When students arrived on campus this school year, Seegers Union had a new look– fences lined along Chew Street and up the semi-circle driveway blocking the back stairway from the General’s Quarters (GQ) Annex. Along the fence are banners with the phrase “Muhlenberg on the Rise: Three Projects. One Future” and images of a new Seegers Union. “I knew about the expansion through my work-study because our department will be moving there when the expansion is done,” said Julian Chaparro ‘26. “But, outside of that, I haven’t heard anything and when I got back on campus [the fencing] was the first sign of it.”
The fencing extends beyond where the new building will be built and includes the area to either side of the project. Several large trees have been removed and there is a temporary exit stairway from the GQ Annex. Pedestrians can no longer cut through to Chew Street using the driveway, and instead need to use the pedestrian paths from the Center for the Arts (CA). “When I got back to campus, I had no idea this was going on,” said Max Kurzweil ‘27, “and [I was] shocked. I had no idea this was going to happen.”
Unbeknownst to most students, the Seegers Union expansion is a project that has been in the works since 2016. Finalized in 2019, the project underwent slight modifications and work began Aug. 1, 2024. The project is set to be completed by spring 2026.
The Seegers Union expansion is a 35-million-dollar project that will be home to a new Welcome Center, Career Center, alumni connections office and event space. With the support from the Boundless campaign and the College, the expansion hopes to improve student life on campus by providing more space to students and departments. As previously reported in The Weekly, the College is using a combination of private funding, capital bond debt and donations via the Boundless campaign to pay for the project.
President Kathleen Harring, Ph.D. says she is “very excited about this project for several reasons. Seegers Union is the central hub for students—an expression of who we are as a college and how we continue to transform. It is a physical testament to what we do best at Muhlenberg—gather together to share, learn and experience things together as a community.”
According to Richard Waligora, capital projects manager for the expansion, the ground level of Seegers will include an alumni services network and alumni lounge, five four-to-six-person collaborative spaces for everyone’s use, a 70-seat multipurpose classroom room and multiple soft seating lounge spaces throughout the level.
The main level of Seegers, connecting from the GQ Annex, will now house the new Career Center. This level will also have soft seating collaborative spaces, two multipurpose classrooms rooms with the capacity of 36 and 48 seats, a six-person collaborative room and two interview and podcast rooms. The GQ Annex will become a space for additional seating for the General’s Quarters.
The expansion will add an upper level which will include a new event space that could accommodate an entire class, with a capacity of nearly 500 lecture-style seats or 330 banquet-style seats. There will be a pre-function space designated for events, similar to our current light lounge, and a green room for event speakers and entertainers.
In total, the expansion will also add 16 gender-neutral restrooms, three family-style restrooms and a wellness space.
Harring described these new additions as supporting the needs of “current and future students for generations to come.”
“The Career Center and preprofessional advising services will be more visible, central and accessible for students,” said Harring. “Conference rooms, offices and group spaces on both the lower and main levels will enable students to develop resumes, expand employment profiles, meet with career and pre-professional advisors and alumni mentors and pursue real-world learning opportunities. The upper level will meet the growing need for event space and will accommodate student programs, alumni events and campuswide gatherings. In sum total, it provides students with space that allows them to thrive academically, socially and professionally.”
While the construction has just begun, there have been a few hiccups. On Sept. 17, the construction crew hit a gas line resulting in the evacuation of several buildings on campus including the Wood Dining Commons (see page 3 for more). In addition, students have not been following the posted signs regarding blocked areas. “Students are not paying attention to the signage out there and somebody’s going to get hurt,” said Waligora. “We have signage out there, we have flaggers out there, and [students] just ignore them. We are doing everything we can to make sure students are safe but if people aren’t paying attention to it somebody’s going to get hurt. Those trucks are huge and they don’t see as good as people would like to believe that they do.”
“Another constraint for the project is the need to keep access to Seegers open for students during the semester.”
Another constraint for the project is the need to keep Seegers open for students throughout the semester. Therefore, most of the major projects will occur during school breaks. For instance, during fall break (from Oct. 11 at 1 a.m. to Oct. 13 at 6 a.m.), the entire Seegers Union will be closed for utility relocation. John Pasquarello, general manager of the dining hall, explained at a recent Student Government Association (SGA) meeting that dining services will be relocated to Moyer Hall. Students staying on campus during the break will also have access to two food trucks, Mobile Mule and a truck from Lehigh University, which will be available for ‘Berg Bucks and Dining Dollars. There will be allergen-friendly and kosher options available.
While access to student spaces will remain open, those who have offices in the lower level are moving around during the construction period. For example, the Career Center will be moving to the C-level of the library on Oct. 9 and The Weekly has already moved out of their Seegers office.
Meanwhile, the WMUH radio station, whose current location is in Walson Hall, will be moving into the Student Life Center. For a more detailed timeline of the office moves see below.
While the project will cause some level of disturbance, Waligora is trying to minimize the disruption to student life and campus activities: “We have a very tight site, we’ve shrunk it down as much as we can but we need the cooperation of everyone involved–students, faculty and staff.”
Timeline
(Sept. 1 through Aug. 2025)
GQ Annex – Closed. Will return as additional GQ dining seating.
(Oct. 9, 2024 through Grand Opening)
Career Center – Moving to Trexler Library, C Level.
(Oct. 11 through Oct. 13, 2024)
Seegers Union will close at 1 a.m. on Friday, October 11th and reopen at 6 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13. Building closed due to utility relocation. Dining will be relocated to Miller, Moyer Forum. A campus-wide email is being sent soon.
(Dec. 13, 2024 through Jan. 13, 2025)
Student Life Offices – Moving to previous Career Center space.
SGA Office – Moving to old Career Center space.
(Jan. 14 through May 19, 2025)
WMUH – Move the radio station into previous Student Life Office area.
Weekly – Relocate to the outside of the old Student Life Office area.
(March 5 through March 19, 2025)
Light Lounge, 108, 109, 110 – Refresh of these areas.
(May 19 through Aug. 15, 2025)
Java Joes, Fireplace Lounge – Refresh of these areas.
Main Lobby, Segers Union/Student Experience Offices, Welcome Desk and GQ Dining Seating – Renovation of these areas.
(May 19 through July 6, 2025)
Lower Level Hallway – Refresh of this area.
(May 19 through Aug. 15, 2025)
Red Door and Student Mailboxes – Refresh/renovation of this area.
Mailboxes – Move to new area (TBD).
(Dec. 1, 2025 through Jan. 30, 2026)
Old Weekly Area – Refresh of this area.
Keanna Peña '25 is the Editor-in-Chief of the Muhlenberg Weekly. She is an English and Creative Writing major with a minor in Dance. She is passionate about informing the student body and sharing her creative writing.
