Message to Campus on CORE Report

Dear Members of the Lehigh Community,

Earlier this summer, we introduced the campus community to the report prepared by the Commission on the Residential Environment, or CORE. That report—which was the result of an in-depth and extensive review of residential life at Lehigh by more than 60 faculty, staff, students, and trustees—provides a powerful framework to begin a campus-wide conversation about how residential life at Lehigh can best support our educational mission and the development of our students, both undergraduate and graduate.

We want to thank the CORE chairs, Prof. Emeritus Ed Kay and trustee Sarat Sethi, and the members of the commission for the hours of hard work and thoughtful consideration they put into the report. Since the report was released, we have heard views from a number of students, staff, faculty, parents, and alumni. This process generated a wide range of opinions, which is to be expected, and is a sign that our community wants to engage in dialogue about the residential experience at Lehigh and related campus culture issues. Those comments are available at http://www1.lehigh.edu/corereportfeedbackforum. We encourage you to look at them and add your own. 

This fall, we will begin a series of meetings and open forums for members of our community to participate in this conversation. We are hoping for an open and candid discussion of the issues raised. We are confident that the Lehigh community can have a passionate yet respectful dialogue about issues many of us feel strongly about. As we think about these issues, we should be thinking of Lehigh today and the community we want to be in the future—think 2025.
 
Over the past two years, we have focused a great deal of energy on our campus climate, and we’ve worked to make Lehigh a more welcoming and inclusive community. The CORE report touches on issues directly related to campus climate, and those should be foremost in our thinking as we discuss and debate the role our residential environment plays in the context of these broader issues.

The report raises some complex issues that will require detailed discussion, planning, and financial resources to address. It also raises some issues we can address more readily. An example can be found in the Live Lehigh themed housing options, where now nearly 500 undergraduate students have opted to live in a residential environment dedicated to interests such as creativity, outdoor adventure, kosher living, Christian living, community service, substance-free living, “Greengineering,” and more. And this year, Lehigh is offering a Pride Community residential option for students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or gender non-conforming, and allies.

We recently met with the Student Senate and have begun to schedule conversations with groups that represent key constituencies, including: student leaders, Greek and non-Greek students, undergrad and graduate students, international students, faculty, staff, alumni, and cultural groups and organizations. We will also meet with our partners in the Bethlehem community to expand these conversations. We plan on sharing the ideas generated in these discussions with the campus community before making any decisions.

To help facilitate the sharing of ideas as widely as possible, we will launch a website to keep the community apprised of the key points raised at these meetings. This will enable us to build on the ideas generated as we talk to various groups.

We recognize that many of the decisions we make—both large and small—can deeply impact our campus culture. These decisions around our residential and social spaces can inspire new ways of interacting and open up opportunities for engagement. They can allow for personal growth and development, and provide the chance to shape an environment that supports diversity, inclusion, and a healthy campus climate.

The input of all our campus constituencies is an essential component in the thoughtful and meaningful dialogue we hope to have around these issues.

Throughout this process, our intent is to generate the best ideas for improving the student experience and the residential environment for our current students, and for the generations of students yet to come. We will be considering short- and long-term recommendations. Some suggestions may be relatively simple to address and implement. Others may involve significant investment on the part of the university. At this stage in our discussions, we are seeking great ideas and honest input.

In the discussions we are beginning to have, we are impressed by the level of thoughtfulness and passion of the members of our campus community, and by the willingness to engage on these issues.

Throughout this process, we encourage you to continue to share your thoughts, opinions, recommendations, or suggestions by going to http://www1.lehigh.edu/corereportfeedbackforum or by emailing comments to corereport@lehigh.edu. We also encourage you to familiarize yourself with the report and the recommendations, which can be viewed at http://www.lehigh.edu/~inprv/communications/pubsreports.html.

We look forward to continuing the conversation.

Sincerely,

John D. Simon
President

Patrick V. Farrell
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs