Lehigh University

In 1865, Packer, president of Lehigh vale Railroad, given a $500,000 gift to create a university that will contribute to the “intellectual and ethical improvement” of men within the Lehigh vale. it absolutely was the most important donation of its kind to any establishment in America at that point. the location that Packer selected for his university was a railroad junction across the Lehigh River from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a community based in 1741 by Moravian missionaries. the location was designated partly as a result of it absolutely was among walking distance for managers of the Lehigh vale Railroad.

Packer and his associates designed the college to primarily specialize in arithmetic and science education, however give pupils with a comfortable information of classics. He knew, as did several others, that a robust financial set-up relied on quite technical skills. It required individuals broadly speaking educated within the humanistic discipline and sciences — those that may mix sensible skills with conversant judgments and powerful ethical self-discipline. He unbroken this in mind once commencement the university.

In Lehigh's inaugural year, thirty-nine men were admitted as students. Of the thirty-nine students, one was a warfare veteran from Lancaster, Pa.; ten were from Bethlehem, Pa.; seven came from Mauch Chunk, Pa.; seven came from Tamaqua, Pa., and different places within the anthracite coal regions; 3 were from Philadelphia; one from Barbados; and also the remaining ten hailed from different places within the japanese states.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE

Now, one hundred fifty years later, Lehigh continues to be conformation this proud heritage because it appearance ahead to the longer term. What began as a home for thirty-nine eager young students is currently a thriving university of quite four,600 undergrad and a couple of,000 graduate students.

Lehigh’s history is associate degree in progress method that continues with every generation of Lehigh students, leaders and school UN agency take the past and leave their distinct mark for the longer term. From the primary category of scholars UN agency arrived on South Mountain to the category of 2015, Lehigh has maintained its tradition of excellence whereas keeping in step with a dynamic world.

-Taken partly from Lehigh University: A History of Education in Engineering, Business and also the Human Condition, by W. Ross Yates