Hidden Gems: The Ronald K. De Long Gallery at Penn State Lehigh Valley

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. — Visitors to the Penn State Lehigh Valley campus might be surprised to find themselves surrounded by artwork. Through the Ronald K. De Long Gallery, the campus is able to showcase a broad collection of works — from famous artists to local art collectives. 

The gallery greets visitors to the single-building campus from its home right on the first floor. As it approaches its 15th anniversary, the gallery continues to serve as a community space centered on arts education and appreciation, featuring art from students and national or regional professionals. 

An intentional art presence was first conceived in the early 2000s, according to gallery director and arts coordinator Ann Lalik, but there wasn’t room for it at the time. It wasn’t until the Lehigh Valley campus moved to its current home in 2009 that the idea could grow. 

The new building had more space to work with, and on the third floor, Lalik and the administration set to work creating a gallery in an old student lounge. 

“It took a village. It took the efforts of so many people to say, ‘Okay, we want to do this. We can make this happen,’” Lalik said. 

The lounge was almost entirely windows, which created a unique challenge in finding ways to hang the art. They devised a system of movable walls to display pieces, and modified the space to make it safe and secure for delicate and valuable art pieces. 

“Looking back now, I'm amazed at what we were able to do,” Lalik said. “We did it on a shoestring budget. Student Affairs kicked in and contributed to refurbish the space and make it functional.” 

The third-floor gallery opened in 2010. The main room was used to exhibit two major installations each year, alongside smaller shows, and in 2016, the hall outside the gallery was converted into a community art space for pieces from high school and community college students. 

It wasn’t named until 2014, when Ronald K. De Long, a professor who taught drawing and painting at the campus, donated to the space to show his support and appreciation for the work they were doing. 

“He really believed in the gallery, and he believed in the leadership in this campus,” Lalik said. “De Long retired a few years later, but he's still a friend of ours. He still attends receptions and is involved in the community.” 

The gallery has relied on support like De Long’s to establish itself. Many of its 200 paintings, photographs and prints are donations from sponsors or local art collectors, Lalik said, and it’s allowed the artistic culture of the campus to thrive. 

“Some people from other campuses refer to us as the ‘art campus.’ And the reason is not just the gallery; we have really cool art hanging all over our building,” Lalik said. “But the gallery has done very well. It’s become a community destination in the Lehigh Valley.” 

The gallery space on the third floor proved successful, but Lalik spent a few years looking for opportunities to improve and grow the space. After a fire on campus in 2024 resulted in changes to the campus’ first floor, Lalik said, the opportunity presented itself for the gallery to relocate to that space. 

The change was approved in late summer. Relocating took time and a lot of work, Lalik said, but the end result is worth it. The previous gallery had about 50 feet of wall space, she said, while the current space has more than doubled that. 

“It’s much more visible. When people walk into the building, they just stumble across it. Whereas, when it was on the third floor, you really had to know where you were going and how to get there,” Lalik said. 

Lalik would like to bring on a student to help digitize the art collection and make it more widely available, as well, to further that awareness and appreciation for what the campus has to offer. Many pieces of the collection are displayed in hallways and offices outside of the gallery, or kept in storage out of the public eye, and a digital landing space would allow everyone to see each piece.

Lalik has also connected classes to the collections on display, from history and literature to business and economics. 

“We have a new economics professor who loves the gallery,” Lalik said. “She brings her classes in and, no matter what the exhibit is, we're able to find a way to make connections through art.” 

The current exhibit is focused on American folk art, which Lalik hadn’t worked with before. But the final installation has found success, and it’s brought in plenty of visitors — including the director and CEO of the American Folk Art Museum in New York City, Lalik said. It’s also received positive reviews from multiple magazines from as far as Maine and Connecticut. 

“It’s a whole new thing for me, that we would get this broader regional interest in in our exhibit,” Lalik said. “That was so validating, to see that we actually got that much recognition for our little gallery here in the Lehigh Valley.” 

The gallery is open to the public, but hours may change depending on semester. For current hours and exhibit information, visit the gallery online.