Ellen and Vincent Forlenza ’75 Chair in Health Innovation and Technology Endowed Fund will assist in recruiting top talent for Lehigh’s newest college
With a $5 million gift to fund a chair for Lehigh’s new College of Health, Ellen and Vincent Forlenza ’75 are investing in that college’s future and seeking solutions for health care issues that affect populations around the country and the world. The Ellen and Vincent Forlenza ’75 Chair in Health Innovation and Technology Endowed Fund will enable the college to recruit the very best talent in a fiercely competitive market.
“Now is the right time for Lehigh to launch the College of Health. Having spent 40 years seeing health care systems around the globe — and their challenges with access, sustainability, clinical care, chronic disease, and patient satisfaction — I think there are tremendous opportunities to solve problems and start something new,” said Vince, executive chair of the board of Becton Dickinson (BD), an American multinational medical technology company.
The Ellen and Vincent Forlenza ’75 Chair was created to launch the College of Health’s department of health innovation and technology, where innovators will develop health applications for artificial intelligence, advance analytics and data science, and design cutting-edge devices and technologies to address urgent needs in population health.
“With this chair, we’re hoping to find a leader who is a thoughtful risk-taker and a great facilitator of academic-industry partnerships,” Vince said. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be someone who has a real passion for improving health care around the globe.”
