The members of the Muhlenberg Memories Project team have long hoped to take a closer look into the early efforts at diversifying the Muhlenberg campus. Trexler Libraryâs archives, the Ciarla, and the Muhlenberg Weekly quietly provided evidence of a handful of students of color attending the College in the first half of the twentieth century, and a more publicized program, the Educational Opportunities Pilot Program (EOP), emerged in the late 1960s. We anticipated that there were many more stories to tell.
This MMP storytelling site began to take shape in Spring 2021 as an independent study with two students, Hailey Petrus â23 (Business, Entrepreneurship, Africana Studies) and Samantha Brenner â21 (Jewish Studies and English) in which they collected oral histories from students, alumni, and faculty. The project team continued to hone and expand the site over through Summer and Fall of 2021.Â
This is a pausedânot a completeâwork. There are more stories to tell and conclusions to be drawn from studying the history of diversity at Muhlenberg. At this point, we look forward to a wider collaboration with students across disciplines.