Kathleen Harring, the first woman president of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, has announced she will retire at the end of the 2026–2027 academic year.
Following one year of interim service, Dr. Harring was officially named Muhlenberg College’s thirteenth president in June 2020. Some of her most notable accomplishments over the past six years include the establishment of a new graduate school, several new student support services, and new community partnerships. She also oversaw new infrastructure improvements and a successful fundraising campaign in honor of the college’s 175th anniversary.
Dr. Harring has spent the entirety of her professional career at Muhlenberg College, beginning as a psychology faculty member in 1984. Prior to her presidency, she served in several key leadership roles, including provost, vice president and dean of institutional effectiveness and planning, and dean of institutional assessment and academic planning.
“It has been an honor to serve as the thirteenth President of Muhlenberg College,” said Dr. Harring. “Leading this great institution is truly a privilege, and I am proud of all we have achieved together.”
Dr. Harring is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in social psychology with a minor in quantitative psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.