Moravian College to officially become university in July

The Class of 2021 was the last to graduate from an institution known as Moravian College; in July, the school will officially become Moravian University.

The college announced Friday that the Pennsylvania Department of Education has approved Moravian’s request to become a university, sealing the deal on a process that began last fall.

The change becomes official July 1.

“This announcement sets a historical marker for us as we move into our 280th Academic Term and a new strategic plan,”

President Bryon Grigsby wrote on the college’s Facebook page. “This announcement, among other things, will help our graduates to secure better jobs, help our institution organize around our current and future academic offerings, open up opportunities for future grant funding, and increase our international and domestic recruiting.”

The college has effectively been operating under a university model for eight years, he wrote, by developing masters and doctoral level graduate programs.

Moravian is the nation’s sixth oldest college, founded in 1742 as separate men’s and women’s schools and seminaries. In 1954, the schools merged, becoming the Lehigh Valley’s first co-ed institution of higher education.

In 2016, Moravian reorganized into the School of Natural and Health Sciences, the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and Moravian Seminary.

What does the change mean for current and former students’ “Moravian College” gear?

“279 years of history doesn’t mean those items are any less meaningful,” the college wrote in response to a Facebook comment. “Wear with pride!”