Founded in 1971, this unique institute brings together a distinct group of productive and highly respected eighteenth-century scholars from a variety of disciplines. The Lawrence Henry Gipson Institute is governed by an interdisciplinary faculty council. Its program includes such research activities as research grants to Lehigh faculty and students working on projects dealing with the “long” eighteenth century. The Institute also funds and promotes symposia and lectures by visiting scholars and partners with the Lehigh University Press to publish a “Studies in Eighteenth-Century America and the Atlantic World” book series.
Legacy
The Gipson Institute was created by a generous gift from Lawrence Henry Gipson (1880-1971), a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and long-time Lehigh University professor. As one of the most distinguished scholars in the history of the British Empire, Gipson devoted his life work to instructing, researching, and passing on his knowledge to future generations. As a result of his dedication to historical inquiry, Professor Gipson left a generous bequest that became the original endowment for the Gipson Institute.