Daily Brief

1866 Giving Challenge

It's time to rally, Golden Bears! The 1866 Giving Challenge is officially underway, with more than 130 teams participating. We're inviting KU faculty and staff to join alumni, friends and supporters for 1,866 minutes of exciting giving opportunities. Every day, you see firsthand the difference that scholarships, academic programs, athletics, experiential learning and student organizations make in the lives of our students. Now's your chance to help create even more golden opportunities. The Challenge began today at 7 a.m., with incentivized giving opportunities continuing through Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 2:06 p.m. Make your gift and support what matters most to you!

1866 Giving Challenge

KU Foundation

Amber Leidy Recognized as a Golden TEAMmate

Please join the Office of Human Resources in congratulating Amber Leidy, Disability Services, for being named the inaugural Golden TEAMmate as part of Kutztown University's Golden TEAMmate Recognition Program. The Golden TEAMmate Recognition Program celebrates employees who exemplify our "TEAM KU" values by recognizing an employee whose actions inspire others, strengthen our community and help make Kutztown University an exceptional place to work and learn. Recognize a Golden TEAMmate today.
TEAM categories:
- Teamwork: Working together, supporting one another and collaborating across campus to serve KU students, faculty and staff.
- Empathy: Listening with understanding, valuing diverse perspectives and treating others with compassion and respect.
- Accountability: Taking ownership, acting with integrity and striving for excellence in everything we do.
- Making a Difference: Going above and beyond to create a positive impact on KU students, faculty and staff.

Golden TEAMmate Nomination Form

Human Resources

Counselor Education Strengthens Professional and Community Connections

KU's Counselor Education programs welcomed 80 counseling professionals and community partners Friday, Oct. 9, for "Ethical and Effective Supervision," a continuing education program focused on meaningful documentation, professional boundaries and repairing ruptures in supervisory relationships. With participation exceeding expectations, the event gave KU an important opportunity to support the counseling workforce's ongoing professional development while strengthening connections with practitioners across the region. After the program, Counselor Education hosted its Advisory Council, bringing alumni and community partners together to help inform the programs' future direction and maintain strong connections to the profession's evolving needs. Together, the two events demonstrate the College of Education's commitment to workforce development, community engagement and reciprocal partnerships that keep KU connected to the professionals and communities we serve.

Rebecca West Burns, College of Education

Celebrate Financial Aid Day

Colleges and universities across the country will celebrate Financial Aid Day Wednesday, Oct. 21, recognizing the dedicated professionals who help students and families navigate the financial aid process and achieve their educational goals. At Kutztown University, our Financial Aid Services (FAS) team is small but mighty. Our nine staff members work tirelessly behind the scenes to support students, answer questions, solve problems and help make higher education accessible and affordable. As we celebrate Financial Aid Day, please join me in recognizing and thanking our team for their commitment and care. You can send a note of appreciation directly to a Financial Aid Services team member or stop by our office at 209 Stratton and add a Post-it note to our FAS Appreciation Window. Thank you for helping us celebrate the individuals whose work makes a meaningful difference in the lives of our students every day.

Leida Nieves, Financial Aid Services

PASSHE Women's Consortium Annual Conference

This year's annual PASSHE Women's Consortium conference is Friday, Oct. 23, Zoom. "Rooted in Community: Leading with Intention and Resilience" will focus on resilience, intentionality and community-building by calling us together to celebrate our strength, prioritize well-being and unite in shared and complementary purposes. Through engaging sessions, meaningful dialogue and opportunities to network with faculty, staff, administrators and students from across PASSHE, we remain committed to exploring how community-building remains at the very core of resilience for those who teach, learn, lead and service with higher education. Whether you are seeking practical tools, fresh perspectives or community, this conference is designed to uplift, empower and energize.

Register

Marlene Nanouh Fares, PASSHE Women's Consortium

Feed the Bears

Join the KU Foundation Thursday, Oct. 22, as we collect donations for the KU Food Pantry. Stop by the Wiesenberger Alumni Center between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and drop off your donations. Avalanche will be waiting on the front porch, keeping a watchful eye on the donation bin. Let's come together as Golden Bears to tackle food insecurity and make sure no Bear goes hungry.

KU Foundation

Shared Governance

Hello from the Shared Governance Task Force. Our charge is to research and analyze shared governance practices, both best practices and current systems and procedures at KU. This takes place every five years at the university. The task force developed a survey to provide a way for the university community to add their voices to this process. Everyone at the university, whether or not you have ever been involved in shared governance, is encouraged to participate. Please take the survey by Tuesday, Oct. 27. Participation is anonymous. Survey on Shared Governance at Kutztown University (2026-2027)

Krista Prock, Shared Governance Task Force

Leadership in Action Series: Navigating Conflict Before It Escalates

Join the Office of Human Resources 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, 250 MSU, for an interactive, in-person session on identifying the root causes of workplace conflict and learning practical tools to navigate challenging situations with our guest speaker, Dr. Deborah Kidder, dean of the College of Business. Discover strategies to foster stronger, more collaborative teams and create a more positive workplace interaction.

Register

Human Resources

Rohrbach Lighting Replacement

Over the next several weeks, Facilities will be replacing fluorescent T8 bulbs with new LED tube lights in Rohrbach Library. Due to a First Energy incentive program, we were able to purchase the LED lights for $1 per bulb. The annual cost savings will be approximately $10 per bulb. Last weekend, a Facilities team replaced 750 lights in the library. This work will be done at times when it will have little to no impact on folks using the library. Our initial purchase was for 2,000 bulbs. We will continue with this program as long as the incentive lasts. Once done with the library, the next building we will work through will be Stratton, hopefully over winter break.

William Meeker, Facilities

Midterm Progress Survey Oct. 20-29

Faculty, thank you for your continued support of student success. The Fall 2026 Midterm Progress Survey will be available in Starfish from Tuesday, Oct. 20, through Thursday, Oct. 29. This survey provides an opportunity to support and motivate students by raising flags for those experiencing academic challenges and sending kudos to recognize student success. Both flag and kudos messages can be personalized with additional comments. Students receive an email and a notification on their Starfish dashboard directing them to appropriate resources. All message templates are available in Starfish D2L. If you have questions, join a Starfish Drop-In Session, email starfish@kutztown.edu, or call 610-683-4106.

Center for Student Success and Academic Excellence

Starfish Drop-In Sessions

Join us for Starfish drop-in sessions 3-3:30 p.m. Tuesdays and 11-11:30 a.m. Thursdays, via Zoom, through October. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Starfish, ask questions, get help or explore features and functionality. Please contact starfish@kutztown.edu or x3-4106 if you are unable to attend a scheduled session.
Upcoming topics:
- Tuesday, Oct. 20 - Faculty Progress Surveys
- Thursday, Oct. 22 - Faculty Progress Surveys
- Tuesday, Oct. 27 - Faculty Progress Surveys
- Thursday, Oct. 29 - Open Discussion

Center for Student Success and Academic Excellence

Speaker: Writing Assignments in the Age of AI

Dr. Scott Warnock of Drexel University will lead a workshop 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, 103 Academic Forum, "Writing Pedagogy and the Challenges of AI: Built for This Moment?" With the pervasive use of AI apps and tools, instructors in all fields and at all levels have voiced frustration and sometimes despondency about the challenges of having students create authentic, meaningful coursework. In this workshop, we will examine how long-standing strategies fundamental to good writing instruction can be used across the disciplines to help us develop and encourage such authentic thinking and learning with our students. We will discuss emphasizing process-oriented assignments and lessons; using peer review and collaboration with those assignments; incorporating informal/low-stakes writing, regardless of discipline, including metawriting and reflection; and utilizing digital tools in constructive, learning-centered ways. Well-established practices of the writing instructional classroom are, perhaps surprisingly, well equipped to help all teachers avoid falling into a policing role in this fast-changing new learning environment. Faculty across disciplines are invited.

Laurie McMillan, Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Ed.D. Student to Present Poster at CPED Convening

Lorena P. Bravo, a doctoral student in Kutztown University's Ed.D. in Transformational Teaching and Learning, will present a poster at the 2026 Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Convening, hosted by Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. The poster presents her proposed dissertation study on how Hispanic and Latino entrepreneurs access and experience business support and the role cultural humility plays in whether they seek and return to it. The poster session is 3:45-4:45 p.m. CDT Tuesday, Oct. 27, Omni Corpus Christi Hotel, Corpus Christi, Texas. The convening runs Oct. 27-30 with the theme "El Futuro Tiene Memoria (The Future Has Memory)."

Catherine McGeenhan, College of Education, Ed.D. program