About us

Muhlenberg’s commitment to intellectual and personal growth dates to its founding in 1848. Frederick A. Muhlenberg, who in 1867 became the College's first president, led the College with two purposes in mind: the education of the conscience and the cultivation of the heart. The College’s name honors his great-grandfather, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, founder of the Lutheran Church in America.

In 1902, the College's Board of Trustees approved the purchase of land in west Allentown, and a year later saw the construction of an administration building (Ettinger Hall) and a residence building (East Hall). By 1920, the Extension School (now known as the School of Continuing Studies), began granting degrees to women. The College would fully open its doors to women as full-time students in 1957.

The 1920s saw the addition of Haas Library (now the Haas College Center) and the Gideon F. Egner Memorial Chapel to campus. By the end of the decade, Trumbower Science building had begun construction. The next 20 years saw substantial growth in both campus buildings and the number of Muhlenberg alumni. By 1948 and 1949, respectively, The Weekly and WMUH both began operation.

In 1951, the first African-American graduates earned Muhlenberg degrees. The following decades saw the construction of Memorial Hall (1954), Prosser Hall (1959), the J. Conrad and Hazel J. Seegers Union (1963) and the Baker Center for the Arts (1976). America's most prestigious honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, welcomed a Muhlenberg chapter in 1967, and the College's inaugurated its first Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1979.

By the late 1980s, the College's needs had outstripped the capacity of Haas Library, and so construction of the Harry C. Trexler Library began. The new building was dedicated in 1988, and two years later the former library was dedicated as the Haas College Center, now home to many of the College's administrative offices.

In 1992, the College joined the Centennial Conference for Intercollegiate Athletics, and in 1997 an anonymous donor provided funds for new athletic fields and academic buildings (Moyer Hall and the Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance).