Spring 2026 Back to the Classroom
Tuesday, April 14 | 9:00 am
About the Event
The Senior Alumni Council is excited to announce the Spring 2026 Back to the Classroom! Sign up for your chance to engage in compelling discussions with Lehigh faculty, staff, and students.
Cost: $50.00 per person
Event Agenda:
9:00 a.m. | Registration and hot breakfast buffet
9:40 a.m. to 10:40 a.m. | How to Solve Global Problems — One Slice of Toast at a Time
Can a simple piece of toast help us solve the world’s most daunting problems? This interactive simulation uses a "systems thinking" model to break down complex issues into clear, visual solutions. Participants will start with a surprisingly revealing exercise — mapping out the process of making toast — to unlock how our brains organize information. Then apply that same logic to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, specifically targeting poverty and climate change. In small groups, you will brainstorm, visualize, and build a comprehensive model of real-world solutions. The session concludes with a screening of the short film "Don’t Choose Extinction," leaving you with a practical framework for turning global challenges into collaborative action.
Presenter: Bill Hunter, Director, Fellowship Advising and UN Programs
10:40 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. | Break
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. | The Small Cities Lab
A new initiative in Lehigh’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is bringing together faculty and students from across the university to research and develop solutions to pressing challenges faced by small cities. Launched in January, the Small Cities Lab offers an interdisciplinary approach to place-based research and participatory design, tackling issues such as lack of affordable housing, urban ecology and greenspace, pollution, community health, food insecurity, and more in communities with less than 250,000 people.
Presenter: Karen Beck Poole, Professor of Practice; Director, Community Fellows Graduate Program; Co-Director, Small Cities Lab
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. | Hot lunch buffet
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. | A.C.E.S.
Lehigh's Center for Advancing Community Electrification Solutions (A.C.E.S.) is examining how electricity can reliably, sustainably, and affordably support our community energy needs. After years of relatively flat electricity demand, the last couple of years have seen a significant growth due to large loads coming online on our power grid, including data centers. This presentation overviews the energy and water challenges of AI data centers.
Presenter: Shalinee Kishore, Iacocca Chair and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Lehigh University
2:00 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. | Break
2:20 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. | 30-Year Vision: Lehigh Campus Plan
Mark Erickson and Nancy Trainer will discuss Lehigh’s bold new vision for the future of its iconic campus. Making the Future: A Plan for the Lehigh Campus outlines a comprehensive 30-year framework to transform the university’s physical spaces in ways that will amplify student success, fuel groundbreaking research, and strengthen Lehigh’s ties to the broader Bethlehem and Lehigh Valley community.
Presenters: Mark Erickson, Interim Vice President of Strategic Planning and Initiatives; Nancy Trainer, Associate VP for Facilities and Campus Planning
Alumni Contact: Tom Hoh ’75
Staff Contact: J. Bryce Neff, (610) 758-6160
Event Details
When: Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Eastern
Location: Iacocca Hall Governors Suite, Room 4430
Address: 111 Research Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18015
RSVP by: Tuesday, April 7
DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS
LEHIGH UNIVERSITY
306 S. New Street, Suite 500
Bethlehem, PA 18015-1652
(866) 758-ALUM
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