Forlenza Chair Employment Prospectus
The Position The Ellen and Vincent Forlenza ’75 Chair in Health Innovation and Technology was created to leverage Lehigh’s traditional strength in healthcare technology, and is a key position in the College of Health’s Disability Independence strategic research cluster. The faculty member in this position will have experience leading interdisciplinary research teams to develop assistive or rehabilitative technologies, and possess the vision and leadership qualities necessary to build out the Disability Independence research cluster. The holder of the Forlenza chair will create research partnerships with community organizations, businesses, and health systems, and will actively shape future investments in the college, such as additional faculty hires, curricular offerings, and degree programs. The successful candidate for this position will be appointed at the rank of full professor and will have the opportunity for formal affiliation with local or regional health systems with whom the College of Health partners. The Lehigh University College of Health is Lehigh’s first new college in decades, and will play a crucial role in the execution of the University’s strategic plan over the coming 10 years. “With this chair, we’re hoping to find a leader who is a thoughtful risk-taker and a great facilitator of academic-industry partnerships,” Vince Forlenza said. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be someone who has a real passion for improving the independence of people with disabilities.” Read more about the Forlenzas and their commitment to global healthcare. 2
Table of Contents The College of Health..............................4 Leadership.................................................5 Faculty........................................................6 Disability Independence.........................7 Research, Teaching, & Service..............8 Research Centers & Institutes...............9 Our Partners..............................................10 Facilities.....................................................11 Education in the College of Health.......12 Programs & Offerings..............................13 Experiential Learning & Internships...14 Lehigh University.....................................15 The Lehigh Valley Community..............16 Lehigh’s Strategic Plan...........................17 The College of Health’s Role..................18 An Equitable Community........................19 3
At a Glance Since its opening in 2020, the College of Health has been shaping the future of health and healthcare through its interdisciplinary, realworld approach to teaching and research. A core commitment of the College is fostering positive change in the communities where we live and work by promoting health equity. Our mission is to understand, preserve, and improve the health and well-being of domestic and global populations and communities with data-driven, and community-focused research and education in three primary areas: population health, community health, and health innovation & technology. The Disability Independence research cluster takes the College’s overall commitment to historically marginalized groups and focuses it on a population for whom technological innovation has the potential to support living an independent, thriving life. 2020: Launch of undergraduate programs 2021: Health, Science and Technology building completed 2022: Launch of graduate programs 100% of students have access to experiential learning opportunities 600+ Lehigh alumni network working in healthcare About The College of Health 4
Elizabeth “Beth” Dolan was named dean of the College of Health on June 1, 2023, after serving as interim dean for two years. Beth first came to Lehigh in 2001 and brings a non-traditional background in health to a college that is intentionally challenging its faculty and students to reimagine how they look at the world of health. She earned her B.A. in English at Davidson College and her master’s and doctorate in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She later served as senior fellow in literature and medicine at the UNC School of Medicine. She researches the expression of suffering in narrative, focusing on the ways novel forms of expression intervene to address the social and political causes of emotional pain and ill health. Beth continued her work in health and health-related fields by serving as founding director of the Health, Medicine and Society Program in the Lehigh College of Arts and Sciences, and successfully co-leading the effort to create a cluster hire in community health before the College of Health existed. She played a key role in designing the Grants for Experiential Learning in Health to fund student research and apprenticeship opportunities in the health arena. As the university’s first deputy provost for graduate education, she worked to develop additional financial support and career opportunities for graduate students, and championed an industry-informed approach to doctoral education. Outside of Lehigh, she was the founding director of the board of the PA Medical Humanities Consortium, now folded into the National Health Humanities Consortium. Leadership From left, Board Chair Vincent Forlenza ’75, Dean Elizabeth “Beth” Dolan, Lehigh President Joseph Helble ’82 and Lehigh Provost Nathan Urban. 5 Beth works with a 19-member Dean’s Advisory Council made up of corporate, healthcare, NGO and private-sector leaders who share their expertise, guide policy, provide sponsorship and offer student experiential learning opportunities. Meet the Dean’s Advisory Council here.
FACULTY The faculty of the College of Health seek to understand the many factors that determine health outcomes and put that information to work improving the lives of people in local and global communities. Faculty focus on population, community, and global health, and combine science, innovation, and action to equip students to live the mission of the College of Health: improving health outcomes for historically marginalized populations. As they conduct meaningful research with traditional and nontraditional partners, faculty themselves live out this mission as well. Together they will prepare the next generation of scientists and leaders in health through innovative coursework, community-, population-, and datafocused research and experiential learning. Meet the faculty. Currently 25 faculty on staff Additional 25–30 expected faculty hires by 2026 Over $10 million in faculty research grants 60+ affiliated faculty from Lehigh’s other four colleges, as well as health systems AT A GLANCE 6
The Disability Independence Strategic Research Cluster 7 With 10-12 faculty appointments, the College of Health is building a strategic research cluster in Disability Independence in order to advance the equity, wellbeing, agency, and community success of people of all ages with disabilities as defined by the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health: mobility/physical, SCI (spinal cord), TBI (head or traumatic brain injury), vision, hearing, cognitive/learning, psychological, and invisible. Together, an interdisciplinary team of College of Health researchers, working in collaboration with people with disabilities, our colleagues in the Colleges of Engineering and Education, Assistive technology and data science Community health and multiple determinants of health Disability law, policy, and ethics and external partners like Good Shepherd Rehabilitation will create or apply technology designed to support more independence and thriving. Building on existing faculty expertise in community-based participatory research, health technology, data science, health policy, and epidemiology, we are recruiting additional colleagues in the following areas, focused on people with disabilities: Nothing about us without us.
The highly research active College of Health faculty includes Data Scientists with expertise in quantitative research, modeling, and prediction, Health technology experts, Community Health Scientists with expertise in community-based participatory research, Epidemiologists, and Health Policy Scholars. Our in-house research support team has set the gold standard for grant applications submitted by Lehigh. From critiques by full professors and external reviewers to opportunities for collaboration with Lehigh faculty in other colleges, the research support team provides all the resources necessary to ensure the success of faculty research endeavors. Research Teaching Research Service At Lehigh, the role of faculty goes beyond research and teaching. Faculty members encourage graduate and undergraduate students to contribute to their research, and All faculty members at Lehigh University participate in teaching, contributing to the University’s initiative to lead in educational innovation. College of Health courses follow the Universal Design for Inquiry methodology, which allows students’ curiosity to guide their learning through multidisciplinary material, includes multimodal assignment options, and offers experiential activities to provide impactful education. The College offers scholarships for individuals from marginalized communities so these opportunities are accessible to all. Teaching Service many mentor student-led research teams like those in the Mountain Top programs. Faculty prepare students for the future of health and healthcare, and support them to improve health outcomes for historically marginalized populations during and after their time at the College of Health. 8
Health Data Warehouse (HDW): this collaboration between the College of Health and the College of Business houses clinical, billing, administrative, and community-based health data including an on-premise server, HIPAA-compliant cloud-based storage, and access to Lehigh’s High Capacity Computing Environment. At full strength, the HDW will provide services for researchers including de-identified data extracts, data analytics and modeling, and data fusion. Children’s Environmental Precision Health Institute (CEPH): seeks to better understand the impact of environmental exposures that link to diseases to detect, intervene, and prevent high-risk infants and toddlers from developing irreversible impairment to reaching their physical and intellectual potential. Institute of Health Policy & Politics (IHPP): conducts research and academic and professional training on political analysis and policy-making processes while raising awareness of the role of domestic and international health policymaking and the broader political contexts influencing population health. Institute for Indigenous Studies (IIS): partners and collaborates with Indigenous peoples, nations, and organizations throughout the Western Hemisphere to improve their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being; to identify the current health and education needs of this community using a multi-level, socio-ecological framework; and, to partner with tribal and local organizations, colleges, universities, and other academic institutions to develop culturally appropriate research methodologies that address health and education. College of Health faculty are also involved in three interdisciplinary research institutes based in engineering: Institute for Functional Materials and Devices; Institute for Data, Intelligent Systems and Computation; and Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy. Research Centers & Institutes The College of Health is the nexus of health research at Lehigh and is home to research institutes and centers that excel at focused and multidisciplinary studies, working together to solve health problems both locally and globally. Left, an Admiral Rachel Levine visit hosted by IHPP and, above, College of Health students conduct research for IIS at the largest powwow in the nation. 9
Our partners include corporations, nonprofits, health systems, and NGOs, and are critical to college, student, and faculty success. These relationships provide student experiential learning opportunities, guidance on curriculum development, data sharing for research outcomes, financial and in-kind sponsorships, and more. Today’s healthcare partners include: Our Partners Good Shepherd Rehabilitation has been focused on rehabilitation since 1967, and in 2023 opened an expansive rehabilitation hospital, offering world-class care. Committed to both community and innovation, like the College of Health, Good Shepherd is a core partner in the Disability Independence research cluster. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is the nation’s first hospital devoted exclusively to the care of children and continues to be a national leader in medical discoveries and innovations that improve pediatric healthcare. Geisinger Health System is one of the first genomic data gatherers, starting in the early 1990s. They have an advanced electronic health record and a clinical data warehouse that aid in improving the quality and accessibility of healthcare services. BAYADA Home Health Care helps people have a safe home life with comfort, independence, and dignity. They provide nursing, rehabilitative, therapeutic, hospice, and assistive care services to children, adults, and seniors worldwide. Lehigh Valley Health Network provides care for the people in the Lehigh Valley area. Headquartered in Allentown, a short distance from the College of Health, this partnership opens doors to research, education, and student experiences. 10 St. Luke’s University Hospital Network is Bethlehem’s first community hospital and the closest hospital to Lehigh’s campus. The St. Luke’s/Temple University Medical School is located in Bethlehem, offering opportunities for collaboration.
Facilities The Health, Science and Technology building, home to the College of Health, is the largest academic research facility ever built by Lehigh, and the second-largest building on campus. Opened to the public in April 2022, the 195,000-square-foot facility houses: faculty, administrative and programmatic staff, the health data warehouse, a biospecimen repository, a data visualization lab, wet and dry labs; community meeting space, and faculty from three of Lehigh’s colleges who work on health and energy. The building’s open, collaborative design fosters an atmosphere of innovation and change— interdisciplinary teams rotate in and out of the space while undergraduates engage in high-impact, hands-on learning experiences alongside graduate students and faculty researchers. This community-facing space provides a home for Lehigh to forge important new partnerships with the community and local organizations. 11
Education in the College of Health 12 Lehigh blends entrepreneurial thinking, creative inquiry, and rigorous academic programs with a vibrant life in and outside of the classroom, offering distinctive programs that guide, challenge, and inspire students. To that end, the College of Health and its institutes host distinctive speakers throughout the year on campus and also offer presentations by healthcare experts online as part of its Colloquium Series. 250 current undergraduate majors, 30 graduate students 500 undergraduate and 150 graduate students by 2026 25% of course credits are experiential learning Four students serve as United Nations Youth Representatives AT A GLANCE
Programs & Offerings Undergraduate Biostatistics and Health Data Science Community Health Epidemiology* Environmental Health* Global Health Health Policy & Politics Indigenous Peoples Health LGBTQ+ Health* Maternal & Child Health Population Health Graduate Certificates Masters Degrees Biostatistics and Health Data Science* Community and Global Health Health, Medicine & Society* Intercollegiate Engineering & Health* Intercollegiate Health Policy & Economics* Population Health Population Health Global Population Health Digital Health* MS Population Health Master of Public Health (MPH) MBA/MPH Flex MBA with Public Health Management Concentration MSc in Digital Health* MA in Community & Global Health* M.Eng. Health Systems Engineering MS Population Health Master of Public Health (MPH) Population Health Digital Health* 4+1 Accelerated Programs Doctor of Philosophy Our alumni enter the world prepared to improve health outcomes by working in the private sector, non-profit organizations, or government institutions. Majors Minors Graduate *planned program growth 13
Experiential Learning & Internships Health Technology/Entrepreneurship: e.g., interning with Ben Franklin Technology Partners, an incubator on Lehigh’s campus for tech-based start-ups. Community Health: e.g., interning with Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Office of Health Equity, which addresses health disparities and public health issues. Global Health: e.g., serving as a youth representative at the UN–entails representing and advocating for global health NGOs at UN sessions Data Analytics: e.g., analyzing real data sets from IQVIA, a multinational leader serving industries in health information, technology, and clinical research. Social Enterprise: e.g., interning with The Global Good Fund, an organization founded by Carrie Rich ’07 providing leadership development for social entrepreneurs including those in the healthcare sector. The Zug Fellowship allows students to get paid for their unpaid internships at nonprofits that are focused on health in the Lehigh Valley. The Douglas Fellowship provides underrepresented students with tuition for COH 4 + 1 programs and two paid research experiences. Lehigh University values the crucial role that experiential learning plays in students’ development as professionals and global citizens. Providing access for all students to powerful experiential learning is a cornerstone of the College’s mission, as it enables students to carry out the core purpose of the College: fostering positive health outcomes in local and global communities. These educational experiences include: Thanks to fellowships funded by generous donors, all College of Health students have the opportunity to participate in experiential learning outside of the classroom. 14
A Tradition of Excellence Located in Pennsylvania’s beautiful Lehigh Valley, Lehigh University is one of the nation’s most distinguished private research universities. Through academic rigor, an entrepreneurial mindset, and collaborative opportunities we challenge our students to become the leaders of the future. Read more about Lehigh University. 15 5 colleges: Arts & Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, and Health 7,394 students (undergraduate & graduate) 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio $1.4B endowment and assets 25 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports for men and women 40% of students participate in an international experience and 30% of those participate multiple times At a Glance Lehigh University
The Lehigh Valley Community 14 The Lehigh Valley includes Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton— the third-largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania. Lehigh University is conveniently located within driving distance of New York City (90 minutes), Philadelphia (60 minutes) and the Pocono Mountains (30 minutes). The Lehigh Valley is home to 11 colleges and universities, as well as a growing workforce. Its affordability and high quality of life draw in newcomers, making it Pennsylvania’s fastestgrowing region for the 19–38 age group. A Healthcare Hub Healthcare represents the largest employment sector in the Lehigh Valley, and ranks among the nation’s top in a variety of specialties, including rehabilitation. This, combined with the Lehigh Valley’s proximity to major healthcare companies in the medical device, biotechnology, diagnostics, and pharmaceutical fields, cultivates a rich environment for research and advancements in health and healthcare. The College of Health maximizes this wealth of opportunity in the Lehigh Valley through our robust partnerships with community and regional organizations. 16
Lehigh University’s Strategic Plan Inspiring the Future Makers 17 Make it New: lead with curiosity, embrace intellectual risk taking, develop innovative pedagogy, and conduct groundbreaking research Make a Difference: apply new knowledge to existing problems, break down traditional disciplinary barriers, engage in authentic learning, and expose the world to new ways of thinking Make it Together: collaborate and connect with our communities and partners, approach the world with humility, and a desire to serve, care for, and value each other. Lehigh’s strategic plan, Inspiring the Future Makers, provides a visionary direction for Lehigh’s future makers over the next decade and reaffirms the University’s commitment to be an institution where all can thrive. It outlines three goals that articulate a vision for how we innovate, make change happen, and do that work together. When we bring diverse people and perspectives together, we also discover new opportunities to innovate. Each goal is integral to inspiring the world’s future makers— the people whose work and insight will shape the future of our community, our economy, and our planet: View full strategic plan.
The College of Health & Lehigh’s Strategic Plan 18 Invest in strategic interdisciplinary research, focusing on improving health through assessments and interventions outside of traditional healthcare settings: the majority of research in the College of Health aims to improve health outcomes by addressing the multiple determinants of health in order to prevent disease and promote wellbeing; for example, improving the lives of people outside the clinic is central to the Disability Independence research cluster Create an expanded and strengthened research environment: on top of the College of Health’s in-house research support team, Lehigh will invest in expanded and enhanced facilities and the support and development of graduate students, postdocs, and research staff Lead in educational innovation: College of Health faculty members use Universal Design for Inquiry, a methodology that allows students to guide their own learning Lehigh has identified 10 initiatives that define actions to support the three strategic goals and determine University investments. Five of these initiatives speak directly to the mission of the College of Health: Redefine a deeply interdisciplinary education: all courses at the College of Health are interdisciplinary, undergraduate to graduate, making the College one of the first colleges on campus to have achieved this initiative Enhance the shared Bethlehem experience: many faculty at the College of Health are focused on community-based participatory research within Bethlehem, working to understand what their needs are, and building community. Lehigh’s first new college in 50 years, the College of Health is central to Lehigh’s vision for the next decade. The College of Health promotes innovative faculty research and inspires students to build a positive future for our world.
Principles of An Equitable Community We affirm the inherent dignity in all of us, and we maintain an inclusive and equitable community. We recognize and celebrate the richness contributed to our lives by our diverse community. We promote mutual understanding among the members of our community. We confront and reject discrimination in all its forms, including that based on age, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomics, veteran status, or any differences that have been excuses for misunderstanding, dissension, or hatred. We affirm academic freedom within our community and uphold our commitment to the highest standards of respect, civility, courtesy, and sensitivity toward every individual. We recognize each person’s right to think and speak as dictated by personal belief and to respectfully disagree with or counter another’s point of view. We promote open expression of our individuality and our differences within the bounds of University policies. We acknowledge each person’s obligation to the community of which we have chosen to be a part. We take pride in building and maintaining a culture that is founded on these principles of unity and respect. Lehigh University is first and foremost an educational institution, committed to developing the future leaders of our changing global society. Every member of our community has a personal responsibility to acknowledge and practice the following basic principles: 19
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