History of the Haupert Union Building
The innovation of a student union on Moravian’s campus dates back to the 1920s. Students longed for a centralized location for student life. Demand for a student union persisted through the hardship of the Great Depression and resurfaced, full force, in the 1950s when students rallied for the development of a central “hub” for student recreation. They donated their own money and fundraised toward their goal, presenting a check to campus leadership for $400,000. The board of trustees approved the project in 1958, and in 1962, the building opened as the College Union Building, or CUB. The CUB was renamed the Haupert Union Building, or HUB, in 1969 in honor of Dr. Raymond Haupert, who had served as president since 1944 and announced his retirement. In the 30 years that followed, students paid a “student activity fee” to help finance the HUB, and student support was matched by alumni donations and supplemented by board members and donors.
The HUB has served as the center of the campus community for decades. The HUB expansion transformed the original building into a multi-story, leading-edge space equipped with state-of-the-art technology for collaboration, meetings, and events, centralizing programs and resources for students, faculty, and staff across campus, as well as the greater Bethlehem community.
In 1962, The Comenian announced the opening of the CUB and detailed its purpose as “providing an informal, home-like atmosphere in which the student can come and feel as though [they] belong.” Just as Moravian students envisioned decades ago, the new and improved HUB continues to serve as the beating heart of campus, serving our students and generations to come.
Watch a video from the Moravian Societies Dinner in November, which included a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony, and our most generous supporters experienced the HUB for the first time.
