JONATHAN BACHMAN, GETTY IMAGES SPORT / DIY13, ISTOCK
14 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN After a 15-year professional career— 12 years spent internationally between FFC Frankfurt and FC Bayern Munich— Gina Lewandowski ’07 retired from NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in July 2022 and returned to Lehigh as an associate head coach of the women’s soccer team. Lewandowski, who played in a friendly with the U.S. Women’s National Team in 2015, is the leader in career game-winning goals (15) at Lehigh, is second in goals (36) and points (80), was the 2003 Patriot League Rookie of the Year and won back-to-back Patriot League Player of the Year honors in 2004 and 2005. Why did you decide to return to Lehigh? Lehigh was very influential in my career and personal development, both on the field and off the field. It set me up for my success, and I had a lot of pride in Lehigh, the program and the community that Lehigh provided me throughout my four years. I was connected with Lauren Calabrese, the head coach, because we grew up together and played soccer together. And I always knew I wanted to coach. I didn’t know what level or where that would be, but then Lauren assumed the head coaching position last spring and reached out. … [I’m excited] to have an opportunity back at my ATHLETICS | ALUMNI ʼ07 Returning to Her Roots Recently retired pro soccer player Gina Lewandowski returned to her alma mater as associate head coach of the women’s soccer team. Harvard Business Review Embrace Ambivalence When Making Big Career Decisions Naomi Rothman, associate professor of management, and colleagues discuss the effects of ambivalence and how to use yours to your advantage. “Ambivalence may be a beacon guiding you toward a more optimal future.” Chemistry World How to Stay Motivated as a Researcher Angela Brown, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, shares suggestions for how researchers can stay motivated when experiments consume an excessive amount of time, or fail. “It’s a lot of little steps.” Los Angeles Times Op-Ed: Thinking of Leaving Twitter? Its Experience Is Hard to Replicate Jeremy Littau, associate professor of journalism and communication, analyzes Twitter and other platforms, arguing that “all social media users should consider how a platform’s design dictates their basic choices of following, posting and amplifying others.” Lehigh Faculty In the Media STEPHANIE VETO
FROM THE NEST | SPRING 2023 | 15 school, and hopefully share what I have taken from the school and my career and give back to the next generation and maybe inspire some other athletes. But most importantly, help them grow and develop as human beings. What have you taken from your professional career and brought to your role at Lehigh? Personal development, individual development, team development and team culture. … I learned a lot about training, game preparation, recovery, nutrition and the holistic approach to sports development. Being the best we can be on the field but also taking care of all those different facets. Lauren and I have talked a lot about nutrition, recovery, activation and prep for training and games and also mental health. Describe the experience of playing for the U.S. Women’s National Team on its 2015 World Cup Victory Tour in a friendly against Brazil. It was an extreme honor to get called up to camp in 2015. It was one of my best years I’ve had at a club level. I was hitting my prime at that age, I was 30 years old. … Being able to experience what it was like at the highest level in your country, and to compete against the top players in your country, it’s an experience you can’t fully describe. There’s a lot of emotions around it, but you’re also extremely nervous when you get into camp. There’s high tension getting into a game like that, performing against a top country, being on TV for the first time in your home country and performing in front of that many people in that stadium [Orlando Citrus Bowl]. Last year the U.S. Soccer Federation announced a deal in which the men’s and women’s national teams are paid equally. Are you surprised it took this long? Yes and no. The battle for equality is always going to be a tough fight for us women, but as far as equal pay, I’m surprised it took that long just based on the interest, the ticket sales and the revenue they were producing. The women were bringing in so much, the game had grown so much over the last few years. But at the club level, we’re still fighting a fight where we can get to a level where we’re not equal pay with the men, but also equal resources. I don’t think there will ever be such a thing as equal pay [at the club level], but equal play would be a little bit more realistic in the sense of providing the women with the same opportunity and resources as the men have. What was it like to play with some of the biggest names in U.S. women’s soccer, such as Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger? It didn’t hit me until later on in my career where I was like, ‘Wow, I actually played with some of these top world-class players.’ Especially in Germany, I played with probably three-fourths of the national team there. It was an amazing experience to reach that level and compete with them, learn from them, understand how they do things and grow as players and as teams. Of course, the higher the level you get to, there’s different personalities that you come in contact with and the pressures and the expectations that come with that as a player. That really challenges you. It can be humbling. I’m certainly grateful for the opportunity to compete with them and with the teams that I’ve been on. It's an experience I’ll never forget that shaped me and molded me into the person I am today. Do you still keep in touch with any of those players? Yeah, I do. I still have quite a few friends and contacts over in Germany. I try to get to Germany once a year to connect with relatives and friends there. I always try to visit [my former team] Bayern Munich to keep the door open. You never know what could be possible there. I still have contacts with a couple of players in the NWSL. I have contact with [my former club NJ/NY Gotham FC], as well as some other players that I’ve gotten to know through my coaching license that I did through the league back in 2021. —Stephen Gross Gina Lewandowski ’07 is enjoying her transition from her professional playing career (below) to coaching at her alma mater (left). STEPHANIE VETO / LEHIGH ATHLETICS
16 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN by Christina Tatu • photography Benedict Evans In a downtown Brooklyn neighborhood rises a new, forward-thinking development that includes an all- electric skyscraper and schools built for maximum energy efficiency. Jared Della Valle ´93 is designing and developing the Alloy Block, which, when completed, will have five buildings with combined office space for 1,000 people, 850 homes, two schools and cultural and retail spaces. The block is taking shape on Flatbush Avenue, adjacent to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Barclay's Center and the Atlantic Terminal, New York City's second-largest transit hub. DESIGNING CHANGE
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18 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN D The “Alloy Block” is his most groundbreaking project to date. “We’re making change here,” says Della Valle, who is both an architect and developer. “We’re making homes for people. We don’t make widgets. We make buildings, and those buildings take a massive amount of investment of time, energy and capital, and people experience them as either their home or in the context of our city.” His last five development projects have been within a block of Alloy’s office building and include the DUMBO Townhouses—five townhomes so efficient, they reduced the typical energy consumption by 90% per home. There’s also One John Street, a mix of 42 apartments, one commercial unit and an annex that Alloy donated to the Brooklyn Bridge Park with a no-cost lease for the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. The project, inside the park, is LEED Gold Certified, which means the building has attained environmentally friendly standards, such as using less energy and saving water. “We aren’t a startup, but we have a startup mentality in that we are looking to solve problems in a different way,” Della Valle says. “We have the privilege of innovation. Part of being an architect is wanting to understand the right answer. Architects don’t get taught to build buildings, they learn how to solve problems.” He also believes in repurposing Brooklyn’s historic, once industrial buildings into new uses with an eye toward sustainability instead of tearing them down. “There’s an incredible amount of embedded carbon in these buildings that were built 100 years ago, and rather than demolishing them and starting fresh, we recycle them,” Della Valle says. “We make the joke that they are the largest objects we can recycle.” Known for his laid-back demeanor and preference for blue jeans over suits and ties, Della Valle entered into real estate in 2006 as co-founder and CEO of Della Valle, who majored in architecture and urban studies at Lehigh, started his Brooklyn-based company Alloy Development 17 years ago in the borough’s DUMBO section— Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass—where he works to develop innovative, sustainable buildings with a reduced carbon footprint. His office building is only 200 yards from his home in a Brillo Warehouse that he converted into 10 luxury condominiums in 2013.
SPRING 2023 | 19 “The company has a mission, which is to make Brooklyn beautiful, equitable and sustainable.“ —JARED DELLA VALLE ’93 Alloy Development while running a successful architecture firm. The company has 18 employees. “The company has a mission, which is to make Brooklyn beautiful, equitable and sustainable,” he says. “When you participate in building in your own community, there’s a lot of privilege in that, but also a lot of responsibility and risk.” Della Valle is particularly devoted to sustainability, gaining inspiration from his two teenage children who regularly attend climate marches, and who Della Valle says are part of the “Greta Thunberg generation,” named after the Swedish teen who gained worldwide recognition for challenging world leaders to take immediate action on climate change. “I and my partners feel we have an obligation to lead,” Della Valle says. “One of the reasons I have such an obligation is because of my children. I come home every night, and I need to be responsible to them. It’s quite obvious the stressors my children face feeling the burden of the world that’s been handed to them.” When designing the Alloy Block’s all-electric skyscraper, Della Valle thought about what was important to his children. “Where are they going to choose to rent in the future, and will they choose to rent based on a value set, or will they choose to rent based on an amenity?” he says. “Our proposition is that people will choose to rent and choose a home based on a value set rather than an amenity.” The view from the first tower that will be part of the Alloy Block, which is Jared Della Valle’s (above) most groundbreaking project to date.
20 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN “Development can be a very risky endeavor, but he has managed to move up in scale from modest projects to his most current work.“ —CHRISTINE USSLER ’81 He recalled designing the family’s country home overlooking the Hudson River Valley. It was most important to his children that the home be “off the grid.” He designed a concrete and wood minimalist home using some of the same passive design standards incorporated into the new Alloy Block school buildings. The home uses solar panels for year-round energy and features a well-insulated envelope to cut down on heating and cooling needs. When it came to the Alloy Block, Della Valle and his colleagues wanted to design largescale buildings that will continue to be sustainable well into the future, eventually becoming carbon neutral, which means they will not contribute to the emission of greenhouse gasses. “We’ve pushed the bounds of sustainability, but we’ve never taken it to this place. … It’s always been in the background,” he says. Della Valle thought of the project as a partnership with the community. “We may not agree on what the future should look like, but the community offered constructive criticism and it had a positive influence on the outcome,” Della Valle says. “We made changes together and figured out how to make this the best that it can be. That process was successful. Although very enduring and difficult, we had a clear obligation to be reliable partners and to listen carefully.” During the planning, he used the existing buildings on the site to create public programs, such as a block-long mural competition. One space was donated for use as a local artist-in-residence program. “We really tried to show this was different,” he says. “This was not going to be just another project.” The first phase of the Alloy Block includes what he says is the city’s first all-electric tower. Functions typically powered by natural gas will be run off electricity instead, such as stove tops, dryers and hot water
SPRING 2023 | 21 heaters. Under New York City’s renewable energy goals, 70% of electricity will come from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind by 2030 and 100% of electricity will come from renewable energy sources by 2040. The 44-story, 480-foot electric skyscraper will include 440 rentable apartments and 30,000 square feet of retail. Though innovative, there will soon be others. In December 2021, New York City’s then-Mayor Bill de Blasio accelerated the construction of all-electric buildings when he signed into law a mandate phasing out the combustion of fossil fuels in new buildings, legislation which Della Valle says he supported. “We have changed the way the city perceives the use of natural gas and fossil fuels, influenced the passage of legislation, influenced the industry to reconsider what types of fuel and assets they used,” Della Valle says. “This project is a test case for future facilities.” The redesign of Khalil Gibran International Academy, an Arabic high school in a 150-year-old building, and construction of a new, public 500-seat elementary school will also be part of the first phase. They will be the city’s first “passive house” designed schools, which means they will have ultra-low energy needs and significantly cut down on greenhouse gasses. The second phase will include another all-electric 840-foot-tall residential, office and retail tower with space for a cultural institution. In total, the project will include 1 million square feet of development, with the first phase to be completed in the summer of 2024 and the second phase to be done in 2028, Della Valle said. Of the 850 homes, 200 of them will be affordable housing units. Della Valle is seeking to partner with a community-based solar developer to construct an off-site solar operation in New York City that will generate seven megawatts of energy, enough to power the first electric skyscraper. That clean energy will be fed back to Consolidated Edison’s electricity grid, offsetting the skyscraper’s energy needs with a clean source. Della Valle‘s Lehigh Experience Growing up on Long Island, Della Valle worked in a furniture shop in high school, then framed houses as a carpenter. His father sold antique hunting and fishing collectibles, and his mother was an educator who encouraged Della Valle to take art lessons. “I was introduced at a very early age to construction and really enjoyed the process of making space, making buildings and making things with my hands, so architecture was always the path,” he says. Della Valle says it was never a question that he would go into development and architecture, and he credits Lehigh with developing his passion for the field. When he chose to go to Lehigh, Della Valle said he was looking for an architecture program not far from home on a campus small enough that he would feel comfortable interacting with faculty and staff. The first tower will be mixed-use, with residences and retail space. The project combines the old and the new to provide educational, residential and office space. The first phase includes redesign of Khalil Gibran International Academy in a 150-year-old building and construction of a new, public 500-seat elementary school.
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