Daily Brief

KU Students are Back from Alternative Spring Break

Last week, 14 KU students chose to spend their spring break doing service work in Nashville on our annual Alternative Spring Break trip. Follow the Community Outreach Center on Instagram for highlights from their trip.

Amanda Garcia, Community Outreach Center

Condolences

The university community mourns the loss of Dr. Robert Martin, who passed away Monday, March 23. Martin served KU's geography department for 30 years (1984-2014), including nearly 20 years as chair. Further information can be found online.

University Relations

Closing My Final Ticket

As I get ready to head into retirement, I just wanted to send a quick note to say thank you. It’s been a great run and I’ve really appreciated the chance to work with so many of you over the years. You may feel like I’ve helped you out here and there and hopefully I did, but honestly, you’ve helped me just as much. Every ticket, question, and "something’s not working" moment taught me something new and helped me grow along the way. Thanks for trusting me, working with me and for all the interactions, both the smooth ones and the not-so-smooth ones. I’ll definitely miss it more than I probably expect. Wishing you all the best moving forward, and hopefully our paths cross again sometime. Take care.

Louis Rivera, Information Technology

Grounds for Celebration: Coffee with a Cop This Morning

Kickstart your morning with a caffeine boost and some community connection. Join the Division of Student Affairs and Public Safety for Coffee with a Cop 7:30-10 a.m. today, Thursday, March 26, Old Main Concourse. We're serving up free coffee and donut holes to fuel your day, plus a chance to spin our prize wheel for some sweet coffee-themed giveaways. Whether you have serious questions about campus safety, want to learn more about their work, or just need a friendly chat before your first meeting, we'd love to see you there. Come for the brew, stay for the crew and let's make it a latte fun.

Student Affairs

Ingeniux CMS Accessibility Training

Accessibility is not a feature; it is the foundation of an inclusive web. Ingeniux CMS Accessibility Training will take place 10 a.m. Tuesdays, and 1 p.m. Thursdays, 200 Stratton. This training introduces key principles and practices to help ensure your website content is accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. You’ll learn how accessibility strengthens usability, supports legal and ethical responsibilities and creates better experiences for all users. This training is for anyone working in the Ingeniux content management system. Registration is required for this training.

Kelly Smith, Marketing and Communications

Planetarium Show Tonight - Planet Nine: The Search is On

Join us for "Planet Nine: The Search is On" 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 26, Planetarium. Journey to the icy outskirts of our solar system in "Planet Nine," a planetarium show that follows the search for a hidden giant beyond Neptune. From the discoveries of Pluto, Eris and other distant worlds to the tantalizing orbital clues that suggest an unseen planet, Caltech astronomer Mike Brown and his team take us to mountaintop observatories in their quest to find the elusive "Planet Nine." The program at KU's planetarium includes a short introduction to the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory, whose sweeping sky survey may soon reveal this mysterious world. This show is free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served and the doors will open at 6 p.m. This event includes an optional tour of the astronomical research observatory and, if the weather is good, telescope views of Jupiter and the moon.

Planetarium

Phill Reed, Physical Sciences, Planetarium and Observatory

Accepted Student Day

Come one, come all to Accepted Student Day, hosted by Undergraduate Admissions, Saturday, March 28. The reception will begin in O'Pake Fieldhouse, where families can ask questions at our Student Services Fair, as well as the Faculty Marketplace in the Student Recreation Center. Also present in the Fieldhouse will be games and catering for guests. Following the reception, prospective students and their families are encouraged to explore campus and have fun, especially in the MSU. The event will run 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Accepted Student Day regularly attracts hundreds of prospective students and their families. Any student who is ready to commit to attending KU can pay their deposit with admissions representatives at the event.

Undergraduate Admissions

March Madness Golden Bracket Challenge Update

After the first weekend of the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, here are the leaders for the March Madness Golden Bracket Challenge:
Men's Bracket
First Place: Mandy Xu
Second Place (tied): Shena Hesselbein, Elisabeth Manwiller, Justin Soumas, and Kelly Hojnacki
Women's Bracket
First Place: Elisabeth Manwiller
Second Place (tied): Mike Egan, Laura Fenimore, and Justin Soumas
Thank you to everyone who has participated in the Golden Bracket Challenge. We will provide another update after this weekend's games.

Human Resources

Epilepsy Association Presentation on Seizure Recognition, Treatment and PNES

The National Alliance on Mental Illness, Kutztown University Chapter (NAMI KU) is hosting Sarah Kuhns from the Epilepsy Association of Western and Central PA as their spring guest speaker 3:30 p.m. Monday, March 30, 101 Academic Forum. Kuhns will present an overview of epilepsy and seizures, including seizure recognition and first aid, treatments for epilepsy, the impact epilepsy has on learning and an introduction to Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES). The presentation will last approximately one hour and 15 minutes. Students, faculty, staff and community members are encouraged to attend. If you wish to obtain Act 48 credits for this presentation, please bring your PPID number. Registration is required.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness Kutztown University Chapter

Patricia Ann Brenner, NAMI KU

Dissertation Defense for Heather Stay

Please join the College of Education 11 a.m. Monday, March 30, 215 Beekey, for a public dissertation defense by Heather Stay, "We Need to do Better: Exploring Educators' Perspectives of Transformative, Trauma-Informed Social-Emotional Learning." The dissertation chair is Dr. Amber Pabon and the committee members are Dr. Christopher Weiler and Dr. Tabetha Bernstein-Danis.

Catherine McGeehan, College of Education, Ed.D. Program

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 are busy "working the trenches" is just how impactful your efforts truly are to these up-and-coming scientists. Your contribution to our university is equally commendable. For many students, this is 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 shout-out to the administration, faculty, staff, Facilities, Admissions, Athletics, Cinema, Television and Media Production, Conference Services, Information Technology, Student Services, University Marketing and Human Resources.

Science Olympiad

Joann Monko, Central East Pennsylvania Science Olympiad

University Senate Meeting

The next University Senate meeting is 4 p.m. Thursday, April 2, 202 Academic Forum. The agenda can be found on the University Senate website. Minutes and documentation are available in the April 2026 SharePoint folder. Please email any Senate representative changes to senate@kutztown.edu.

Lisa Frye, University Senate President

2027 Chambliss Faculty Research Award: Call for Nominations

We invite you to submit nominations for the 2027 Chambliss Faculty Research Award. The Chambliss Faculty Research Award, inaugurated in 2004 through a gift from Dr. Carlson R. Chambliss, recognizes the very highest achievement in research and scholarship. Every year, up to two awards can be given. Each award includes a medal engraved with the awardee’s name, a certificate of recognition and a cash prize of $250. Please note that there is the expectation that each awardee will present a lecture on some aspect of their work in Spring 2027 or Fall 2027. To recommend a colleague or to self-nominate, please send a letter of nomination and a curriculum vitae for the nominee to Karen Rauch, chair, Chambliss Faculty Research Award Selection Committee, by Friday, April 3. All materials should be submitted electronically to rauch@kutztown.edu.

Karen Rauch, Office of the Provost

CEL Professional Learning Opportunity for Faculty

The Center for Engaged Learning (CEL) invites faculty to apply for a professional development opportunity focusing on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL focuses on designing learning environments and curricula by anticipating variability and proactively reducing barriers to access and engagement. Participants will complete an asynchronous course from Monday, June 1 through Friday, June 12, that introduces the foundations of UDL, then apply these principles in a selected future course by developing, implementing and assessing an inclusive teaching approach. The intended outcome is a deliberately designed learning environment that fosters rigorous, meaningful learning and supports students’ growth as purposeful, motivated learners. Five participants will be allotted $300 of professional development funding for time spent completing the training, attending a mandatory Zoom meeting to discuss how they plan to implement UDL in their course(s) and writing a short article for the CEL online journal. Proposals are due Monday, April 20. For more information, visit our Basics of UDL page. Please note that this is a repeat of the 2023-25 courses. Those who have already completed the Basics of UDL summer or winter course offerings in previous years are not eligible for the professional development funding award.

Center for Engaged Learning Events

Center for Engaged Learning