Lehigh University: Office of the Vice President and Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Studies: Research Profile

Office of the Vice President and Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Studies > Research Profile

Lehigh Research and Academic Profile: Facts and Overview

Lehigh University is a medium sized, national research university with comprehensive undergraduate and graduate instructional programs in Arts and Sciences and professional (Engineering, Business, and Education) areas excluding medical and veterinary schools. It also offers a number of dual-degree programs and interdisciplinary and honors programs.

In addition, 7-year programs are available in several health professions. It has 4876 undergraduate students, 2118 graduate students, 440 full time and 629 total faculty, an overall operating budget of more than $387 million with a net R&D expenditure close to $50 Million. Of the 440 full time faculty, about 225 are Principal or Co Principal investigators on research grants. Based on the Carnegie classifications, under the ‘Basic’ category, it classifies as a High Research University and in the US World News and Rankings it ranks 35 among the national universities.

Sponsored research at Lehigh through external funding sources – federal, industrial, foundation, and state funding has seen a steady 78% increase over the last seven years between 1994-2007 as shown in Figure 1. Figure 2 shows how this funding is distributed across various federal agencies and state funding for research expenditures in 2007-08.

The research mission of the University is supported by libraries, studios, laboratories, performance venues, computer and network facilities, health and safety services, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, and the Vice Provost for Research.

For more facts and figures about Lehigh in general including a historical perspective on the university go to:

http://www3.lehigh.edu/about/past/lupast.asp

Figure 1: Research and Development Expenditures for Lehigh University between 1994 – 2007

Figure 2: Research and Development Expenditures by Agency/Type for 2007-2008

Graduate Program and Research Expenditures by College

US News and World Report ranked Lehigh University among the top 50 US graduate schools. Specifically, the College of Education was ranked 40 out of 242 colleges and the PC Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science (RCEAS) was ranked 42 out of 192 colleges. View the entire story >

Business Week ranked Lehigh’s College of Business among the top 25 in the nation and Lehigh’s part-time MBA was ranked No. 1 in the Mid-Atlantic region and fifth nationally .

Table 1 shows the research and sponsored program expenditures by college for 2007-2008. Looking to external funding for research and sponsored programs as one metric for research activity, about 35% of the total faculty at Lehigh currently have research funding from external funding agencies as PIs or Co-PIs. About 350 graduate students and 45 post- doctoral fellows are supported through external research funding.

Table 1: Research and Sponsored Program Expenditures for 2007-08 including Liaison and Ben Franklin funds.

Research Highlights at Lehigh

Lehigh's renowned faculty, exciting research programs, and state-of-the-art laboratories, institutes and research centers are among the world's best.

Cross Disciplinary Research between colleges of engineering and basic sciences, business and education happens both at the level of individual faculty collaborations and through the affiliations in the following research centers, institutes and programs that exist at Lehigh

“The interdisciplinary nature of much of the research conducted in the P.C. College of Engineering and Applied Science and within our affiliated research centers has enabled us to make significant advances in several fields, such as optoelectronics, biotechnology, environmental engineering, information technology and other emerging fields that require diverse contributions. “

“The College of Arts and Sciences offers that rare combination of advantages found when a liberal arts college is set within a research university. Pushing outward on the bounds of human knowledge and understanding is one of the fundamental obligations of our faculty. We attract faculty who are leading researchers, scholars, and creative artists who work at the fore of their respective fields. Our faculty members are passionately committed to generating new knowledge and pursuing external funding opportunities to press forward our understanding of the world.

To advance the limits of knowledge, promote innovation, and transform theory into practice, Arts and Sciences professors pursue a rigorous agenda of scholarship and applied research. Much of this work is cross-disciplinary, with faculty from various departments collaborating with one another, as well as with scholars at other colleges and universities.”

From the Dean of the College of Business and Economics:

“ The undergraduate program has been ranked as one of the most innovative and competitive undergraduate business program in the nation. The MBA program has garnered similar recognition at the regional and national levels. (BusinessWeek rankings)

…the elements that contribute to our reputation as one of the top business programs in the nation include:

great faculty who have a wide range of business experience, are experts in their fields, and are committed to teaching and learning
state-of-the-art programs that combine business and engineering for degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate levels
unique opportunities for students to work in cross disciplinary teams as they solve real-world business problems

Lehigh University's College of Education

“recognizes that the key to education in the new century is a commitment to the development of quality research that is disseminated to students and professionals through innovative teaching.

Establishing new educational paradigms that challenge old ways of knowing will greatly enhance our understanding and appreciation of others. We no longer live in a world that has borders or is limited to time and space, and so as educators we must adopt a philosophy of "learning beyond limits."

Currently, the college faculty and students are working on some of the most difficult and pressing challenges, including: