KU PRESIDENT’S UPDATE
F. Javier Cevallos
March 2011

Dear Kutztown University Community,

Welcome back for the final quarter of the academic year.   I hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable spring break and you are ready for the home stretch.  There are several items to update, including a follow-up to yesterday’s budget forum.

STAYING IN TOUCH WITH THE STATE BUDGET SITUATION

As all of you know, we held a forum in Schaeffer Auditorium yesterday to discuss the recent budget proposal by Governor Corbett.   More than 700 members of the campus community attended.  I want to thank everyone for their support and encourage you to keep abreast of budget news on this website --- (www.kutztown.edu/budget).  There you will find audio and video of Tuesday’s forum (video will be posted soon), the budget slides I presented, news articles from around the commonwealth, and information on how to contact your legislator, if interested.  We will continue to post information on that site, and will have additional meetings on campus as necessary.  I want to stress that the budget process has just begun.  The legislature will hold budget hearings, and legislators will carefully review the proposal.   Our administration will work from now until July to review possible budget strategies based on various scenarios.  We will not make any final decisions until the commonwealth’s budget is passed and tuition has been set by the PASSHE Board of Governors.  I will keep you updated on any new information that becomes available.

INSTITUTIONAL CLIMATE INITIATIVE

Next week you will receive an invitation to participate in the survey for the Institutional Climate Initiative.  This initiative will help us determine how to improve the social environment on our campus.  Input from our students, faculty, and staff is vital --- to make significant change, we need everyone to participate.   Please watch for further information and be sure to take the time to help make a difference.    

KU STUDENT-ATHLETES EXCEL IN THE CLASSROOM

While we often promote the athletic success of our student-athletes, one of the items I am most proud of is their achievements in the classroom.   Last academic year, Golden Bear student-athletes had a cumulative grade-point average of 2.93, which is the highest in program history.   Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of this group is the rate at which they are graduating (68 percent over six years).   Golden Bear student-athletes also placed record numbers on the Dean’s List last year, as a total of 182 had a semester GPA of 3.6 or higher.   Additionally, 110 Golden Bears made the 2009-10 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete list (3.25 cumulative GPA or higher), while 52 received the Division II Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Awards.  Please join me in congratulating all of our student-athletes for excelling in both academics and athletics.

KU RUGBY CONTINUES ERA OF SUCCESS

On the club sports front, I want to congratulate Coach Doc Jones and our rugby team for their second place finish at last month’s Las Vegas 7’s Invitational.  If you have a chance to catch the team in action this spring, please do so.  You won’t be disappointed.   We will be hosting some top-flight universities including Penn State (this Saturday at 1:30 p.m.), Ohio State, Navy and Delaware.  For schedules and information, visit www.kutztownrugby.com/

MEMORABLE CULTURAL EXPERIENCES

Throughout the year, our university offers exceptional programming for the campus and surrounding community.  This month has been no exception.   On March 1, we were privileged to have a well-attended presentation by Grammy Award winning artist, Common.   As the program sponsor, the KU Multicultural Center also arranged for Common to make a surprise presentation to the students of Reading High School the following day.   I am sure it is an appearance they will always remember.

Another program I would like to highlight this month is Library of the Early Mind, a grown-up look at the art of children’s literature.  Sponsored by Rohrbach Library, it will be held this Friday (3/18) at 5 p.m. in the McFarland Student Union and will include a film screening and panel discussion.

In addition, you may want to attend one of the excellent programs sponsored by our Women’s Center in honor of Women’s History Month.

In closing, I want to remind our entire campus community to be safe and responsible, especially as we approach St. Patrick’s Day.  Our President’s Roundtable on Alcohol and Other Drugs is an excellent resource for information about responsible behavior.

 I hope you will all take a few minutes to review it.

I look forward to sharing more information with you in the weeks ahead.

Sincerely,

F. Javier Cevallos
President