Lehigh Names New Trustees

On July 1, 2024, Lehigh University named four new members to the Board of Trustees, reappointed nine trustees, appointed a new emeritus trustee and honored the service of two outgoing trustees.

Francesca "Fran" A. Bartlett '81 '11P, Dina DiLorenzo '93, Theodore "Ted" Harris '87 '23Pand Frank E."Ted" Walsh III '88 began four-year terms as trustees.

The nine trustees reappointed to serve an additional four-year term are: Eric A. Clement '99, Frederick R. Coleman '17 '19G, Andrew D. "Drew" Freed '83 '17P, Jordan Hitch '88 '20P '21P, James R. Maida '85 '17P '19P, Christopher M. Scott '94, Sarat Sethi '92, Sandra L. Stelling '91,and Mark R. Yeager '81.

The Board thanked two retiring trustees for their service during their term, which ended June 30: Walter "Jay" Claytonand Julie A. Frehafer '11.

Maria L. Chrin '87 '10Pwas appointed as an emeritus trustee. Maria served on the Board for 19 years and as the vice chair from July 2020 through June 2022.

On behalf of Lehigh's students, faculty, staff, and community, Chair of the Board Vincent Forlenza '75 expressed deep gratitude for the exceptional service of Lehigh's former trustees. "Their exemplary dedication has helped shape Lehigh for the better, " said Forlenza. "I am eager to embrace the fresh perspectives joining our Board, complementing the invaluable expertise already dedicated to our community."

Forlenza continued by stating the critical role trustees play in governance, strategic leadership and stewardship of Lehigh's institutional values and goals. "We will continue to support the President and his leadership team as they steer the university forward, leveraging our achievements and insights to equip students for an ever-evolving world," he said.

The new trustees are:

Francesca "Fran" A. Bartlett '81 '11P

Francesca "Fran" Bartlett graduated from Lehigh University in 1981 with a B.S. in accounting and finance. She is a certified public accountant who has worked in both the private and public sectors. She started her career with Deloitte and subsequently worked in both the insurance and banking industries, including spending time as an expat in the United Kingdom.

Fran is a trustee of PEI Kids, an organization that serves the greater Mercer County, New Jersey community with the mission of promoting and maintaining a safe environment for all children. She is also involved in Samaritans, an organization that provides life-saving suicide prevention throughout Massachusetts, at one time taking calls on the hotlines from those in need. She was mayor of Hopewell Township, New Jersey as well as a Hopewell Township committee person working to bring the new master plan to the township. She also served on the township's planning board. She is a former board trustee, treasurer and chair of the governance and development committees of the Sourland Conservancy, an organization dedicated to the protection, promotion and preservation of the Sourland Mountain region of New Jersey.

Fran's father (Philip '52), father-in-law (Ralph '47), husband (Tom '80) and daughter (Brittany '11) are Lehigh alumni.

Dina DiLorenzo '93

Dina DiLorenzo is a managing partner of Guggenheim Partners and president of Guggenheim Investments, where she is responsible for strategic direction, day-to-day management and governance of the firm's global asset management and investment advisory business. She has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, holding numerous client-facing roles. She has conceived and led strategic initiatives focused on building and enhancing governance and managing change in complex multinational firms, overseeing client service, sales, technology, and operational teams on three continents.

Dina chairs the Guggenheim Investments Sustainable Stewardship Council and is a member of the Guggenheim Partners management committee, finance and planning committee and Women's Innovation and Inclusion Network. She is also a principal sponsor of Guggenheim's Veterans Transition Assistance Program and serves as an Advisory Board Member of the USO of metropolitan New York.

In 2023, Dina was named to the Forbes "50 Over 50" list for her industry achievements and leadership of Guggenheim Investments. In 2021, she was recognized by American Banker as a standout among the Most Powerful Women in Banking for her leadership in Asset Management. She was selected as a member of the David Rockefeller Fellows Class of 2019 and named one of the 2018 Crain's New York Business Notable Women in Finance.

Dina holds a B.A. in economics from Lehigh University and FINRA Series 3, 4, 7, 24, 30, 32, 53, 63, 65, and 79 licenses.

Theodore "Ted" Harris '87 '23P

Ted Harris is chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president of Balchem Corporation , a global leader in specialty ingredients for the health and nutrition markets. He joined the company in 2015 and has been leading the company into its next phase of growth and profitability.

Prior to joining Balchem, Ted was president of Ashland Performance Materials and senior vice president of Ashland Global Holdings Inc., a global leader in advanced composites, adhesives, elastomers, intermediates and solvents. Prior to joining Ashland, Ted held various leadership roles within FMC Corporation including general manager of the food ingredients division within FMC's food, pharmaceutical and personal care group.

Ted is also an independent director and member of the board of directors of Pentair plc, a global leader in sustainable water solutions, and additionally, he is a member of The Valley Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees, a leading northern New Jersey not-for-profit healthcare system.

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harris earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Lehigh University. He also holds a M.B.A from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

Frank E. "Ted" Walsh III '88

Ted Walsh is a founding partner of WR Capital Partners, LLC (WR), a private equity investment partnership and a successor to Wesray Capital, which Ted joined in 1990. WR and Wesray made controlling investments in dozens of companies across multiple industries. He is also CO-CEO of Jupiter capital, a New Jersey based family investment advisor and family office.

Ted began his career at Kidder, Peabody, Inc., in New York City in the equity syndicate department. Ted has extensive private equity and capital markets experience in a wide range of industries. He has served on the boards of multiple private companies, public companies and charitable entities. These include First Constitution Bancorp, Veritone, Acacia Resources, True Green Capital Management, WGA Evans Scholars and St. Benedict's Prep School of Newark New Jersey.

Ted previously served on Lehigh's Board of Trustees from 2014 through 2023. During that time, he served on the finance committee, campus planning and operations committee and the investment committee, and chaired the audit committee for six years. From 2012 through 2018 he served on the college of business dean's advisory council. He earned a degree in business administration from Lehigh University.

Visit the Board of Trustees website.

Story by Amy Bilello