Khanjan Mehta Inducted into Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship
The recognition honors Mehta’s collaborative leadership in integrating academic inquiry with community partnerships toward meaningful societal impact.
Khanjan Mehta, Lehigh’s vice provost for Creative Inquiry, has been inducted into the Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship (ACES) as a member of its 2026 class.
Mehta is one of 24 new members inducted during a July 29 ceremony marking the academy’s 12th anniversary. ACES members span six continents and include scholars and practitioners recognized for advancing collaboration between higher education institutions and communities.
In announcing Mehta’s selection, the ACES Board of Directors commended his “collaborative leadership with academic and community peers” and his work bringing partners together to address complex issues and document positive outcomes around the world.
As Lehigh’s inaugural vice provost for Creative Inquiry, Mehta leads initiatives that integrate research, learning and entrepreneurial engagement to address complex societal challenges. Through Lehigh’s Impact Fellowships and Mountaintop Summer Experience, he brings students, faculty and community partners together to develop and advance practical, sustainable solutions.
“Lehigh’s commitment to public-facing work affirms that scholarship achieves its fullest potential when it reaches beyond the university and is shaped through meaningful collaboration with communities,” Mehta said. “This recognition belongs as much to the students, faculty and community partners who bring their knowledge, creativity and lived experience to our shared work. Together, we are demonstrating how rigorous inquiry can generate practical, sustainable solutions while preparing students to become thoughtful and effective agents of change.”
The recognition reflects Lehigh’s broader commitment to public-facing work, which includes research, teaching and service designed to engage audiences beyond the traditional academic sphere. Lehigh recognizes public-facing work as substantive faculty work that requires scholarly expertise, intellectual engagement, collaboration and thoughtful communication.
Community-engaged scholarship is one important form of public-facing work. It connects academic knowledge with the experience and priorities of community partners, enriching teaching and research while making the university’s expertise more accessible and responsive to societal needs.
Burton Bargerstock, a founder of ACES and its immediate past president, said Mehta’s selection reflects the organization’s standards of excellence in co-creating new scholarship and policy.
“Khanjan Mehta’s work, sustained over a period of many years, has moved higher education forward and created platforms for students, faculty, and community partners to collaborate at the intersection of research and service to address global grand challenges,” Bargerstock said. “His Academy induction is a testament to a legacy of impact that his programs have created and continue to create in the world.”
ACES recognizes exceptional leaders who unite academic institutions and communities to benefit society. A partner program of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, the academy advances high-impact community-engaged scholarship and provides expertise to institutions, community leaders, policymakers and other organizations addressing complex societal issues.