Daily Brief

The 21st-Century Artist: Engaging the Community

Grammy award-winning cellist and TED Talk presenter, Zuill Bailey, will give a lecture on the role of today's artist in the community at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 1, Wells-Rapp Center for Mallet Percussion Research, for discussions on audience building and the development of successful outreach programs. This talk is especially important for all music students, as it directly addresses the challenges facing classical music in the 21st century and offers an action-oriented response. A discussion will follow. Open to all.

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Maya Strava Kokkinou , Music

Communication Design Students Win Advertising Awards

Eleven students, associate professor Dannell MacIlwraith and associate professor Summer Doll-Myers attended the American Advertising Awards Thursday, March 13, at Cedar Crest College in Allentown. Communication Design students received 20 awards, including Best in Show, five Gold and 14 Silver Awards. All gold Addy winners will automatically be entered into the national Addy Awards.

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Dannell MacIlwraith, Art and Design

Pocono Mountain High Schools Visit KU

The Department of Special Education hosted Pocono Mountain East and West High School students and their faculty Tuesday, March 25, for a day of immersion in the College of Education experience at Kutztown University. This event marks the second such visit this academic year and the third visit overall from the Pocono Mountain High Schools to KU. Over the past year and a half, Dr. Tabetha Bernstein-Danis and Dr. Nicole Johnson in the special education department, transition coordinators Ms. Sarah Garofalo and Ms. Rhiannon Gaus of Pocono Mountain East and West High School (respectively), Dr. Marsha Kloss, Pocono Mountain School District, supervisor of special education, and Dr. Bartek, Colonial Intermediate Unit 20, assistant to the executive director for student services, have collaborated to build a partnership between the district and the university to recruit and prepare future special educators. Next school year, high school seniors interested in joining us at KU the following year will participate in a mentorship program that will entail being paired with a KU special education major and engaging in regular virtual meetings around topics important to aspiring special educators, joining their mentor for a "shadow day" on campus and participating in the introductory special education course as part of the Early College Academy in COE in Spring 2026. We look forward to our continued exciting collaborative work.

Tabetha D. Bernstein-Danis, Special Education

President's Open Hour

Faculty, staff and students are invited to stop by with President Hawkinson during his open hour at 4 p.m. Monday, April 7, 301 Stratton Administration Center (note time change). President Hawkinson welcomes your thoughts, concerns and suggestions regarding KU. If you are planning to stop by, please call the Office of the President at 610-683-4101 to RSVP.

Office of the President

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

Friend Inc.'s 35th Annual Auction

Going once, going twice, it's Friend, Inc.'s 35th Annual Charity Auction at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 3. The auction is live as well as online. Tickets are on sale, grab some friends and join the fun. There will be catered food, drinks, live music and delectable desserts up for bid. To register, buy tickets and for more info, visit www.friendinc.org. For more than 40 years, Friend, Inc. Community Services is a social support organization which works tirelessly to reduce food insecurity and other household economic pressures on families throughout rural northeast Berks County. Friend, Inc. also hosts a satellite location just off campus that serves more than 250-300 KU students weekly.

Friend, Inc.

Amanda Garcia, Community Outreach Center

Temporary Faculty Committee Office Hours

The Temporary Faculty Committee will hold a series of open office hours throughout the semester. These are for temporary faculty to consult with union representatives about any issue they might need help navigating. Michael Covello will be available in his office 2:45-3:45 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, 7G Sharadin and via Zoom. Please feel free to stop by if you need to talk.

Zoom

Michael Covello, Temporary Faculty Committee/APSCUF

Starfish Midterm Progress Survey Available

The Spring 2025 Midterm Progress Survey is available for faculty in Starfish through Thursday, April 3. Faculty are encouraged to use the survey to send kudos to students to acknowledge  good work, reinforce positive habits and encourage students to finish strong this semester. Faculty can also raise flags of concern for students to indicate a danger of failing, a recommendation to withdraw or a specific academic concern. An important feature of this survey is the ability to indicate if a student has stopped attending (with the date of last attendance entered in the comment field). Every kudos and flag template has the option to add custom content; two options are completely customizable. All message templates can be viewed in Starfish D2L. Please email starfish@kutztown.edu, call 610-683-4106 or attend a Starfish drop-in training session.

Nancy Brynildsen, Center for Student Success and Academic Excellence

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

KU in Mexico Study Abroad

Kutztown University and West Chester University students recently returned from studying abroad, visiting sites in Mexico City, Teotihuacán, Cuernavaca, Tepotzlán and Amatlán de Quetzalcóatl. With an emphasis on indigenous perspectives and experiences, the students heard from scholars and individuals impacted by forces of globalization and development over centuries to the present day. The study abroad participants clearly resonated with the message of power and solidarity found in community building.

Jennifer Schlegel, Anthropology and Sociology