Published February 06. 2026 02:22AM<\/p>\n
Muhlenberg College has been awarded the 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a distinguished honor announced by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.<\/p>\n
One of 277 institutions nationwide to receive the recognition, Muhlenberg has maintained the classification since 2010, a Jan. 22 press release stated.<\/p>\n
The elective classification is not an automatic award. It is a rigorous process that requires institutions to provide comprehensive evidence of their commitment to community engagement.<\/p>\n
Muhlenberg\u2019s successful application documented an alignment between the college\u2019s mission and its institutionalized practices, showcasing how the campus leverages its resources to address societal challenges through reciprocal community partnerships.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis classification is a testament to the clarity and distinction with which Muhlenberg approaches its role in the greater Allentown community and beyond,\u201d said Provost Laura Furge, Ph.D.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt recognizes that our commitment to community engagement is woven into our culture, our leadership, and most importantly, the academic experiences of our students,\u201d Furge said.<\/p>\n
Valid until 2032, the classification reinforces Muhlenberg\u2019s position as a leader in the liberal arts, where students are encouraged not only to learn in the classroom but to apply their knowledge as active, engaged citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are heartened to see our collective work to strengthen all of our communities validated on a national stage,\u201d said Beth Halpern, director of community engagement at Muhlenberg.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis achievement is a celebration of the exciting things that can happen when people come together in education as a powerful means to advance the common good,\u201d Halpern said.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a four-year residential, liberal arts college in Allentown, with nearly 2,000 bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degree-seeking students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published February 06. 2026 02:22AM Muhlenberg College has been awarded the 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-106899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}