Lehigh’s founder Asa Packer often walked with a cane, reportedly one that was crafted from the vertebrae of a deer. In portraits of the 19th century industrialist on campus – one in the Asa Packer dining room in University Center, the other in the Alumni Building –and as part of the life-sized sculpture in Leadership Plaza, Packer is depicted with the cane.

Given Packer’s vision and leadership in establishing Lehigh University in 1865, a walking stick has become a symbol of leadership at the university. Each Founder’s Day, Lehigh’s president carries a chestnut replica of Packer’s walking stick. The president also presents walking sticks to Lehigh’s student leaders, which is considered a tremendous honor for those who publicly represent the university as models of leadership, wisdom and accomplishment.