Daily Brief

Department of Music Faculty Recital

Join us at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 31, Wells-Rapp Center for Mallet Percussion Research, for an extraordinary evening of music. Featuring the music department's amazing faculty artists: saxophonist Dr. Jeremy Justeson, pianist Dr. Maria Asteriadou, violinist Prof. Kurt Nikkanen, clarinetist Dr. Deborah Andrus and flutist Dr. Carol Shansky, alongside guest artist Dr. Michelle Kiec, clarinet. The program will include works by Heins, McMichael, Mellits and more. See you there.

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Maya Strava Kokkinou, Music

Recital With Grammy-Winning Cellist Zuill Bailey and Internationally Acclaimed Pianist Natasha Paremski

Join us for a unique recital featuring Grammy-winning cellist Zuill Bailey and internationally acclaimed pianist Natasha Paremski, along with violinist Kurt Nikkanen, cellist Sam Ou and student Alejandro Bolivar, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, Schaeffer Auditorium. They will perform works by Bach, Popper, Handel/Halvorsen, Prokofiev and Schubert. Don't miss this chance to enjoy world-class music on campus.

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Maya Strava Kokkinou, Music

Join Us for Entrepreneurship Week: RSVP by April 4

Join us at Kutztown University's College of Business Entrepreneurship Week, April 21-25, for an exciting lineup of panels, networking events and workshops designed to inspire, educate and empower entrepreneurs. RSVP on our website by Friday, April 4. Featured panels include:
- A.I. Entrepreneurs Luncheon Panel – Exploring how artificial intelligence is shaping leadership, marketing and digital innovation.
- Women Entrepreneurs Luncheon Panel – Highlighting powerful women in business making an impact in finance, law and branding.
- Societal Impact and Sustainability Luncheon Panel – Showcasing leaders driving change through renewable energy, sustainable business and social empowerment.
- Bonus Kutztown University Small Business Development Center Workshops include ChatGPT prompt engineering, fine-tuning AI models and professional headshots.

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Ally Larese, College of Business

Many Thanks from the Science Olympiad

On behalf of the Science Olympiad community, coaches and staff, we thank you all for your support and volunteer efforts in making this past Science Olympiad a tremendous success. What you may not realize as you're busy "working the trenches," is how impactful your efforts truly are to these up-and-coming scientists. Your contribution to the university is equally commendable as this is, for many of the participants, their first "college experience;" you have surely made it memorable. Thanks so very much to our army of volunteers - you are awesome. A very special shoutout to the administration, faculty, staff, Facilities, Admissions, Athletics, Conference Services, Information Technology, Student Services, University Marketing and Human Resources.

Science Olympiad

5K Run and Walk

The campus community is invited to stop in, join the fun and take on the challenge. Lace up for our "5K Run and Walk." We will meet 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, Andre Reed Stadium track; all levels are welcome. The benefits of exercise include boosting brain function and performance and acting as a powerful stress reliever. We invite the campus community to participate.

Frances C. Cortez Funk, Health and Wellness Services

Bloody Throats and Melting Skin, The 2025 Esther Willits Lecture

The Department of History presents our biennial Esther Willits Lecture Series with "Bloody Throats and Melting Skin: The (Sometimes) Violent Debate between Antitoxin and Vaccination in Pennsylvania, 1905-08," at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3, 102 Academic Forum. Our featured speaker is Dr. James Higgins, executive director of the Lehigh County Historical Society and Museum. In 1905, the Pennsylvania Department of Health initiated campaigns to treat people, especially children, infected with tetanus or diphtheria with an antitoxin. Within a year, thousands of people had been treated with antitoxin, the mortality rate of both diseases cut in half and hundreds of lives saved. At the same time, the department's efforts to vaccinate children against the deadliest disease in human history, smallpox, were met with fierce resistance. Higgins' lecture explores the ghastly symptoms of these diseases and why the public was willing to have a cure (antitoxin) shot in their arm, but often remained unwilling to accept a preventive vaccination against smallpox, a disease even worse than tetanus or diphtheria. This lecture will explore the intersection of biology, public health, political will and public discourse and, though rooted in the past, the topic is timely in a world facing numerous microbial threats as record numbers of Americans assail science and the efficacy of vaccines. Higgins is a historian of medicine, has researched, lectured and published extensively on the subject of infectious disease in the pre-antibiotic era and has published two books. His latest book, “The War Against Tuberculosis: Samuel G. Dixon and the Rise of Modern Public Health in Pennsylvania,” published in 2025 forms the basis for his lecture. He was an adjunct professor in the history department from 2009-12.

History Department

John Stanley, Interim Chair, History

APSCUF/APSCURF Student Scholarship

The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties at Kutztown University will grant two $500 scholarships and The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Retired Faculties will grant two $350 scholarships to undergraduate students returning for fall 2025. Recipients of the scholarships will be determined on the basis of their participation in campus service and solidarity activities as well as academic record. Please encourage your students to apply. Deadline to apply is Friday, April 25.

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Andrew Mashintonio, APSCUF Student Liaison Committee