Lehigh University

To advance learning through the integration of teaching, research, and service to others. Excellence is the hallmark of a university of distinction. Excellence requires a total quality commitment, which must characterize every activity of Lehigh University. Lehigh is an independent, coeducational university with programs in the arts and humanities, business, education, engineering, and the natural and social sciences, offering bachelor's degrees primarily to full-time, residential students and graduate degrees through the doctorate for both full-time and part-time students. Lehigh is small enough to be personal, yet large enough to provide stimulating diversity and to play important na... read more To advance learning through the integration of teaching, research, and service to others. Excellence is the hallmark of a university of distinction. Excellence requires a total quality commitment, which must characterize every activity of Lehigh University. Lehigh is an independent, coeducational university with programs in the arts and humanities, business, education, engineering, and the natural and social sciences, offering bachelor's degrees primarily to full-time, residential students and graduate degrees through the doctorate for both full-time and part-time students. Lehigh is small enough to be personal, yet large enough to provide stimulating diversity and to play important national and international roles. Since Lehigh's founding in 1865, the faculty has emphasized the integration of the academic disciplines, combining the cultural with the professional, the theoretical with the practical, and the humanistic with the technological in a modern, liberal education that serves as preparation for a useful life. Lehigh is an intellectually unified community of learners, and in this sense Lehigh is an integral university. Lehigh strives to earn international prominence as a university of special distinction through its integration of teaching, research, and service to society. The integrating element of teaching, research and service is learning, which is the principal mission of all members of the Lehigh community. Our mission of advancing learning has three aspects: Teaching. The development of future leaders in our global society is first among Lehigh's purposes and first among our achievements. Preparation for leadership requires the best of teaching, in which both mentor and student are so deeply engaged that they become joint owners of the learning process. Research. Lehigh is deeply committed to the creative search for new understanding of nature and human society as an essential element of the learning process. The scholarly inquiry and research of Lehigh faculty and students add value to instruction on our campus, and contribute to the distinction of our university. Service. The special commitment of the Lehigh community to experiential learning through service to others imbues the entire university with a sense of purpose and value in the larger society. Lehigh is extensively involved in developing partnerships with industry, government and others in education and human services to meet the needs of our society. In a societal sense, Lehigh is devoted to the concepts of unity, community, and cooperative achievement. Lehigh believes that its graduates must develop critical thinking and effective communication as their habit; they must have both a broad understanding of human affairs and a domain of true competence; they are expected to live by a set of mature cultural and personal values, accept the virtue of work as a vehicle of service, and have the will to live and work with exceptional self-discipline. Respect for human dignity is very important at Lehigh, a caring community deeply committed to harmonious cultural diversity as an essential element of the learning environment. In order that all members of the Lehigh community might develop as effective and enlightened citizens, the University encourages physical, social, ethical, and spiritual development as well as rigorous intellectual development.