Anonymous donors give $7.5M to Muhlenburg College

Donation, called ‘transformative,’ is largest in 172-year history of Allentown college

A Muhlenberg College alumnus from the 1970s and his wife have given the Allentown institution the biggest personal gift in its 172-year history.

The college called the $7.5 million donation from the anonymous couple a “transformative gift,” in a post Friday on its website. It will be used to support two building projects: new construction on the south end of campus, and expansion of the J. Conrad and Hazel J. Seegers Union.

In recognition of the gift, Muhlenberg will dedicate the new building and Seegers Union expansion in the donors’ honor.

Muhlenberg said in the post that the donors supported the college’s mission and believe the school can have a positive impact on students’ lives.

The only information released about the alumnus is that he earned a degree in business administration in the 1970s and credits the education he received at the Allentown college in helping him establish a business that employees 200 people.

“Gifts that support Muhlenberg’s academic program go to the heart of our college mission — to provide a quality educational experience for all of our students,” Bruce Anderson, interim provost and professor of chemistry, said in the posting. “This gift not only provides new classroom, community engagement, entrepreneurship, studio and office spaces that directly support faculty and student work, but frees additional space on campus as well that will help other areas of the college.”

Richard C. Crist Jr., board of trustees chairman, pointed out the timing of the gift during the coronavirus pandemic is significant, given the challenges higher education is facing.

The new south campus building, between Chew Street and Parkway Boulevard, will have more than 20,000 square feet of student programming and academic space on its three floors. It will house the

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program, the Muhlenberg Institute of Public Opinion, the Division of Graduate and Continuing Studies and the Office of Community Engagement, as well as art space.

The Seegers Union, a hub of campus activity, will be expanded by 42,000 square feet, with classrooms along with space for career and professional development programs and advising. The three-story addition will provide a home for the Career Center, enabling it to provide more robust programs, the posting noted. It also will feature seminar and conference rooms as well as an event center with seating for several hundred people.

“This gift is truly transformative and provides a strong statement about the enduring power of Muhlenberg’s residential liberal arts education,” President Kathleen Harring said in the post. “

She added that the college is grateful for “the leadership example and the legacy that this gift will provide Muhlenberg.”

Fundraising for both building projects will continue, the post noted.