Through graduate and continuing studies programs and corporate partnerships, Muhlenberg helps fuel the city’s and the Lehigh Valley’s significant growth.
Allentown is Pennsylvania’s third-largest city, and the Allentown region is among the fastest-growing in Pennsylvania and the Northeast. The greater Lehigh Valley is also ranked a top mid-sized region for economic development. The area is doing so well for a few reasons, says Kristin Cahayla-Hoffman ’00, vice president of business development and attraction for Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.
It’s attractive to companies because “we are situated in a very strategic location. We have access to a third of U.S. consumers within a day’s drive,” she says. “We have a growing population and a growing workforce here.”
And, the area is attractive to that workforce because we have an “incredibly diverse economy,” she says, with 15,000 companies in Lehigh and Northampton Counties. Some are start-ups while others (Air Products and PPL) are Fortune 500 companies. You can find jobs across industries, from health care to education to technology to manufacturing and beyond.
Aside from that, “people want to live here,” says Cahayla-Hoffman, who came from northern New Jersey to Muhlenberg and then never left the area. “We have so many different cultural events, festivals, sporting events, and these vibrant downtowns in Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton.”
Muhlenberg is a critical part of the local economy: With close to 500 full-time employees, it’s one of the largest employers in the city of Allentown. It also attracts students from outside the area, who, along with visiting families and friends, stimulate the economy at least for the four years they’re on campus. And then some, like Cahayla-Hoffman, fall in love with the area and build lives here.
And that’s not Muhlenberg’s only impact on the Allentown and Lehigh Valley economies: “It’s workforce development,” says Cahayla-Hoffman. “You are training tomorrow’s workforce.” This happens at the traditional undergraduate level and through the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education (GCE), which provides flexible pathways for adult learners to upskill. Fourteen local employers have partnership agreements with Muhlenberg that allow their employees to pursue a degree or certification through GCE at a reduced rate, an arrangement that benefits both the individual and the company.
“Muhlenberg’s mission is to produce lifelong learners, and our robust adult education programs have long been a critical part of our institutional identity,” says Bruce Anderson, dean of the School of Graduate Studies and professor of chemistry. “These offerings are one way that Muhlenberg makes an impact on the city of Allentown and on the Lehigh Valley as a whole. The adult students who complete our programs add so much value to the Muhlenberg community and to their workplaces, which benefit immensely from their drive, dedication, and pursuit of new skills and knowledge.”
Nate Boateng ’14 pursued a traditional bachelor’s degree in media and communication through the School of Continuing Studies.
Career Advancement Through Continuing Studies
Muhlenberg has a long history of adult education: The School of Continuing Studies — formerly known as the Evening College and then as the Wescoe School — was established in the 1909-1910 academic year. Today, Muhlenberg’s School of Continuing Studies offers adult learners the opportunity to pursue traditional or accelerated bachelor’s degrees as well as teacher certification and non-credit certificates.
Nate Boateng ’14, vice president for community impact and engagement at the Allentown nonprofit Valley Health Partners Community Health Center, completed a traditional degree in media and communication as an adult learner. He was working for Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) at the time, and he knew a degree was necessary to advance.
“The media-comm department was just fabulous in supporting me as an adult learner with limited time, with a career and kids, doing a traditional degree,” he says. “They were incredibly flexible.”
After he completed his bachelor’s, he went on to earn a master’s degree from Lehigh University in educational/instructional technology. His education helped him get promoted three times at LVHN before he moved to his current role with Valley Health Partners.
“If I chart my career trajectory from 2014 to now, which is only 11 years, it’s a wild upward trajectory,” Boateng says. “We’re in a climate now where folks are starting to feel like a college degree is not quite as worth it, and I just disagree with that notion wholeheartedly, because I know what my adult path looked like before I got a college degree and what it looked like after.”
“We’re in a climate now where folks are starting to feel like a college degree is not quite as worth it, and I just disagree with that notion wholeheartedly, because I know what my adult path looked like before I got a college degree and what it looked like after.”
— Nate Boateng ’14, Vice President for Community Impact and Engagement at Valley Health Partners Community Health Center
Lauryn Graves ’23 earned an accelerated Bachelor of Business Administration through the School of Continuing Studies.
Lauryn Graves ’23, who works in government relations for Air Products, chose to pursue an accelerated Bachelor of Business Administration for similar reasons: She started working for the company when she was 19, and over time, she saw fewer and fewer open internal positions that didn’t require at least a bachelor’s degree. She had taken some college classes, one class at a time, using Air Products’ tuition reimbursement benefit, but life got in the way, and she put her education on hold.
“I really felt I was getting behind and limiting not only my own capabilities, but what I could offer the organization by having that additional experience,” Graves says.
In the accelerated program, she immediately began building skills that were relevant to her day-to-day work experience. For example, she has to work on budgets for Air Products, and through her program, she learned how to use Excel in much more efficient and effective ways.
Graves especially appreciated the immediate return on investment of her classes: “I think if I had taken these classes and not been working, I might have thought, ‘Is this going to be relevant? Is this going to help me?’ But when you’re working full-time and able to [apply] that information, it’s absolutely wonderful.”
Another key component offered by Muhlenberg’s accelerated degree program was a cohort of peers also seeking to enhance their skills and grow their careers while juggling full-time jobs, family commitments, and everything else that comes with adulthood. While Muhlenberg’s accelerated programs are fully online, many students are local to the region, which made it easy for Graves’ cohort to get together. They would celebrate the conclusion of each class together at a restaurant near campus, and they’ve remained in touch since graduating.
“Having a cohort was such an incredible, reassuring experience, because I knew in the past that I had not completed my degree, and I felt I wasn’t doing a great job of holding myself accountable,” Graves says. “With the cohort, you are not just accountable for yourself, you’re accountable for your team, and they’re accountable for you.”
“I think if I had taken these classes and not been working, I might have thought, ‘Is this going to be relevant? Is this going to help me?’ But when you’re working full-time and able to [apply] that information, it’s absolutely wonderful.”
— Lauryn Graves ’23, Government Relations for Air Products
Marci Martinez-Howey G’25 earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership through the School of Graduate Studies.
“As I’m looking to start initiatives or convene groups of people, having those added skills are now helping me to grow my role and my career. It’s opened me up to new partnerships, new networks, new connections, new relationships.”
— Marci Martinez-Howey G’25, Associate Vice President for Culture and Community Building at the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
Conquering High-Demand Skills With Muhlenberg Master’s Degrees
Muhlenberg’s School of Graduate Studies, which launched in 2020, drives success through a similar model. Students have the opportunity to earn master’s degrees that combine the benefits of a liberal arts education with hands-on learning. The master’s programs are offered fully online to cater to busy professionals, with 10 courses needed to graduate. And, relatively small cohorts that include many local students encourage bonding, support, and networking.
“The cohort that I was part of, I can’t thank them enough,” says Marci Martinez-Howey G’25, the associate vice president for culture and community building at the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. “We’ve become great friends.”
Martinez-Howey decided to pursue a master’s in organizational leadership and a certificate in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging through Muhlenberg’s School of Graduate Studies after finishing her bachelor’s degree as an adult learner at another institution. She chose Muhlenberg because these two specific programs relate directly to her day-to-day responsibilities and because she knew the faculty and staff understood the local community and would be able to help her apply what she was learning.
“With my organization, we are part of a national brand, so to be able to learn new skills that would allow me to engage at a larger level — more than just the local community — was really, really helpful,” she says. “As I’m looking to start initiatives or convene groups of people, having those added skills in strategic planning and nonprofit leadership are all things that are now helping me to grow my role and my career. … It’s opened me up to new partnerships, new networks, new connections, new relationships.”
Christine Compton ’25 earned an accelerated Bachelor of Business Administration and is now working toward a master’s in organizational leadership. She spoke at the 2025 commencement ceremony. (photo by Kristi Morris, Littlewing Studio)
Making Education Accessible Through Corporate Partnerships
Muhlenberg is reimagining education and workforce development through partnership agreements with many local employers. Through these agreements, employees get access to financial aid opportunities to continue their education through GCE as one of their benefits. Muhlenberg’s 14 partners include LVHN, Crayola, and the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, a partnership Martinez-Howey helped facilitate.
“We have now two or three staff members who are attending Muhlenberg and receiving the benefits of this, so it really has proven to be fruitful,” says Martinez-Howey.
LVHN’s corporate partnership program allowed Christine Compton ’25 to pursue an accelerated Bachelor of Business Administration.
“I had 20 years of health care experience without the bachelor’s degree, and it actually inhibited me,” says Compton, who was promoted to a management position within a few months of graduation. “I was almost in a setback state of mind knowing that I didn’t have what was required to advance because of the degree, so when I enrolled in Muhlenberg I took it as an opportunity for growth, and that growth mindset led me to all of my achievements moving forward.”
In her new position, Compton leads a team of 40 direct reports. That new responsibility hasn’t slowed her down academically — she began a master’s degree in organizational leadership, also using her corporate partner benefits, this fall.
“People ask me, ‘Why go?’ And I’m like, ‘Why stop?’ That’s the better question to ask,” she says. “My momentum is there. I am eager, I am willing, and I have this great supportive team. If I’m given the perfect opportunity to grow and succeed, why would I stop? Why not continue with Muhlenberg and the benefits of this program?”
“I was almost in a setback state of mind knowing that I didn’t have what was required to advance because of the degree, so when I enrolled in Muhlenberg I took it as an opportunity for growth, and that growth mindset led me to all of my achievements moving forward.”
— Christine Compton ’25, Manager of Information Services and Technology at Lehigh Valley Health Network
Through graduate and continuing studies programs and corporate partnerships, Muhlenberg helps fuel the city’s and the Lehigh Valley’s significant growth.
