Lehigh\u2019s strategic plan, Inspiring the Future Makers, launched in 2023, sounds ambitious on paper. It promises to spark curiosity and innovation, apply new ideas to real-world challenges and cultivate a campus rooted in collaboration and care.<\/p>\n
Yet for many students, Future Makers has become more of an empty slogan than a vision. The phrase constantly sits in the subject line of our inboxes but means almost nothing in our day-to-day lives.<\/p>\n
Provost Nathan Urban defines Future Makers as people who use innovation and entrepreneurship to shape the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The plan aims to rethink education through student-centered, inquiry-based learning, expand interdisciplinary research, transform Mountaintop Campus into a hub for innovation and strengthen trust, belonging and community through transparency and partnership.<\/p>\n
Several grants support these goals for students and community members. Lehigh alumni launched GO Beyond: The Campaign for Future Makers, raising the university\u2019s overall campaign goal to $1.25 billion. The effort calls for alumni, parents and supporters to invest in the mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
These are admirable goals and it\u2019s clear this is a priority for the administration. But when the branding hits campus, it often feels empty. Students don\u2019t feel like Future Makers when the term is overused and disconnected from our daily experiences.<\/p>\n
Now that the plan has been in action for two years, one would think there\u2019d be a long list of accomplishments under the program. There is a list on the strategic plan website. But the achievements that stand out as particularly important and impactful on student life \u2014 like updated technology, expanded community collaboration and new educational programs \u2014 are less advertised than the portions of the plan that make Lehigh look good.<\/p>\n
While there\u2019s a magnitude of information published about the plan \u2014 with 34 tabs listed under the Office of Strategic Planning and Initiatives \u2014 the information loses its impact when the same terms and goals are listed throughout without clarity to tangible change. The word \u201ccommunity\u201d is listed 21 times on the page outlining 2024-25\u2019s achievements, making it hard to believe Lehigh has a clear definition for the goal tied to the word.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
Further, a long list of events now falls under the Future Makers umbrella. Some lectures have been genuinely thought-provoking, but routine town halls and panels get the same branding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When everything is labeled \u201cFuture Makers,\u201d nothing stands out. It becomes hard to tell what\u2019s new, why something matters or why students should care \u2014 especially when many events cover the same topics, such as artificial intelligence or sustainability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the university wants engagement, it should broaden the range of discussions to reflect issues students care about. Currently, students receive long, late-night University Announcements lists with event titles and no descriptions.<\/p>\n
Special events should be highlighted clearly and explained directly. Degree-relevant initiatives \u2014 like the new interdisciplinary program between the business and health schools \u2014 should be introduced early and intentionally to students who\u2019d benefit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Right now, students see little connection between the Future Makers plan and the realities of choosing a major, finding internships or keeping up academically. Events also rarely touch on urgent issues, such as student debt, national policy changes or global conflict. Those are the concerns shaping our future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The program claims to prepare us to shape the future, but it too often focuses on strategic planning instead of the broader world we\u2019re actually entering.<\/p>\n
The initiative could motivate students to think bigger and engage with real problems. But that would require clarity, specificity and relevance to student life. Today, it feels like a lot of rhetoric with limited follow-through.<\/p>\n
For students to buy into the vision, Lehigh needs fewer broad, repetitive emails and more genuine dialogue. This means hosting events tied to real issues \u2014 not just the university\u2019s branding goals \u2014 and showing us how we play a role in shaping Lehigh\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Not every event needs the Future Makers label. Let lectures and panels stand on their own. If something truly reflects the program\u2019s spirit, highlight it.<\/p>\n
When the plan\u2019s advisory roundtable consists of 11 high-level administrators, there\u2019s disconnect from student life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The university should start with relevance: talk to us. Ask what issues we want to explore. Build programming around those conversations. When that happens, our future-making abilities will show naturally.<\/p>\n
Students are ready to contribute, but we need a vision that invites us in \u2014 not one that talks past us. Lehigh can still make Future Makers meaningful, but only if it begins listening with intention.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lehigh\u2019s strategic plan, Inspiring the Future Makers, launched in 2023, sounds ambitious on paper. It promises to spark…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4331,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[3946,4784,153,155,154,3947],"class_list":["post-37923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-4-min-read","tag-administration","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-editorial"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}