Alice P. Gast, who led Lehigh University through a major period of growth as the school’s first female president, died Monday. She was 67.
The Texas-born academic, a prominent chemical engineer, served as president of the Bethlehem school from 2006 to 2014. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer four years ago.
“I first met Alice when I was at Dartmouth and she was at MIT, and I was immediately struck by her intellect, her deep curiosity, her thoughtfulness, and her commitment to advancing education and research,” he said.
After leaving Lehigh, Gast became president of Imperial College London, stepping down in 2022. She also was the first woman to lead that school.
“It is with great sadness that I learned of Alice’s passing, following a long illness,” Imperial President Hugh Brady said in a post on the school’s website. “Alice was known for her towering intellect, with a unique ability to see beyond the barriers that tend to confine us — be they academic, geographic, political or societal.”
Gast is survived by her husband, Bradley J. Askins, and their children, Rebecca and David.
During Gast’s tenure at Lehigh, the school developed a campus-wide strategic plan, raised $500 million in a capital campaign and added the 750-acre Stabler Campus in collaboration with Bethlehem.
She strengthened the school’s ties with the city, creating the South Side Initiative — an educational and cultural collaboration among students, faculty and residents — and community school collaborations with elementary and middle schools.
She also heightened the university’s presence outside the United States, working with automotive executive Lee Iacocca, a Lehigh graduate, to create the Iacocca International Internship Program.
Shortly into her tenure, Gast spoke to The Morning Call about the great possibilities she saw for the school.
“Lehigh has the ability to rise to grand challenges,” she said. “We’re a small enough and collegial enough place to bridge technical solutions with the human side, as well. Our faculty has a great enthusiasm for that kind of cooperation.”
At a student lunch, she was asked what pleased her most about the school.
“It really is the people and their serious commitment to Lehigh,” Gast said. “You can’t understand the culture until you’re here. It’s such a cliche, but there is a Lehigh family. You don’t feel that at every university.”
Gast earned her B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Southern California and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University.
She taught at Stanford University, and later served as vice president for research and associate provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In Lehigh’s article, Daniel E. Smith, former Lehigh board chair, said Gast came to Lehigh at a pivotal moment.
“Her contributions to Lehigh are immeasurable,” he said. “While too numerous to list, among these were her leadership in the creation of Lehigh’s first strategic plan, the renewal of Lehigh’s focus on research, the strengthening of the board, and the addition of many talented faculty who are among the present academic leaders of Lehigh.”