Daily Brief

Open Hour with Provost

Faculty, staff and students are invited to drop by and chat with Dr. Lorin Basden Arnold, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, during her open office hour 2 p.m. Thursday, March 5, 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.

Office of the Provost

Anne Imschweiler, Provost Office/Academic Affairs

Student Commencement Speakers

Commencement Speaker applications are being accepted from graduate and undergraduate students graduating this spring. The application deadline is Friday, March 13. Please direct any interested student to the commencement website for more information and to apply.

University Relations

ACUE's Fostering a Culture of Belonging Course

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) have partnered to bring faculty and staff high-quality and research-backed professional learning courses. Through an engaging learning design and guided by expert facilitation, course takers will learn practices that can be implemented with students right away. These evidence-based practices have been shown to increase student retention, strengthen belonging and achievement and close equity gaps. ACUE's summer course "Fostering a Culture of Belonging," will examine the following modules: Managing the Impact of Biases; Reducing Microaggressions; Addressing Imposter Phenomenon and Stereotype Threat; Cultivating an Inclusive Environment. Summer 2026 registration is open until Friday, May 29. The course runs Monday, June 15 to Sunday, Aug. 16. All ACUE courses are asynchronous.

Registration

Jerry Schearer, Diversity and Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer

Join the CEL for Kaffee und Kuchen

Join us 2-3 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, Center for Engaged Learning (CEL), 6 Rohrbach, for some coffee, tea, cookies and lively afternoon discussions. If you can't make it, the next meeting is noon to 1 p.m. Friday, April 10, CEL.

CEL Programs and Events

Center for Engaged Learning

Deadline Approaching for UGRC Faculty Mentorship Award Nominations

The March 15 nomination deadline is approaching for the annual Undergraduate Research and Creativity (UGRC) Faculty Mentorship Awards. Each year, there can be up to four faculty recipients granting $500 in professional development funds. You may nominate yourself or a colleague by filling out the UGRC Faculty Mentorship Award 2026 form. The twofold purpose of the awards is to raise awareness of all the outstanding undergraduate research that is taking place on campus and beyond, whether in local forests or streams, or much farther away, and to reward, recognize and celebrate these impressive achievements. New as of 2025 is the Emerging Mentor Award. This category is intended for early career faculty who have demonstrated exemplary work with undergraduate researchers or a faculty member who is new to the area of UGRC mentorship. The awards recognize excellence in faculty engagement with undergraduate researchers and are sponsored by Kutztown University's Undergraduate Research and Creativity Faculty Advisory Board and the Office of Grants and Sponsored Projects. Recipients will be notified the beginning of April and honored as part of the Chambliss Awards Ceremony Friday, April 24. See information and a list of past recipients online.

Lynn M Kutch, Undergraduate Research and Creativity

CEL Tarot of Teaching, Part 7: Concept Mapping

The latest Tarot of Teaching post explores concept mapping as a powerful, low-tech strategy for helping students connect ideas, organize knowledge and deepen understanding. Grounded in cognitive science, concept mapping supports elaboration, integration with prior knowledge and long-term retention. Whether used for a single class session or across an entire semester, this adaptable technique promotes individual meaning-making while strengthening classroom community. Explore how a blank sheet of paper can transform how students see, structure and grow their learning. Be sure to catch up on all our previous articles in the CEL Online Journal.

Center for Engaged Learning

Center for Engaged Learning