Written by Colin McEvoy | May 26, 2026 | SHARE
More than 25,000 members of the Lehigh community have participated in LU/UN Partnership programs since the university first earned U.N. NGO accreditation in 2004.
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.”
The LU/UN Partnership provides opportunities for students, faculty and staff across every discipline and college to engage meaningfully with the United Nations and international issues.
Each semester, nearly 1,000 members of the Lehigh community participate in U.N. conferences, high-level briefings and meetings with ambassadors and other U.N. officials both in New York City and on Lehigh’s campus.
These new figures come less than a year after the LU/UN Partnership’s global reach expanded significantly when Lehigh University was granted special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), after 20 years as a U.N.-accredited nongovernmental organization in observer status.
Lehigh is one of only 20 higher education institutions worldwide with ECOSOC NGO special consultative status. It provides expanded access, privileges and influence within the U.N. system, placing Lehigh in the same consultative category as major organizations including Greenpeace, Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, and the International Red Cross.
“Lehigh has successfully waded through the diplomatic waters and come out as one of the leading civil society organizations in the world,” said Felipe Queipo, programme management and communications officer for the U.N. Civil Society & Advocacy Section Outreach Division Department of Global Communications.
Also late last year, the LU/UN Partnership launched the LU/UN Faculty Fellows Program, a first-of-its-kind faculty initiative designed to deepen Lehigh’s engagement with the U.N. This new program was made possible thanks to the ECOSOC accreditation.
The new LU/UN Faculty Fellows Program brings together faculty from all five of Lehigh’s colleges to build international partnerships, advance research, and contribute directly to the United Nations’ work on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the LU/UN Partnership.
Lehigh first became an accredited U.N. nongovernmental organization in 2004, becoming just the sixth university in the world to attain the designation. Since then, the LU/UN Partnership has evolved into a cornerstone of Lehigh’s broader global engagement efforts, combining academic research, experiential learning and international collaboration through direct engagement with the United Nations.
Additional LU/UN initiatives and programs are expected to launch later this year.