2023

An Op-Ed by President Harring: Fahy Commons Shows Investment in Lehigh Valley Future

By: Kristine Yahna Todaro  Monday, April 24, 2023 10:28 AM

"We’re kicking off Muhlenberg College’s 175th anniversary by throwing open the red doors of our newest building, the Fahy Commons for Public Engagement and Innovation, to the Lehigh Valley community. Like much of our region’s development in recent years, Fahy Commons brings world-leading technology and signals a renewal in service to the greater good," writes President Harring in an April 22 opinion article in The Morning Call.

"Your View: Muhlenberg College’s new building shows school’s investment in Lehigh Valley future" discusses the shared history and growth of the College and the Lehigh Valley community.

It began in 1848, when Muhlenberg's predecessor, The Allentown Seminary, opened in central Allentown. An early adopter of co-education, the seminary began educating local girls and young women two years later. Renamed Muhlenberg College in 1867 after Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the American Lutheran Church, the then all-male institution launched with 25 students. In 1902, the College moved to its current home in west Allentown.

The College’s continuing education program — one of the first adult education programs in the country — opened in the fall of 1909 to serve local men and women. Muhlenberg's first identified Black student Clara I. Lane enrolled in continuing education classes in 1926 and the campus served as a training base for soldiers during World War II. The College then welcomed thousands of soldiers to campus to earn a college education when they returned home from the war.

The Lehigh Valley’s first community radio station, Muhlenberg's WMUH, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, after starting as a student group in 1948 and airing its inaugural broadcast the following year. Women joined the College's traditional student body in 1957, and in 2019, Muhlenberg welcomed Harring as its first woman president.

Harring writes:

Muhlenberg today is a place where students of many backgrounds from across the region, the nation and the world are empowered to think and inspired to act. Our campus community is strengthened by their diversity — of backgrounds, perspectives and interests — and we are privileged to add their talent to the region’s mix.

As we’ve evolved as a college the Lehigh Valley has grown — in fact, it is the fastest-growing area in Pennsylvania for 18-34-year-olds — and has become more diverse. Last year, the Lehigh Valley again ranked in the Top 10 in the United States for new economic development projects for communities of our size.

This growth brings challenges and tremendous opportunities. At Muhlenberg, we understand that the largest challenges can be overcome and opportunities realized when we embrace our diversity and work together to help ideas find their path forward.

From local internships and impactful community engagement projects, to regionally focused student and faculty research and exciting career options, to the examples of our alumni pursuing vibrant careers in the public, private and nonprofit sectors here — the opportunities that define the Lehigh Valley encourage students to choose Muhlenberg. They, in turn, bring their passion, intellect and hard work to our cities and neighborhoods to benefit us all.

Fahy Commons marks an important addition to our powerful connections and commitments to the Lehigh Valley, the country and the world. It houses our top-rated polling center, the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, as well as our growing School of Continuing Studies, which offers more than 25 programs to local and remote adult learners, and the School of Graduate Studies, which offers graduate certificates and master’s degrees aligned with workforce and economic trends.

Fahy Commons is also the new home of our Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program, which encourages students to take risks and advance creative ideas. In addition, the space includes the Religious & Spiritual Life office which serves and supports the entire college community, and our Office of Community Engagement, which cultivates connections with local communities and empowers students to prepare for lives of leadership and service.

And Fahy Commons is helping to put Allentown and the Lehigh Valley on the map for leadership in innovative sustainable practices. Certified through the International Living Future Institute, it is the world’s first Living Building Challenge Core-Ready project, incorporating the 10 best practice achievements that a facility must obtain to be considered a sustainable building.

Now, nearly two centuries from our humble beginnings, Fahy Commons demonstrates the innovative thinking that is driving Muhlenberg and our region into the future. While the College and Lehigh Valley are deeply connected through our rich history, it is our continued capacity to forge and grow meaningful community relationships that will ensure a collaborative, inclusive and vibrant future for us all.