Daily Brief

Chambliss Student Academic Achievement Awards 2025

Kutztown University presented the Chambliss Student Academic Achievement Awards to nine accomplished students Friday, April 4. Students who received awards were nominated by staff and faculty members for meeting one or more of the seven areas of achievement: successfully completed research projects, outstanding academic achievement, high-quality original artwork, high-quality artistic performances (music, chorus, drama, etc.), original writing in literature or meritorious writing in other fields, noteworthy achievements in athletics, and outstanding service to the KU community.

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University Relations

A Romantic Farewell: Concert for KU President Hawkinson and Mrs. Hayes-Hawkinson

Join us at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 14, Schaeffer Auditorium, as we celebrate Dr. Kenneth Hawkinson, President of Kutztown University, and Mrs. Ann Marie Hayes-Hawkinson, honoring their years of service, unwavering dedication to the university and steadfast support of the music department. Featuring performances by esteemed faculty members, this concert is a heartfelt tribute to his support for the arts and our Kutztown University community.

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Maya Strava Kokkinou, Department of Music

Visiting Scholar A. Kendra Greene Lecture

Kutztown University is excited to welcome author and essayist A. Kendra Greene to Kutztown University 2-3 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, 120 Sharadin, to present her insight and imagination as it relates to travel and international study. Known for her lyrical essays that explore the peculiar corners of the world, Greene invites us to consider the unexpected details that make each place uniquely alive. Her work reminds us that travel is not just movement, but attentive discovery. This lecture will resonate especially with students considering study abroad, offering a thoughtful lens on how to remain open, curious and deeply present to the world - wherever it may take you. For any questions, please contact Michael Covello, associate professor, Art and Design.

A. Kendra Greene

Michael Covello, Art and Design

Open Hour with Provost

Faculty, staff and students are invited to drop by and chat with Dr. Lorin Basden Arnold, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, during her open office hour 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, Old Main concourse. Faculty and staff who would like to have a conversation, but for whom this time does not work, are welcome to contact the Office of the Provost at 610-683-4155 to schedule a time to meet.

Provost Office

Anne Imschweiler, Provost Office

Stairway and Corridor Egress Policy

University Policy A&F-028, Stairway and Corridor Fire Safety Policy ensures safe egress through campus buildings, especially in the event of a fire. We have noticed a proliferation of items over the last several semesters which conflict with this policy. Environmental Health and Safety is currently doing inspections to prioritize which areas to address first. Over the next several weeks, we will be reaching out to various departments to notify them of egress concerns and to help in getting these locations back into compliance as defined in the policy. Thanks in advance for your help with this matter.

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William Meeker, Facilities

STI Awareness Week Free Testing

Talk. Test. Treat. STI Awareness Week is April 14-18. The Health and Wellness Center, located in Beck Hall, offers free STI testing 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Testing options include syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV and hepatitis B and C. Please drink fluids and eat a snack before arriving for testing. Please call 610-683-4082 with any questions.

Health and Wellness Services

Elder Care Workshop (for Caregivers of the Elderly)

The Commission for the Status of Women is hosting estate planning, estate administration and elder law attorney Robert Kreitz 11 a.m. to noon, Thursday, April 17, 203 Academic Forum or via Zoom. The workshop is open to all students, faculty and staff. Please RSVP to pytleski@kutztown.edu. If you are on campus and would like a box lunch, please include your lunch choice in your RSVP from the following options: bavarian ham and swiss on ciabatta, chicken caesar wrap, or grilled vegetable wrap with spicy hummus.

Zoom

Patricia D. Pytleski , Commission on the Status of Women

BYO Lunch and Learn: Occupational Safety

The Office of Human Resources' next BYO Lunch and Learns for managers is noon to 1 p.m., Friday, April 18, 312 MSU, on the topic of Occupational Safety. Those who attend will learn the basics of office safety including topics like ergonomics, situational awareness and electrical hazards. Future BYO Lunch and Learns will include The Hiring Process (May 16), Supervising SCUPA employees (June 20) and Leaves of Absences (July 18). Need an idea for lunch? Stop by the Cub Cafe and ask for a to-go box.

Register

Office of Human Resources

Are You Eating Lead? How Would You Know? Free Testing Available.

Most lead (Pb) used in the U.S. today is in the cores of car batteries. Because most people swap old car batteries for new ones at auto shops, those shops serve as lead recycling centers, so lead is one of the most efficiently recycled metals (99% of battery lead and 75% from all uses), even though it's one of the cheapest metals. However, people also once used lead to make paint white or colorful and make glass sparkly. Human ingestion of tiny amounts of lead has long been known to cause neurological damage and developmental irregularities, making lead an invisible toxin when presented in bioavailable forms. There are scientific ways to detect invisible lead. Home test kits involve dabbing the sample surface with a chemical, then observing how the chemical reaction changes the solution’s color. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that home chemical test kits failed to detect lead more than half of the time, but analyses using an XRF spectrometer were 92% effective and 100% safe. We have an opportunity for you: Kutztown University has an XRF spectrometer and Geology Club students who know how to use the instrument. If you have antique dishes, paint chips or other objects that you’d like tested for lead (or for other heavy elements like gold, silver, etc.) with the XRF, please bring them 11 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, April 22, 100 Boehm (near the main entrance). Each analysis takes about two minutes and does not harm your sample. LGLO (Let’s Get the Lead Out).

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Kurt Friehauf, Geology Club

You're Invited to KUR's 20th Anniversary of Re-birth Celebration

Kutztown University Radio (KUR) has a rich history dating back to original sign-on in 1967. After a period of dormancy in the early 2000s, KUR went back on-the-air in spring 2005 with new, state-of-the-art facilities and the mission to bring quality educational and entertaining diverse programming to the campus, community and the world 24/7/365 - and we've lived up to that mission. Help us celebrate 20 years of re-birth noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 26, Georgian Room. Open to anyone, but RSVP's to advisor Mike Regensburger would be helpful at regensbu@kutztown.edu and online. Live music, food and lots of memories will abound. We hope to see you there.

Mike Regensburger, Kutztown University Radio

Save the Date: 2025 PASSHE Diversity Conference

Please save the dates Oct. 29-30, PennWest Clarion, for the PASSHE Diversity Conference, 'Together We Thrive: Building Inclusive Excellence Across the State System.' Call for presentations will be out at the end of April.

Jerry Schearer, Diversity and Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer

University Writing Center Outside Classroom Workshop

Please let your students know about the University Writing Center's upcoming event, the Outside Classroom Workshop, 11 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, April 15, at the outside classroom between Rohrbach Library and the MSU (rain location 223 MSU). We will be presenting on various citation styles and offering one-on-one writing assistance to students.

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Patricia D. Pytleski, KU Writing Center