FORGING AHEAD As screen-free experiences and activities remain popular with this generationʼs students, the Lehigh Blacksmithing Club continues to grow in popularity since its inception two years ago. Created to provide a “place where academic knowledge gained through materials science and other engineering courses can be tested through real-world application,ˮ according to the groupʼs constitution, students have been honing their skills at the historic Bethlehem Smithy. Originally built in 1750, the Smithy is located in the cityʼs Colonial Industrial Quarter at the south end of Main Street. That will soon change. A dedicated blacksmithing lab is being created in Whitaker Laboratory complete with ventilation hoods, anvils and space for larger tools. The club has been supported by its advisors, Wojciech Misiolek, Loewy Professor and director of The Loewy Institute, and Laura Moyer ʼ99 MSʼ02 Ph.D.ʼ05, manager of metallography, light optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction at Lehigh. A GIFT OF TRANSFORMATION FOR THE ARTS AT LEHIGH During the pandemic, Zoellner Arts Center Executive Director Mark Wilson turned to a trusted advisory council to secure the legacy of the arts at Lehigh. Among those leaders was Marc Falato ʼ87. An investment banker turned producer, Falato found success on Broadway as a producer of Tony Award-winning productions like “Spring Awakeningˮ (2007) and “Glengarry Glen Rossˮ (2005). His commitment to the arts at Lehigh has also included service on the advisory council for the College of Arts and Sciences. With the support of his spouse, Pun Punyaratabandhu, Falato has made a $2.5 million gift to create the Marc Falato ʼ87 Executive Directorship of the Zoellner Arts Center. The endowed fund will provide permanent resources to enable the director to advance Zoellnerʼs future and its ability to remain ambitious, relevant, welcoming and transformative. This gift comes at a time when Lehigh is elevating the arts and libraries by creating a new vice provost position for the university (see page 8). “Pun and I thought long and hard about how we wanted to support the arts at Lehigh,ˮ Falato said. “You can have the best facilities, but unless you have the best leadership, the center is never going to fire on all cylinders. “Zoellner has come a very long way over the last almost 30 years,ˮ he continued. “And we look forward to seeing what the next 30 bring.ˮ—Lisa Doyle SCAN TO WATCH A VIDEO OF THE BLACKSMITHING CLUB IN ACTION PHILANTHROPY | ALUMNI ’87 CHRISTA NEU
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