Luther F. Schlenker Papers, 1954-1957

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: M.C.-MSS-E-Schlenker

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Series I consists of published materials promoting the Appeal for Muhlenberg College and reports on the efforts; Series II contains Rev. Schlenker's personal notes and writings relating to the Appeal; and Series III contains other material relating to efforts to move Muhlenberg College towards coeducation.

Dates

1954 - 1957

Creator

Schlenker, Luther F., Reverend, 1914-1963 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research; access by appointment.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is held by Muhlenberg College, which makes these materials freely available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License.

Biographical / Historical Note

Reverend Luther F. Schlenker (1914-1963) was a member of Muhlenberg's Class of 1935. He later attended Mount Airy Seminary in Philadelphia. After graduating he served as a teaching fellow at the seminary for two years. From 1940 to 1943 he served as pastor at St. John's Lutheran Church in Shenandoah and then served the Maxatawny parish from 1943 to 1948 and then St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in Perkasie, PA from 1948 to 1959. He later became assistant to the president of the Eastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Lutheran Church of America.

In November 1953, Muhlenberg’s Board of Trustees approved coeducation according to a plan by which the Ministerium would campaign to raise $1,500,000 to make the necessary changes to accommodate female students, while also paying off the College’s debt. Rev. Schlenker took a leave of absence from his pastorate and transformed his home into a fundraising office, speaking across eastern Pennsylvania to encourage Lutherans to contribute to the "Appeal for Muhlenberg College," creating a collegiate experience for their young women. Women joined the regular College for the first time in the fall of 1957.

You may read more about Reverend Schlenker’s efforts in this 2007 Muhlenberg Magazine article commemorating the 50th anniversary of coeducation.