2023 Year in Review

The Fahy Commons for Public Engagement and Innovation opened at the start of the spring semester and had its dedication in April. The building has earned regional, national and international honors for sustainability and is on track to be the first Living Building Challenge Core-certified structure in the world.

The framework has allowed the Classes of 2026 and 2027 to think through career exploration and make connections with Career Center staff as first-year students, whatever their intended fields of study.

Muhlenberg’s statement on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) was updated following a community effort that engaged students, faculty, staff, trustees and alumni.

The program’s launch was announced in February and Travis Spencer was named women's wrestling head coach and assistant athletic director for marketing and engagement in June. The program will begin full dual meet competition in the fall of 2024.

The gift from James R. Lentz ’66 and his wife, Debra A. Lentz, dedicated supporters of the performing arts at Muhlenberg, will sustain faculty in two of the College’s signature programs in perpetuity.

The celebration brought alumni, friends of the College, faculty, staff and students together for a weekend-long series of gatherings, including a gala in the Wood Dining Commons, the dedication of The Fahy Commons for Public Engagement and Innovation and other events open to the campus and local communities.

The gift, from the estate of Edward ’42 and Lois Robertson, is the largest from an individual or family in the College’s history. President Kathleen Harring announced the gift at the 175th anniversary gala.

The College was named an American Talent Initiative High-Flier, one of 28 national leaders in lower-income student enrollment and retention, serving as a model for colleges and universities across the country.

These returning students lead groups at Summer Advising and stay in touch with first-year students to coach them through the months leading up to the start of college. This new program provides additional connections on campus to incoming students and leadership opportunities for returning students.

Diorio, who was a media & communication major, shares what a typical workday at the New York Stock Exchange looks like for her and how the skills she built at Muhlenberg help her in her career.

The $266,280 Arthur Vining Davis Foundations grant will support the creation and implementation of the MUHLES Program, set to launch next summer.

Highlights include a #2 spot on The Princeton Review’s Best College Theater list and inclusion on its Best 389 Colleges list, accolades from outcomes-driven rankings systems in "The Wall Street Journal" and "Washington Monthly" and a fifth consecutive year atop Niche’s list of best Pennsylvania colleges for food.

Assistant Professor of Scenic Design You-Shin Chen, who earned the 2023 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Scenic Design for her work on "Wolf Play," has continued her award-winning off-Broadway freelance work while heavily involving students in her work on campus productions.

A partnership between humanities faculty and the Career Center earned a $29,900 Vocation Across the Academy Grant from the Council of Independent Colleges.

WMUH held a series of events in the fall semester to celebrate its 75th anniversary, including a panel during Alumni Weekend, a talk by a scholar of college radio and a concert at Allentown Symphony Hall featuring indie psych-pop master Kurt Vile. Its milestone also earned WMUH a cover story in the Fall 2023 "Muhlenberg Magazine."

The Muhlenberg football season closed out its 2023 season with a 23-7 win against Lebanon Valley. In addition to winning a postseason game for the sixth consecutive season, the Mules (10-1) reached the 10-win mark for only the sixth time in program history.