Written by Colin McEvoy | May 7, 2026 | SHARE
The Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership celebrated its evolving mission and legacy during a community open house at its recently established home in the Rauch Business Center.
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 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.”
Founded in 1988, the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership prepares current and future leaders to take on complex, multi-system, global challenges through applied research, dialogues with subject-matter experts, and experiential learning programs.
Leah Mason, the Institute’s interim Executive Director, acknowledged many attendees at the open house were alumni of the Institute’s programs, including the Iacocca International Internship Program (IIIP), Iacocca Global Entrepreneurship Intensive (IGEI), and the Mandela Washington Fellowship program.
“We’ve all been looking forward to this day not just to show off the office space, but to celebrate the evolution of the mission here at Lehigh,” Mason said. “The best part of our jobs is seeing the transformation in the students after they have completed a program.”
Nathan Urban, Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, said the new space and the Institute’s evolving direction represent an exciting new chapter for Lehigh. He emphasized the importance of Lee Iacocca’s legacy to the university, particularly among international students and communities.
“Lee Iacocca’s legacy here at Lehigh is something that is very important to us, and so is the work of this Institute,” Urban said. “We’re all very excited about this new chapter and to see what this next step in the evolution of the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership is all about.”
Michael Cummings ‘28 introduced himself as a sophomore majoring in economics and political science with an English minor. He reflected on studying in Ghana through IIIP last summer, working as a research extern at the African Center for Governance and Economic Management (ACGEM).
Cummings, who had never traveled by airplane until the Ghana internship, described it as a truly transformative experience. He conducted policy research on financial inclusion and mobile-money solutions at ACGEM, which he said strengthened both his interest in economic policy and his long-term goal of attending law school and working in economic regulation.
“These kinds of experiences, global roles that push us far beyond what we have known prior,” Cummings said. “These are the exact inflection points where life-changing moments are made.”
Previously located at the Mountaintop Campus and known as the Iacocca Institute, the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership was renamed earlier this year to reflect its evolving scope and growing emphasis on leadership development, cross-cultural engagement and globally focused experiential learning.
Urban described the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership as carrying forward Iacocca’s belief in global leadership and transformative leadership development. He praised the Institute’s evolving approach to helping students understand leadership and its impact.
Matherly said today’s students will face increasingly complex global challenges tied to technology, sustainability, migration, and economic development, which will require leaders who can think across disciplines, cultures and national boundaries. She said the Institute and OIA are committed to preparing students for that future by fostering ethical thinking, cross-cultural understanding and the globally minded leadership that Iacocca envisioned for Lehigh graduates.
“Lee Iacocca wanted graduates to come away not just with strong professional skills, but also to be left with curiosity, with imagination and courage and with a global perspective,” Matherly said. “That’s ultimately what we’re doing, because that’s how much we believe our graduates are having an impact on the world.”