Daily Brief

MSU Parking Lot

Parking lot A1 (MSU) has been repaved and had the physical meters removed and replaced with a digital payment system. A1 remains a pay-to-park lot, through the new digital system, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday during the academic year, beginning Monday, Aug. 24. The cost will be $0.75/30 minutes, with a maximum of 90 minutes. The only method of payment is mobile – no app is required. Instructions are available on parking lot signage and include the options of a QR code to scan or a number to text. Vehicle license plate will need to be entered into the mobile payment portal. Questions can be directed to the MSU Information Desk at 610-683-4018. For longer-term parking, students, faculty and staff should utilize the parking permit process and park in their assigned lot on campus. Visitors should obtain a visitor parking permit.

University Relations

Join Us for the Opening of Our First Public Sensory-Reduced Lounge

Together, the Office of the Provost and the Disability Services Office announce the grand opening of KU's first public sensory-reduced lounge in 121 Old Main. Made possible by the Title III Strengthening Institutions Program grant, this space features three areas designed to meet various sensory-related needs and will be open to the entire campus community using KU card swipe access. The area, consisting of a lounge, relaxation space and single-user workstation with a lab desktop computer, was carefully designed to provide a sensory-reduced space that can be used by all. Its welcoming environment includes reduced lighting, comfortable adaptive seating and a variety of options and activities. Please join us during the first free hour of the semester, 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, 121 Old Main, for the official grand opening of this space, including a ribbon cutting and the opportunity to see what the space looks like.

Megan Rutter, Disability Services Office

Sabbatical Leave 2027-2028

The Office of the Provost is pleased to announce the following faculty members have been granted Sabbatical Leave:
2027-2028 Academic Year
- Patricia Brenner, Counselor Education and Student Affairs
- Emily Cripe, Communication Studies
- Nicole Johnson, Special Education
- Feisal Murshed, Business Administration
- Fang-Hsun Wei, Social Work
2028 Spring Semester
- Qin Geng, Business Administration
- Gregory Kaufinger, Business Administration
- Amy Lynch-Biniek, English
- Derek Mace, Psychology
- Joshua Miller, Art & Design
- Carrie Nordlund, Art Education
- Robert Portada, Philosophy and Government
- Robert Reynolds, Society, History, and Culture
- Lindsey Runell, Criminal Justice

Office of the Provost

Save the Date: What Do Today's Adult Learners Need From KU?

Join the Adult Degree Completion Taskforce for a Zoom presentation on "Reengaging Adult Learners: Understanding Today’s Adult Learner and the Degree-Completion Opportunity," 2-3:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, 250 MSU and 317 Stratton. Adult learners are returning to college with different experiences, motivations and challenges, and understanding them will be key to KU's future. This will be an important conversation about who today's adult learners are, what brings them back and how we can better support them from their first point of contact through graduation. Your perspective matters. Be part of the conversation.

Melissa Lincoln, Office of the Vice Provost

Faculty Awarded Tenure and Promotions for Fall 2026

The Office of the President is pleased to announce the following faculty were awarded tenure and/or promotion effective fall semester 2026:
Faculty Awarded Tenure
- Patricia Brenner, Counselor Education and Student Affairs
- Jill Krahwinkel-Bower, Counselor Education and Student Affairs
- Andrew Mashintonio, Biological Sciences
Faculty Awarded Promotion
Instructor to Assistant Professor
- Holly Gruber, Sports Medicine
Assistant Professor to Associate Professor
- Bradley Congelio, Sport Management
- Jill Krahwinkel-Bower, Counselor Education and Student Affairs
- Andrew Mashintonio, Biological Sciences
- Elizabeth Schneider, Art and Design
Associate Professor to Full Professor
- Michael Covello, Art and Design
- Summer Doll-Myers, Art and Design
- Brandon Krieg, English
- Sandra Leonard, English
- Christopher Weiler, Elementary, Middle Level, Library and Technologies Education

University Relations

KU Seniors Present Research at Annual Parasitologists' Conference

The last week of July, seniors Isabella Cimino (Marine Science: Biology), Dominick Ebaugh (Biology: Pre-Med) and Elliana Euclide (Marine Science: Biology) traveled to Orlando, Fla., to present posters of their year-long research on various aspects of the ecology and genetics of parasites infecting white sucker fish from streams along the Schuylkill River. They joined biology professor Alexander Hernandez and approximately 150 other parasitologists from across the United States and other parts of the world at the 101st meeting of the American Society for Parasitologists. Cimino, Ebaugh and Euclide successfully networked with potential graduate research professors on projects related to marine wildlife, as well as MD and Ph.D. programs with research emphasizing human infectious diseases.

Alexander Hernandez, Biology