The Greater Lehigh Valley is blessed with many colleges and universities that help students prepare for careers across all industries.
The Greater Lehigh Valley is blessed with many colleges and universities that help students prepare for careers across all industries.
From arts to health care to management and beyond, the options for earning a valuable education seemingly are endless.
Here to answer this week’s “Behind the List” questions is Bryon Grigsby, president of Moravian College in Bethlehem.
Lehigh Valley Business: How long has Moravian College been operating in the region and what are its primary services?
Grigsby: Moravian College has been in Bethlehem since 1742. It started as the first residential school for girls in America and added a school for boys a few months later. These two schools existed separately until 1954.
Our primary service and mission has been one of providing lifelong learning to the community, and our history demonstrates that as the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas evolved and required new forms of learning. Moravian College has been a strategic partner in meeting those needs.
LVB: What have been some of the biggest challenges and opportunities that Moravian College has encountered throughout its history?
Grigsby: I think one of the biggest challenges for the school was how to serve through WWI [World War I] and WWII. The Moravians are one of the early peace churches, and even one of our campus buildings dates back to the Revolutionary War where the Moravians chose to create a hospital rather than fight in the war.
Nevertheless, Moravian College chose to create the Student Army Training Corps for WWI and in WWII, and the Navy V5 Program trained naval cadets.
Yet, the biggest challenge to the institutions came after WWII, when in 1954, the women’s college was going to close for financial reasons and the only option they saw to pay their debts was to sell off the historic south campus for commercial development.
