KU trustee Roger J. Schmidt (on right) received the Spirit of Scouting award at a reception yesterday in Reading.
Check-out the story in the Reading Eagle: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=352893



 The Daily Brief
Thursday, December 15, 2011
ANNOUNCEMENTS

 You may have received a “Residency Certification Form” in the mail at home recently as a result of the implementation of Pennsylvania’s new Act 32. While the act changes the way local earned income tax is collected, it should be largely invisible to our faculty and staff. We do not need the form to be returned to us, as we already have the required information on file for all current employees. As long as your address as shown in Employee Self Service is correct, there’s nothing else you need to do. The new form has been posted on the HR website and is available in the office, for any employee with an address change.
        Jennifer S Weidman, payroll manager, Human Resources 

Fall commencement ceremonies are this Saturday morning at 9 a.m. in the O’Pake Fieldhouse. More than 600 baccalaureate and master’s degree candidates are expected to process. The commencement ceremonies will again be broadcast online through Ustream.tv, an interactive broadcast platform, enabling the families and friends of the graduates to view the ceremony live through a web connection: http://www.kutztown.edu/admin/urelations/commencement/

In keeping with tradition, a member of the KU faculty will address the graduates – assistant professor of marketing, Elizabeth Rogol, will speak at the ceremony. The faculty speaker is selected based on nominations submitted by the senior class. Graduate student remarks will be provided by Whitehall, Pa.-native Heath Mensher, who will receive his master’s degree in secondary education. Undergraduate remarks will be provided by Upper Chichester, Pa.-native Caitlin A. Smith, a speech communication major. 

Construction update: The electrical shutdown on Tuesday, Dec. 27, will begin at 7 a.m. and end no later than 3 p.m. The shutdown will interrupt power to the entire campus. That does not include Golden Bear Village South, Golden Bear Village West, and Honors Hall.
        Tom Green, director, Facilities Energy Management & Campus Utilities  

The Human Resources Department will be closed to the public Dec. 26-30. During this time, inquiries may be submitted via Ask HR http://hr.dept.kutztown.edu/IssueSubmission.html and will be addressed on Jan. 3, 2012. For the Dec. 30, 2011 pay date, any employee with a live pay check will have it mailed directly from Harrisburg to their home address as printed on the face of the pay check. Please verify that we have the correct address. Direct deposit will be made on Dec. 30, 2011 as usual.
        Human Resources 


McFarland Student Union Hours
Dec. 11 -18:  Final Exams Week and Commencement
Sunday:  11 a.m. - 1 a.m.
Monday - Thursday:  7 a.m. - 1 a.m.
Friday:  7 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday:  8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday:  Closed

Dec. 19-23: Monday-Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Sat and Sun closed
Dec. 24 - Jan. 2:  Closed
Jan. 3 - 12:  Monday-Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.*, Sat and Sun closed
*1/16/12 – Closed to honor MLK, Jr.

 

The Kutztown University Council of Trustees will hold a regular meeting this afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Stratton Administration Building, room 301.
        Elsa G. Collins, President’s Office 

ARAMARK

Please take note to our Holiday Break Hours of Operation! The Kutztown Perk will be open 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19 - Thursday, Dec.  22. Check out www.kutztown.campusdish.com for more information! Kutztown Dining wishes you a safe and Happy Holidays!

Thursday, Dec. 15
 Academic Forum:  7 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Fresh Market Smoothies:  Closed
All other locations:  Normal Hours
Friday, Dec. 16
 South Side Cafe:  Closes at 3:30 p.m.
Academic Forum:  7 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Golden Bear Food Court
The Grill:  Closes at 2 p.m.
Kutztown Perk:  Closes at 2 p.m.
Bene:  Closes at 6 p.m.
Montague's Deli:  Closes at 6 p.m.
POD Market:  Closes at 6 p.m.
Fresh Market Smoothies:  Closed
Cub Cafe:  Closes at 2 p.m.
Java City at the Bear's Den:  Closes at 2 p.m.
Book & Brew:  Closes at 2 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17
 Congratulations Seniors!
 Fresh Market Smoothies:  7:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.
All other locations:  Closed
Sunday, Dec. 18
 All locations:  Closed
Monday, Dec. 19 - Thursday, Dec. 22
 Kutztown Perk:  8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

 Friday, Dec. 23 - Sunday, Dec. 25
 All locations: Closed 


In Case You Missed It:
 (Announcements and other information that have previously appeared in the Daily Brief.)
AFSCME 2234 members – Nominations will be taken at our Jan. 16 meeting for delegates to attend the International AFSCME Conference in late June 2012, in Los Angeles. Please plan to attend.
        Chris Ferris, Secretary

Housing Application Process for Fall 2012/Spring 2013 returning students:  you need to apply by 4:30 p.m., this Friday, Dec. 16.
        Apryle Carney, assistant director, Housing & Residential Services

Electrical Shut Down Notice Reminder - Starting on Tuesday, Dec. 27 until Friday, Dec. 30, the Maintenance Department of Facilities will be performing required electrical maintenance throughout the campus. Following is the schedule for when individual buildings will be impacted:

Tuesday, Dec. 27
Entire Campus electrical shut down

Wednesday, Dec. 28
7 - 11 a.m.: Berks Hall, Lehigh Hall, Schuylkill Hall, Rothermel Hall, Multicultural Center
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Stratton Administration Building (Old Section)

Thursday, Dec. 29
7 - 11 a.m.: Bonner Hall, S. Dining Hall, Johnson Hall, Student Rec Center, Heat Plant (New), University Place, Keystone (all)
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Stratton (NEW Section), Beck Hall, Deatrick Hall, Heat Plant (Old), Dixon Hall

Friday, Dec. 30
7 - 11 a.m.: Beekey Hall, DeFrancesco Hall, Lytle Hall, Rickenbach, MSU, N. Water Tower, Heritage Center, Rohrbach Library

Sorry for any inconvenience. Thanks for your patience while we work to ensure continued uninterrupted (on the KU side of things at least!) electrical service to the campus buildings.
        Kyle Mills, director, Facilities Maintenance


Kutztown University Dining Services congratulates freshman psychology major Ada Abreu for winning the Apple iPad 2. Ada completed the 2011 Customer Satisfaction Survey that was emailed to all KU students, faculty, and staff on Oct. 30. Survey results help Dining Services and ARAMARK provide a quality-dining program at KU. Winners were notified by email from Kent Dahlquist, director of Dining Services on Dec. 6.

Congratulations to senior Caitlin Smith, honored with the Youth Voices for Change award from the Berks Women in Crisis organization! See the story here: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=352439. (Caitlin is the undergraduate speaker at Saturday's commencement ceremony.)

Thanks to College of Business adjunct professor Joe Blake for answering the media inquiry from the Reading Eagle regarding the importance of tipping service providers. The story ran yesterday in the Eagle and is being picked-up by several news outlets already - this one is from the Erie area: http://www.goerie.com/article/20111213/BUSINESS05/312139934/Not-just-a-tip-it's-an-income 

Lost and Found: If you lost something on campus this semester, please drop by the Communication Center in Public Safety to see if it was turned in. We receive Lost and Found items frequently from different campus locations. Even if you have checked with us earlier, please check again! It’s possible an item you checked on earlier in the semester may now be in our Lost and Found inventory. Our office is located in the basement of OM, room 15. You will need to provide a description of the item. We will donate unclaimed items by Dec. 23, 2011.
        Public Safety

 PSECU Important Information:  The eCenter will close Friday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. and will open on Monday,  Jan. 23, at 10 a.m. Happy Holidays.
        Linda L. Lorincz, business advisor, PSECU eCenter

Faculty Colleagues - The award mentioned below is available for both December 2011 and May 2012 graduates.  Please keep it in mind as you work with your senior students. All the details are below.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS - Application Deadline: February 9, 2012
The Kutztown Academic Achievement Awards were established through a generous gift provided by Dr. Carlson R. Chambliss, who served as a member of the Kutztown University faculty from 1970 until 2003. The purpose of the awards is to recognize the exceptional individual achievements of a select group of senior students as their careers at Kutztown University draw to a close. Faculty and staff at Kutztown University are encouraged to nominate students worthy of consideration for this prestigious award. The criterion requires that the applicant exemplify an individual achievement in one or more of the following areas in order to be considered for one of the twelve awards. The areas of achievement are:

a) Successfully completed research projects.
b) Original artwork of high quality.
c) Artistic performances (music, chorus, drama, etc) of high quality.
d) Original writing in literature or meritorious writing in other fields.
e) Noteworthy achievements in athletics
f) Outstanding service to the Kutztown University community

Dr. Chambliss has provided the resources for up to twelve medals (2 gold, 4 silver, 6 copper) to be issued annually to the students selected for this award. In addition, each student recipient will receive a certificate acknowledging conferral of the award. Please click here for the Nomination Form. For more information, please contact Dr. Andrea Kirshman, Assistant Vice Provost, Academic and Student Affairs, at kirshman@kutztown.edu.
        Andrea Kirshman, assistant vice provost, Academic & Student Affairs

Special Hours of operation for the Student Recreation Center and Keystone Hall Swimming Pool beginning the week of finals:
 Dec. 12-14:  Regular Hours of Operation
Dec. 15:  6 a.m.- 9 p.m. (Pool 8-9 a.m., noon-1 p.m., 5:30-7 p.m.)
Dec. 16:  6 a.m.- 6 p.m. (Pool 8-9 a.m., noon-1 p.m.)
Dec. 17-18: CLOSED
Dec. 19-23:  6 a.m. - 6 p.m. (Pool 8-9 a.m., noon-1 p.m.)
Dec. 24-Jan. 2:  CLOSED
Jan. 3-19:  6 a.m.- 6 p.m., Closed Sat. & Sun. (Pool 8-9 a.m., noon-1 p.m.)
Jan. 20:  CLOSED
Jan. 21:  Regular Semester Hours Resume
        Tracy Turner, office manager, Recreational Services