Office of Inclusive Excellence & Belonging- Lehigh University

We are proud of the work we have done and remain committed to the work that remains!

Lehigh Named ‘Diversity Champion,’ Receives National Award for Diversity and Inclusion Efforts Lehigh remains a winner of the national HEED award and, for the first time, has been named a Diversity Champion by Insight into Diversity magazine.

We were thrilled to sponsor Pride Day at Lehigh Field Hockey on Sunday with the Lehigh University Pride Center! Join us for Men's Soccer tonight at 6 PM, and Women's Soccer on Sunday at 2 PM!

Ahmed Noureldaem, ‘24, struggled to find an active Muslim organization on campus when he arrived in 2020. For the next three years, he worked tirelessly with fellow students to form an active Muslim Student Association that led weekly Jumu’ah prayers, fundraised for Ramadan dinners and provided emotional support to over 300 students.

This fall, Lehigh’s Dialogue Center welcomed Tariq Ameer, the first full-time Director of Muslim Student Life.

Link for more in bio

Article by Julia Contino
Photo by Jules Contino/B&W Staff

Many thanks to our partners at the Health & Wellness Center and College of Education for all their work on this initiative!

Join us!

Lehigh University and Lafayette College present: Elle Simone Scott
Topic: How food is the gateway to culture and how Elle displays her authentic self in the kitchen and beyond.
See flyer for more information on Elle.
Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhJxroM69qMq8F9719j7yUhHIXtFu0GzI747EziZtwf3J65Q/viewformor

Attention students and parents!

My Bus Home will be arranging transportation to White Plains, Bedford and Jericho, NY, Elkridge and Bethesda, MD and Cromwell, CT and Newton, MA. Private, fully insured motor coaches with restrooms and Wi-Fi will pick up on campus and bring students to and from central locations.
The coaches can hold 50 students. A minimum of 30 is required. The fares will depend on the number of students who ride the bus.The LI & MD round trip fare will be between $105.00 and $155.00 and between $174.00 and $214.00 for Westchester and New England. One way seats are also available.
If interested, please sign up at www.MyBusHome.com to receive more information and make trip reservations.The reservation deadline for the Spring Break is Feb. 20th.

In celebration of Black Excellence Month, the Office of Diversity, Inclusion & Equity has partnered with Lehigh Athletics to bring you the story of a former student-athlete or coach of color. The first feature is on former graduate assistant soccer coach Renee Washington. Congrats, Renee, on your induction into the La Salle Athletics Hall of Fame, and thank you for sharing your expertise and your story with Lehigh!

Washington Provides a Voice for the Voiceless - Lehigh University Athletics In many ways, Renee Washington's sports media career is much like her soccer career – with not only her success, but also the road she took to reach her destination.

Happy New Year! We hope that you had a restful and joyous end of 2021. Please join the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Celebration Committee on Monday January 17 at 12 PM via Zoom for their annual Day of Celebration. Registration required: https://bit.ly/MLKcelebration22

Did you join us for our BALANCE Events at Le/Laf Weekend? If you didn't, you DEFINITELY missed out! Keep an eye out for future BALANCE events!

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First Gen Week part 3--meet Dr. Rita Jones, Director of the Center for Gender Equity, Affiliated Faculty member in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and proud First Generation College Student

"I still feel super proud to call myself “Dr. Jones,” and I feel excited when I see other first gen students graduating. It’s still a very big, awesome deal."

Meet Dr. Rita Jones Director, Center for Gender Equity Affiliated Faculty member in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies "Without a frame of reference, I often don't realize how high the stakes or the bar is in higher education. I just expect that I will meet it because, well, I just have to. Maybe it's from growing up on a farm, but I know things have to get done. I'm not saying ignorance is bliss, but sometimes ignorance of the system can alleviate some of the pressure. First gen people already place a lot of pressure on themselves, so we don't need any more! I also realize how differently some things are today for first gen students, even as some parts of the experience frustratingly remain the same. On the positive side, I still feel super proud to call myself “Dr. Jones,” and I feel excited when I see other first gen students graduating. It’s still a very big, awesome deal. I do feel, not really a duty, but a call to give back and be a resource to others who are navigating this territory for the first time. Even though not always knowing the stressors can be good, having a guide is super valuable." #celebratefirstgen #proudtobef1rst

First Gen Celebration week continues!

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Meet Thuy Anh "Twee" Tran Class of '21 College of Business "To me, being a first-generation student means having to grow up faster than your peers. It means traveling 10,000 miles in a 20-hour flight on my own at 18 years old. It means living in a new country for 4 years with no relatives or families nearby for help. It means reading and negotiating the lease with the landlords by myself." "But it can also mean meeting and becoming close to people that I would never have met if I stayed. It means receiving kindness from a stranger even though I am thousands of miles from home. It means appreciating my mom’s signature Pho more when I feel homesick. It means feeling so happy when I meet someone who speaks my native language. As my journey at Lehigh soon comes to an end, I look back and realize that all these challenges have made me become a more resilient and independent person. There were tough times when I wished I could just go back home and cry, but then I was reminded of my purpose of being here and just kept on going." #celebratefirstgen #proudtobef1rst