He was known as Mr. Lehigh and as America’s Dean of Development. Paul J. Franz Jr. ‘44 served Lehigh for six decades, starting as assistant to the president for development, rising to become vice president for development and university relations, and continuing as a consultant throughout his retirement.

During the years when Franz guided Lehigh’s development office, the university raised more than $300 million, two-thirds of that in the 1980s alone. The Chronicle of Higher Education said Franz embodied Lehigh. Harvard tried to hire him away. Franz said no; he was a Lehigh man.

Alumni and professors credited Franz’s unprecedented success to his warmth and charm, to his ability to develop and sustain lifelong friendships, to the witty stories he told, to his tireless cultivation of the thank-you note. In 1996, the faculty bestowed upon Franz the rank of Professor Honoris Causa, in grateful recognition of his significant and enduring contributions to the university.