Daily Brief

Pfeiler-Wunder Awarded Regional, National Higher Education Art Educator

Kutztown University’s Dr. Amy Pfeiler-Wunder, associate dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, is the recipient of the 2024 Eastern Region and National Higher Education Art educator awards by the National Art Education Association (NAEA). This prestigious award, determined through a peer review of nominations, recognizes the exemplary contributions, service and achievements of one outstanding NAEA member annually at the national level within their division. The award was presented during the NAEA 2024 National Convention in Minneapolis in April.

Pfeiler-Wunder Award

University Relations

Biology Student Presents Research at Scientific Meeting

Therese Coleman recently presented her research project entitled “Identifying Protein-Protein Interactions with Ctb9 Through a Yeast Two-Hybrid System.” She presented at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania University Biologists Annual Meeting Saturday, April 13, and performed her research under the mentorship of Dr. Cristina Cummings, Biology.

Cristina Cummings, Department of Biology

PASSHE Universities to Graduate Nearly 2,000 New Teachers and Educators to Help Ease Teacher Shortages

Helping to address the severe teacher shortage, nearly 2,000 future teachers and educators are projected to graduate from state-owned universities this month, Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) announced Thursday, May 2. The education students who graduate from State System universities this spring are prepared to pursue a master’s degree or enter school classrooms as teachers when school districts across the country are struggling to find qualified candidates.

PASSHE Universities to Help Ease Teacher Shortages

University Relations

Partial North Campus Power Shutdown Notice

In order to support the Poplar House renovation project, a partial North Campus power shutdown will be required at 7 a.m. Saturday, May 18. The target time for power restoration is 11 a.m. This shutdown will impact the following buildings/facilities:
 - Beekey Education Center.
 - Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center.
 - de Francesco Building.
 - Rohrbach Library.
 - Lytle Hall.
 - Rickenbach Research and Learning Center.
 - McFarland Student Union.
 - North Water Tower.
This schedule has been established to limit disruption during normal business hours. Apologies in advance for any disruption this may cause. Questions or concerns should be directed to Bill Leech at leech@kutztown.edu.

Bill Leech, Facilities

Thank You Nurses

May 6-12 marks National Nurses Week and this year's theme is "Nurses Make the Difference." Please join me in celebrating the Kutztown University Health Center nurses and showing appreciation for the difference they make for our students. Kathy Loomis, Lisa Mason, Krista Perinotti, Donna Ruch and Pam Sicher - thank you for all you do.

Mandi Volkert, Health and Wellness Services

Submit Proposals for 2024 PASSHE Diversity Summit

A team from the offices of Academic Affairs, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Student Affairs from across PASSHE are excited to announce the release of our Request for Proposals (RFP) for the 2024 PASSHE Summit. These offices and the Summit Planning Committee collaborated on the RFP to create an opportunity to explore policies, practices, research, partnerships and related matters in "Uniting for Inclusive Student Success," our theme for this year's Summit. The 2024 PASSHE Summit will be a hybrid Summit Monday and Tuesday, October 28-29, with in-person sessions held at Millersville University and virtual/hybrid sessions held on Zoom. We invite faculty, staff, administrators, students, Board members, trustees and other PASSHE stakeholders to submit a proposal about how to cultivate and maintain environments that promote inclusive student success. The Summit aims to serve as a dynamic platform for dialogue, reflection, learning and collaboration, centered on the theme of inclusive student success. We welcome proposals that address the theme from a wide range of perspectives, life experiences and academic disciplines. We invite you to read the entire RFP and to submit a proposal. The due date for proposals is Thursday, Sept. 5. We have three drop-in Q&A sessions scheduled for anyone who has questions or is unsure about whether to submit a proposal.
 - 1-2 p.m. Wednesday, May 8 (Register here)
 - Noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, June 20 (Register here)
 - Noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27 (Register here)
You can reach out to the PASSHE Summit co-chairs with any questions: Christa Cobb (ccobb@passhe.edu), Emily Howe (ehowe@passhe.edu) and Carlos Wiley (carlos.wiley@millersville.edu).

2024 PASSHE Submit

Jerry Schearer, Diversity and Inclusion

Philosophy Club Meeting

The next Philosophy Club meeting will be held 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 9, Heart and Hearth, 466 W Main Street (a few doors down from Stratton Administration Center). Allan Bäck will present "The Last Poets" following a reception. All are welcome to join. Persons with a disability and who require accommodation should notify the Disability Services Office prior to the event at 610-683-4108, dso@kutztown.edu or TDD number 610-683-4499 in order to discuss accommodations.  Every effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodations.

Allan Bäck, Philosophy and Government

Career Closet Update

This academic year, we were able to help 292 students who visited the Career Closet. More than 700 articles of clothing were purchased or donated to students. The sale of items at $2 each helps support the TRIO SSSP fund. Thank you for all the donations and we continue to ask for donations of gently used professional clothing. Please mention to your family and friends about considering a donation to the Career Closet. Donations can be brought to 113 Stratton during normal business hours and if needed, a tax receipt can be obtained. If you have any questions, please contact Jeann Cengeri at cengeri@kutztown.edu.

Jeann Cengeri, Career Development Center

New CEL Journal Post

Please take a few minutes to visit the KUtztown exCEL faculty journal to read our latest post. This month, we are featuring Erin Kraal, CEL Director and professor in the Department of Physical Sciences, who discusses making some time to reflect at the end of the semester, focusing on what went well and preparing for the next time using a simple organizational tool. Also, be sure to check out our previous post featuring Maddie Anthes and all of our posts from the 2023-24 academic year.

Center for Engaged Learning

Professional Learning Opportunity for KU Faculty

The "CEL Engaged Teaching and Learning Sequence 2024" is a professional learning opportunity to provide KU faculty with the skills and knowledge that help positively impact their teaching and learning through four facilitated online, asynchronous courses. The deadline for registration is Friday, May 24. Please register by completing our online form at the link below. The courses will be scheduled in the following:
 - Course 1: Monday, May 27 to Thursday, June 6: Basics of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)*.
 - Course 2: Monday, June 10 to Thursday, June 20: Design and Align Your Learning Outcomes.
 - Course 3: Monday, June 24 to Thursday, July 4: Inclusive Teaching*. 
 - Course 4: Monday, July 8 to Thursday, July 18: Lecture Transformation.
These courses are each eligible for $300 in professional development funding upon completion. Upon completion, participants who complete Courses 1 and 3 of the sequence will be allotted $300 of professional development funding for each. The Center for Engaged Learning’s leadership team will make the final determination on the successful completion of all aspects of professional learning. The program is open to all faculty members employed by Kutztown University. Please note that only those who have not yet completed Courses 1 or 3 are eligible to receive professional development funds for those courses. Everyone is welcome to retake any of the courses. To receive professional development funds, participants will be expected to have the following:
 - Complete the eligible course and earn a digital badge.
 - Contribute their meaningful insights to reflection exercises during the time the course(s) are active.
Completion of each course is necessary to fulfill the award requirements. Please notify the CEL immediately of any changes that may prevent you from completing a course. Please direct questions to the CEL at cel@kutztown.edu or visit our Services page for more information.

CEL Engaged Teaching and Learning Sequence 2024

Center for Engaged Learning

Women's Lacrosse Wins Tuesday, Advances to PSAC Final Four

Down its top goal-scorer in a back-and-forth battle, 12th-ranked Kutztown got fourth-quarter goals from Katie Yocum and Madison Wenner to fend off 11th-ranked East Stroudsburg, 10-8, in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon, May 7, at a raucous Keystone Field. Along with advancing to the PSAC semifinals for the second-consecutive season, Kutztown set a new program record for wins in a season with its 14th, surpassing 13 wins in 1982 and 2023. The Golden Bears will face host Seton Hill, the PSAC West's top seed, 1 p.m. Friday, May 10, in a rematch of last year's PSAC semifinal at West Chester. The Griffins edged KU, 9-7, in that game. East top seed West Chester will face West No. 2 Slippery Rock in the other semifinal at 4 p.m.

Game Recap

Sports Information