Daily Brief

Visiting Ceramic Artist George Rodriguez

Born and raised in the border city of El Paso, Texas, George Rodriguez creates highly ornamented ceramic sculptures, often underlined by a connection to sociopolitical themes. His guardian figures, tomb sculptures and installations commemorate and build community. Rodriguez engages directly with political, social and cultural issues, addressing Mexican Americans and other communities of color in the United States and beyond. His work speaks to the experiences of immigrants, political refugees and other often marginalized communities. Rodriguez will be giving an artist lecture at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, 108 Sharadin, followed by a demonstration of his unique figurative sculpture building process 4-7 p.m., and noon - 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13.

Clay Club

gwendolyn yoppolo, Clay Club, Art and Design

History Through Music with Barron Ryan Trio

Experience works inspired by a survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, Schaeffer Auditorium. Pianist and composer Barron Ryan was commissioned to create this three-piece work based on Psalms 88 and 89: “My Soul Is Full of Troubles,” “Unto Thee Have I Cried,” and ending in victory with “The Heavens Shall Praise Thy Wonders.” A native of Tulsa, Okla., Ryan's work is influenced by masters from Beethoven to James Brown. The trio includes Christopher Whitely on violin and Alex Cox on cello. Faculty and staff may access discounted tickets by logging in with their MyKU login.

Tickets

KU Presents

Faculty First Thursday Presentation

You might assume that animation started with cartoons, however, humans have been obsessed with simulating movement since prehistory. Please join Liz Van Verth, assistant professor, Art and Design, for a presentation on toys and devices which both delight and deceive the eye, entitled "Early Animation History: Toys, Devices, and The Magic Lantern," from 11-11:45 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, 120 Sharadin. Refreshments will be served prior to the presentation from 10:30-11 a.m. and Q&A will proceed the presentation from 11:45 a.m. to noon. Forget about YouTube, TikTok and even electricity and play with kooky-named devices like the thaumatrope, zoetrope and chromatrope that merely demand a bit of physical exertion and imagination. Sponsored by the College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean's Office, this free presentation will also include a demonstration of a working Magic Lantern and is open to the entire university community.

Faculty First Thursday

Joselyn Wynter, Dean's Office, College of Visual and Performing Arts

JCPenney Suit-Up Event

You are invited to attend a KU and JCPenney Suit-Up event 4-7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa. Receive up to 45% off professional clothing. This event is exclusively for KU faculty, staff, students and alumni. Please bring your KU ID. Just show up; no registration is required.

Jeann Cengeri, Career Development Center

Addressing Mail and Packages Correctly

Please do not put "Kutztown University" or a P.O. Box number in the mailing address. If you address mail or packages incorrectly, they could be returned to the sender. You will receive everything faster if you include your Full Name, Department Name and Room Number. If you oversee ordering for a person in a different department, please make sure to put the person’s Full Name, Department Name and Room Number who is receiving the package. If you are looking for a package, please send the tracking number to mailservices@kutztown.edu.
(EXAMPLE)
Full Name – Room Number
Department Name
425 Baldy Road
Kutztown, PA 19530

Louis Richuitti, Mail Services/Storeroom

NY Times, LA Times, WSJ and Washington Post Access

The Rohrbach Library is pleased to remind the KU community that you have free online access to four of America's most popular newspapers: The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Instructions for how to sign up for an account or renew your access are on the library website. Please contact Bob Flatley (flatley@kutztown.edu) with questions.

Bob Flatley, Rohrbach Library

New CEL Workshop

Don't forget that the first Center for Engaged Learning (CEL) workshop of the spring semester is upon us at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, 6 Rohrbach, titled, "Begin at the End: How to make finals week meaningful." Priya Parker, in The Art of Gathering, implores us to 'close with a closing.' What does that look like for our courses and how can we make finals week a meaningful closing and transition for our students? See our events page for more information about future events.

Center for Engaged Learning

Nominations Open for 2025 UGRC Faculty Mentorship Award

Undergraduate Research and Creativity (UGRC) Faculty Mentorship Awards recognize excellence in faculty engagement with undergraduate researchers and are sponsored by Kutztown University's UGRC Faculty Advisory Board and the Office of Grants and Sponsored Projects. Including an Emerging category, each award carries $500 in professional development funds. The twofold purpose of the awards is to raise awareness of all the outstanding undergraduate research that is taking place on campus and beyond, whether in local forests or streams or much farther away, as well as to reward, recognize and celebrate these impressive achievements. Each year there may be up to four faculty recipients. You may self-nominate or nominate a colleague. Please see the application form online. As part of the KU Inspires celebration, awards will be announced at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 17; recipients will be notified at the beginning of April. The application deadline is Saturday, March 1.

Lynn M. Kutch, Undergraduate Research and Creativity

Spring 2025 Attendance Verification Process

The initial attendance verification for Spring 2025 courses, required federally for awarding of financial aid Policy ACA-090, is available for faculty in Starfish beginning noon Wednesday, Feb. 5, and will remain open until 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11. Faculty should indicate whether students have attended or have never attended by utilizing one of two flags. Please be sure to verify the attendance status of every student. For additional assistance, please visit Starfish in D2L, email starfish@kutztown.edu, call 610-683-4106 or attend a Starfish drop-in training session. 

Starfish Resources

Nancy Brynildsen, Center for Student Success and Academic Excellence