F&M Stories
Honorary Degree Citation for Kathleen E. Harring, Ph.D., '80 P'11
Kathleen Harring, who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Franklin & Marshall in 1980, began her tenure as the president of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., in 2020 after serving as interim president for a year. She is Muhlenberg’s 13th president and the first woman to lead the 175-year-old college.
Under President Harring’s leadership, Muhlenberg has launched its most ambitious capital campaign to date, Boundless, which will raise $111 million by 2025. As a part of that effort, Muhlenberg secured the largest private pledge in its history, a $7.5 million gift to build the Fahy Commons for Public Engagement and Innovation, which opened in January.
President Harring has been part of the Muhlenberg community for nearly 40 years. Since joining Muhlenberg’s Department of Psychology faculty in 1984, she has held several leadership positions, including provost, vice president and dean of institutional effectiveness and planning, and dean of institutional assessment and academic planning. She is a distinguished social psychologist and frequently presents on a variety of topics, including strategic planning, alumni engagement, and professional development in higher education.
A strong advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, President Harring is one of six college presidents who sit on the steering committee of the American Talent Initiative. That consortium, which also includes Franklin & Marshall, is committed to higher-education access for low- and moderate-income students.
President Harring earned both her master’s and doctoral degrees in social psychology — with minors in quantitative psychology — from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Harring’s daughter, Carolyn Wittenbraker, graduated from F&M in 2011.
Kathleen E. Harring, for your tireless commitment to the value of the liberal arts; for your strong advocacy for diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education; and for your personal attention and dedication in preparing today’s students to become tomorrow’s leaders, Franklin & Marshall College bestows upon you the Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.
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