Muhlenberg Board of Trustees Extends President Kathleen Harring’s Contract
The board announced today that Harring will continue on as president through at least June 2028.Thursday, October 31, 2024 00:25 PM
President Kathleen HarringToday, Muhlenberg’s Board of Trustees announced that it is extending the contract of President Kathleen Harring through at least June 2028. Harring began the role in an interim capacity in June 2019 and was named Muhlenberg’s 13th president in June 2020.
“President Harring consistently puts her decades of higher education experience to its best use in service to the College, its students, faculty and staff,” says Muhlenberg Board Chair Lance Bruck. “I am grateful for her steady hand, tenacious problem solving, and strategic vision.” (The board chair’s full message is below.)
Harring has steered Muhlenberg through a global pandemic, seismic social discord, geopolitical disruption and ongoing debates about the value of higher education.
“It is a privilege to serve Muhlenberg College as its 13th president,” says Harring. “Our community is unique and drives our successes. I am very excited for all the great work we will do together in the coming years.”
Harring’s leadership has resulted in significant progress for the College, advancing its programs, partnerships and capital resources. In 2020, Muhlenberg added a graduate school, creating the division of Graduate and Continuing Education and building on a long history of offering adult education programs, and has since developed a number of post-baccalaureate degrees and certificates. In 2023, Muhlenberg launched a new, signature coaching program, which pairs each incoming student with a college life coach and career coach in addition to a faculty advisor, and also announced the start of its 23rd varsity sport — women’s wrestling. In fall of 2024, the College launched a new academic curriculum, which expands experiential learning opportunities for all students.
Harring’s tenure has been marked by growth in partnerships and collaborations. In 2022, she joined the steering committee of the American Talent Initiative (ATI), a consortium of selective colleges ranging from flagship R1 universities to Ivy League institutions to elite liberal arts colleges with a goal of expanding access to high-achieving low- and moderate-income students. The College has fulfilled its ATI commitments, greatly increasing the economic diversity of its incoming classes over the past five years. Other partnerships forged under Harring include agreements with seven Lehigh Valley community colleges and, most recently, a partnership with the city of Allentown to offer training and education opportunities to its more than 900 employees. The agreement with the city was the second of the year, which also saw the city and the College partner to revitalize the historic Bicentennial Park as the new home for Mules baseball, with opportunities for community youth programs, baseball clinics and more.
Harring’s tenure also brought the resurfacing of Varsity Field as well as two other projects currently underway: the creation of a new softball field on campus and the expansion of Seegers Union. Perhaps the most significant capital improvement was the construction of the Fahy Commons for Public Engagement and Innovation, which has brought international acclaim as one of the world’s most sustainable buildings. Its dedication coincided with the College’s celebration of its 175th anniversary and the announcement of its largest-ever philanthropic gift — $15 million — as well as an increase in the goal of its comprehensive campaign, Boundless: The Campaign for Muhlenberg, to $125 million after surpassing its original goal of $111 million.
Harring came to Muhlenberg as an assistant professor of psychology in 1984. She was chair of the psychology department from 1993 through 2005, and in 1995, she was one of several faculty who co-founded what’s now known as the Muhlenberg Center for Teaching and Learning.
Harring joined the administration in 2006 and served in several roles related to institutional assessment, effectiveness and planning. As provost, a position she held from 2017 to 2019, Harring co-chaired the College’s strategic planning process with former President John Williams, oversaw the implementation of inclusive hiring practices for faculty, collaborated with advancement to secure funding for faculty scholarship, and led the initial planning phases of what would become the School of Graduate Studies.
Harring holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Franklin & Marshall College and a Ph.D. in social psychology with a minor in quantitative psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Message from the Board of Trustees Chair to the Muhlenberg Community:
Dear Members of the Muhlenberg Community,
I am pleased to announce that Muhlenberg’s Board of Trustees has approved an extension of President Kathleen Harring’s contract through at least June 2028.
To fully appreciate this sense of occasion and the importance of our decision, we must acknowledge the past several years of President Harring’s term, as we look to the next several years with as much thought, intention and optimism.
Since her initial appointment as interim president in June 2019, President Harring has confronted historic challenges, including a global pandemic and disruptions to the higher education landscape. Under her leadership, the College has navigated each of these successfully. She consistently puts her decades of higher education experience to its best use in service to the College, its students, faculty and staff. I am grateful for her steady hand, tenacious problem solving, and strategic vision throughout the course of an extraordinarily difficult period. While some of these challenges are behind us, many are not. The College will face important decisions over the next several years, and we look again to President Harring to lead.
I admire President Harring’s tireless advocacy for the liberal arts and the unique power this form of education has to change lives and better the world. It is in this spirit that I look forward to the next phase of our College’s journey. The future holds a new strategic plan, new facilities, new partnerships; there is much to celebrate! No matter the challenges or the opportunities, the College looks forward to President Harring’s sound leadership in the coming years.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, please join me in congratulating President Harring.
Sincerely,
Lance R. Bruck, M.D. ’89 P’21
Chairman, Board of Trustees
