U.N. official Shashi Tharoor, left, presents NGO certificate to Ron Yoshida, Provost Emeritus.

Lehigh has become just the sixth university in the world to be fully recognized as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by the U.N. Department of Public Information (DPI).

"Lehigh University has conducted numerous United Nations-related programs and events over the last five years, so becoming an NGO is a natural progression of what has already been a very positive relationship,” says Bill Hunter, Lehigh University Representative to the United Nations.

At a ceremony at the United Nations in August 2004, Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications, presented Ron Yoshida, Lehigh’s Provost Emeritus, with a certificate officially recognizing the university’s status.

“With Lehigh becoming an NGO, our faculty, staff and students now have a link to one of the world's leading organizations,” Yoshida says. “The students already get a great education in the classroom, and this opportunity will build on that education by offering incredible experiential learning. Now, our students will hear about global issues straight from people who make global decisions."

OPENING DOORS

	A delegation representing Lehigh received NGO certification at the U.N.

Under the NGO designation, Lehigh will be able to take students to U.N. conferences, private briefings by U.N. officials, and other educational seminars held there. The designation also opens the door for Lehigh students to serve as interns at any NGO office worldwide.

Locally, the university will host ambassadors and other U.N. delegates and officials on campus for presentations. Lehigh also will create a U.N. Resource Room open to the campus and spotlight U.N. activities on the university’s Web site and in newsletters.

In recent years, Lehigh students have regularly visited the United Nations for tours and meetings with ambassadors, and they have attended three consecutive NGO-DPI Conferences. In addition, United Nations representatives have routinely come to campus to offer presentations and discuss a wide variety of topics that provide Lehigh students with tremendous insight into world issues.

Recent U.N. officials have visited the Lehigh campus, including Tharoor, Tiankai Cui, Chinese delegate to the U.N. Security Council, and Hans Blix, former director of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission.

In the future, the NGO status will become the centerpiece of many of Lehigh’s international initiatives, including the university’s Global Citizenship program, which will be launched this fall.

--Kim Plyler