Mission & History

Our Mission

MLSN offers adults of all ages affordable educational experiences to promote personal enrichment and to enhance the quality of our community.

A Brief History

The beginnings of MLSN in 1938 had more to do with sports than intellectual pursuits. MLSN’s founder, Radnor businessman Harry Creutzburg, wanted to encourage public involvement in the local schools aside from athletics after Radnor High experienced several losing football seasons. When he learned from the Reader’s Digest that a school for adults had started in a high school in New Jersey, he had his inspiration.

Starting with just 11 classes on Monday nights at Radnor High, the organization now offers close to 800 day, evening and weekend non-credit courses, trips and special events spanning over 23 subject areas. What began as an “experiment in adult education” in 1938 has become an iconic institution, inspiring thousands of people to make lifelong learning an integral part of their lives.

In the early years, MLSN classes were held in the evenings first at Radnor High School in Radnor, soon followed by Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Harriton High School in Bryn Mawr and Conestoga High School in Berwyn. Following a five year search for a daytime venue, MLSN entered into an agreement with Radnor Township in 1970 to lease Harford, the historic summer home of Judge John Innes Clark Hare which had been acquired by the Township under the Open Space Program.

The Hare residence is now known as the Creutzburg Center, named in honor of MLSN’s founder. Today, an expanded curriculum of daytime, evening and weekend classes and special events are offered throughout the year at the Creutzburg Center and evenings at Lower Merion High School during fall and spring terms. Additional classes take place at various sites throughout the Main Line. In 2018, MLSN celebrated eight decades of providing area residents with opportunities to learn new skills, explore artistic expression, travel near and far and engage in spirited discussion as part of a welcoming learning community.