Born in Turkey to Greek parents, educated in French schools, John Karakash grew up speaking three languages. A track scholarship took him to Duke University; at the University of Pennsylvania, he helped create the world’s first computer.

At Lehigh, Karakash chaired the electrical engineering department and served 14 years as engineering dean. He recited French verse at poetry nights and often said, “At Lehigh, we educate students through engineering, not in engineering.” He took an intense interest in students, staying late to help them with homework, occasionally sleeping overnight in his office.

In retirement, Karakash published dozens of newspaper columns on international affairs. When he died in 2006, students, colleagues and neighbors remembered a kindness, a witticism, an anecdote.

“You remember Lehigh,” he said, “because someone took the time to reach you, to know you, to help you find yourself…Fundamentally, we are, and remain, in the business of growing people.”