Global Lehigh (2026)

12/06/2026

Students from around the world gathered at Lehigh University on Thursday to watch the opening match of the FIFA World Cup and connect with fellow students during a viewing party hosted by the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS).

“It’s a nice chance to take a break from research and actually do something and be involved with students and other Lehigh community members,” said Kevin Ayllon, who wore a Mexico kit while watching the game. “It’s a good way to connect with people who stayed on campus for the summer.”

More than 50 people gathered at the Global Union on Coxe Hall to watch as Mexico defeated South Africa 2–0 in the opening match on June 11. Ayllon, an accounting and finance major entering his sophomore year, said he roots for Mexico during the World Cup because of his family's Mexican heritage.

OISS will host regular World Cup watch parties through July 19, allowing students to watch any match in the Global Union. It also plans a Philadelphia FIFA Fan Festival trip on June 13.

For more information about this and other summer activities, check out our Global Lehigh story here: https://global.lehigh.edu/news/lehigh-university-world-cup-2026-watch-party

11/06/2026

This summer, eleven Lehigh University students are spending the summer in various parts of Germany, interning and conducting research through two prestigious fellowships: the DAAD:Rise program and the Ruhr Fellowship.

These Lehigh students will be sending news throughout the summer about what they are up to overseas, and we'll be sharing postcards to show what they're doing.

Here’s our first postcard from rising senior Madeleine Korver, an IDEAS major who was awarded a Ruhr Fellowship. More to come throughout the summer!

09/06/2026

When Lesly Maria Hernandez arrived at Lehigh University from Arizona, she already had a specific goal in mind.

“As soon as I got on campus, I was like, ‘Okay, so how do I get out of the country?’” said Hernandez, an Earth and Environmental Sciences major. “Studying abroad was a big priority for my college career.”

That ambition has already taken her to Costa Rica, where she studied ecological resilience and conducted research on tropical salamanders. This summer, she’ll be going even farther, traveling to Bhutan to study forest biodiversity, conservation and sustainability.

Hernandez is one of 14 Lehigh University students who have recently been awarded by the U.S. Department of State's Gilman Scholarship Program. Lehigh was previously recognized as among the top colleges and universities whose students have won these merit-based, nationally-competitive scholarships.

Read more at our Global Lehigh story here: https://global.lehigh.edu/news/lehigh-university-gilman-scholarships-2026-recipients

29/05/2026

Long before Lehigh’s ServeAbroad Antigua and Barbuda trip logged 6,500 service hours, organized 25 trips, and engaged 165 students, it began as a simple conversation over tea.

Dr. Bill Hunter, the founder of ServeAbroad Antigua and director of the Lehigh University/United Nations Partnership, first met Dame Deborah Mae Lovell while she was visiting Lehigh’s campus in 2010. Lovell was serving as the Antigua and Barbuda ambassador to the United States and traveled to Lehigh to meet with Antiguan and Barbudan students participating in the former Iacocca Global Village for Future Leaders summer program.

Hunter and Lovell became fast friends, and soon the idea emerged of Lehigh students visiting Antigua over a cup of tea. While Lovell claimed that Hunter’s students needed to visit the Caribbean beaches, Hunter also saw it as an opportunity for his students to get involved with the community of Antigua and Barbuda through a service project.

In 2011, Hunter launched the first ServeAbroad Antigua trip. Together, Hunter, Community Service Director Carolina Hernandez, and a small cohort of Lehigh students traveled to Antigua to paint an elementary school and immerse themselves in the culture. Over the next three years of the program, Lovell joined the students for a week, traveling on a bus around the island.

Read more at our Global Lehigh story here: https://global.lehigh.edu/news/lehigh-university-serveabroad-antigua-barbuda-2026-trip

28/05/2026

The Lehigh University/United Nations Partnership has celebrated several major milestones in recent years. Now, it has reached another: more than 25,000 Lehigh students, faculty and staff have directly participated in LU/UN programs since the university first earned U.N. NGO accreditation in 2004.

The LU/UN Partnership has hosted more than 500 U.N.-related programs since its inception, according to newly released figures. This includes almost 200 bus trips carrying Lehigh participants between Bethlehem and New York City for conferences, briefings and meetings at the U.N. headquarters, a cumulative round-trip journey of nearly 35,000 miles.

The Partnership has also facilitated more than 60 student internships at the U.N. and collaborated with more than 20 nongovernmental organizations around the world to support more than 250 Lehigh students serving as U.N. Youth Representatives.

“These milestones reflect more than just numbers,” said Bill Hunter, Director of Fellowship Advising and U.N. Programs. “They represent thousands of Lehigh students, faculty and staff engaging directly with global issues and building the skills needed to become effective changemakers in an increasingly interconnected world.”

Read more at our Global Lehigh story here: https://global.lehigh.edu/news/lehigh-university-united-nations-luun-partnership-25000-milestone

27/05/2026

When Charlotte DeForest ‘29 began digging through Lehigh University’s archives, she expected to find records of international students studying engineering in Bethlehem. What she discovered instead was a global history stretching back to the university’s earliest years.

“These students didn’t just come for a degree. They came for the tools to modernize and industrialize their nations,” said DeForest, a first-year student who extensively researched Lehigh’s international student history from 1865 to 1950.

DeForest, who is majoring in political science and economics, transformed her findings into an interactive website exploring Lehigh’s history of international students, featuring maps, archival images, scroll animations, timelines and historical profiles. Visitors can explore the website here, and future student researchers will continue expanding it.

DeForest was one of three student research interns who recently presented their semester-long research projects through the Office of International Affairs (OIA). Other projects included research on Lehigh alum Lee Iacocca’s leadership philosophy and the economic impact of international student entrepreneurs in the Lehigh Valley.

Read more at our Global Lehigh story here: https://global.lehigh.edu/news/lehigh-university-oia-student-research-intern-presentations-2026

22/05/2026

The International Center for Academic and Professional English (ICAPE) will host on Wednesday about how to plan and deliver an engaging in-person oral presentation for a linguistically and culturally diverse audience.

The free workshop, called "Giving Effective Oral Presentations," will be held on May 27 at 1:30 PM in Maginnes Hall 270. It partially fulfills the requirements for the Lehigh Global Career Accelerator (GCA) micro-credential.

ICAPE at Lehigh University helps multilingual speakers of English at the intermediate to advanced levels of proficiency improve their communication skills with flexible, student-focused program options that are grounded in evidence-based practice and connected to the resources of the larger university community.

For more information or to RSVP, visit here: https://lehigh.campuslabs.com/engage/event/12472752

21/05/2026

Lehigh University continues its extensive and committed history with the Fulbright Scholarship program as two students have been named recipients of the award for the 2026-27 academic year while another has been selected as an alternate.

Afiwa Afandalo ’24 will be traveling to Cameroon to serve as an English teaching assistant and Kendalin Flores ’26 is headed to the Dominican Republic as a marine biology researcher. Karina Makhani ’26 is an alternate for the Master of Applied Sciences and Engineering: Computer Science at VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium.

Combined with nine faculty Fulbright Scholarships this academic year, Lehigh has set a record for most recipients in a single cycle. In 2018-19, Lehigh had six total scholars and last academic year the university had its second-highest cycle with five combined students and faculty members.

Read more here: https://news.lehigh.edu/student-fulbright-scholars-help-lehigh-reach-record-number-of-recipients

19/05/2026

ICYMI: Dozens of students, alumni, faculty, staff and community partners gathered recently for a community open house and celebration at the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership’s recently established home in the Rauch Business Center.

The event highlighted the wide range of programs and experiences offered through the Institute while reflecting on how its new name and evolving mission honor the visionary legacy of Lehigh University alumnus Lee Iacocca ‘45.

“The name may be new, but it very much reflects the history of the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership,” said Cheryl Matherly, Vice President & Vice Provost for International Affairs at Lehigh’s Office of International Affairs (OIA).

“That idea of leadership and how we think about preparing people in these intense cross-cultural encounters to be leaders, that’s always who we’ve been,” Matherly said at the open house. “We prepare students to be able to work across difference; to work across cultures.”

Read more at our Global Lehigh story here: https://global.lehigh.edu/news/lehigh-university-lee-iacocca-institute-global-leadership-community-open-house

07/05/2026

Dozens of students, alumni, faculty, staff and community partners gathered last week for a community open house and celebration at the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership’s recently established home in the Rauch Business Center.

The event highlighted the wide range of programs and experiences offered through the Institute while reflecting on how its new name and evolving mission honor the visionary legacy of Lehigh University alumnus Lee Iacocca ‘45.

“The name may be new, but it very much reflects the history of the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership,” said Cheryl Matherly, Vice President & Vice Provost for International Affairs at Lehigh’s Office of International Affairs (OIA).

“That idea of leadership and how we think about preparing people in these intense cross-cultural encounters to be leaders, that’s always who we’ve been,” Matherly said at the open hour on April 30. “We prepare students to be able to work across difference; to work across cultures.”

Read more at our Global Lehigh story here: https://global.lehigh.edu/news/lehigh-university-lee-iacocca-institute-global-leadership-community-open-house

Global Lehigh

12/06/2026

11/06/2026

09/06/2026

29/05/2026

28/05/2026

27/05/2026

22/05/2026

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19/05/2026

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