Founded in 1865, it is a coeducational, private university offering Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees, notably in the arts, sciences, engineering, business administration, education and philosophy. It has nearly 5,000 undergraduates, almost 2,000 graduate students, and about 500 professors, yielding an 11-1 student-faculty ratio.
When Asa Packer founded Lehigh University, one of his objectives was to provide a well rounded education for young students which combined a liberal and scientific education with the necessary technical skills to increase the prosperity of the region. According to William Bacon Stevens, the first president of the board of trustees, his founding gift of $500,000 was the largest single endowment for a literary institution at that time.
The school's sports teams are called the Mountain Hawks and their colors are brown and white. They compete in the NCAA's Division I-AA, and in the Patriot League.