2021

Muhlenberg College will Inaugurate Kathleen E. Harring as its Thirteenth President

In addition to the inauguration of the College’s first female president, the campus will celebrate all things Muhlenberg throughout the weekend of November 12-14.

 Friday, November 5, 2021 08:24 AM

Students Adam Marcus '22 (left) and Giulia Gerschel '23 talk with President Kathleen Harring at Muhlenberg's Parents Plaza. Photos by Maggie Ewald.

On Friday, November 12, 2021, Muhlenberg College will inaugurate its thirteenth President, Kathleen E. Harring, Ph.D. This significant day in the history of the College will also celebrate the students, faculty and staff that make the campus a vibrant community of scholars. 

Harring was named president by Muhlenberg's Board of Trustees in June 2020 and served as interim president of the College beginning June 2019, but the impact of COVID-19 pushed back the inauguration ceremony. First, Harring had to lead Muhlenberg through one of the greatest challenges it has faced in its 173-year history: the continued educational and administrative operations of the College while navigating the health and safety issues of a global pandemic.

At the start of the inauguration ceremony, trustees, faculty, College and community leaders and delegates from higher education institutions across the country will participate in the time-honored tradition of an academic procession. For the first time at Muhlenberg, a representative from each student organization will join in the academic procession as well.

Harring, who is Muhlenberg’s first female president, joined the College as a member of the psychology faculty in 1984. She also served as the College’s provost and in that role, was instrumental in guiding a number of important initiatives, including serving as co-chair for Muhlenberg’s 2017 strategic planning process, implementing procedures to support the College’s diversity initiatives and overseeing planning for new post-graduate programs. 

Learn more about President Kathleen E. Harring.

Saturday, November 13 will bring a Celebration of Muhlenberg for the campus community. A campus festival, to be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Parents Plaza and on the College Green, will feature games, fall treats, giveaways, performances and a zipline. The Muhlenberg Mules football team will face Moravian University at noon at Scotty Wood Stadium. 

At 3:30 p.m., a faculty panel, “Scholarship and the Liberal Arts,” takes center stage at the Center for the Arts, Empie Theatre. It will feature a conversation with a panel of the College's Rising Scholars faculty, facilitated by Lora Taub, dean of digital learning and professor of media & communication. “A Celebration of Student Research, Scholarship and Creative Work,” including poster sessions and experimental theatre, will take place in the Center for the Arts Galleria at 4:30 p.m. 

The campus weekend events wrap up on Sunday, November 14 with an Interfaith Chapel Service.

About Muhlenberg College
Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private liberal arts college offering baccalaureate and graduate programs. With an enrollment of nearly 2,000 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences; selected preprofessional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health; and progressive workforce-focused post-baccalaureate certificates and master’s degrees. Located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, approximately 90 miles west of New York City, Muhlenberg is a member of the Centennial Conference, competing in 23 varsity sports. Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.