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“This is going to be a long road ahead,” APSCUF President Dr. Jamie Martin said about university consolidations during an August episode of “Behind the Headlines.” “The vote by the board in July was the first step of many. We still have a lot of unanswered questions about accreditation, questions about the NCAA decision to allow sports or athletic teams at all six campuses, questions about curriculum, and a lot of questions about exactly how this will look at the end of the day. And so this should be an iterative process. And as we get answers to some of these questions, there could be modifications to the original plan — or changes to it. So we’re carefully watching … We also have a collective bargaining agreement, and so we’ve got to work through that process and determine how that will look whenever we have a new university that’s three campuses but one president, one accreditation, those kinds of issues.”

Martin also discussed COVID-19 and the return to the fall semester.

“We had advocated for this strongly through our meet-and-discuss processes that there should be, at the very least, a mask mandate,” she said. “And so we’re happy to see that all 14 universities have done that … We would certainly support and advocate for a vaccine mandate.”

Click here to watch the complete interview with The Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy program.

Click here to read Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s statement encouraging COVID vaccination. Martin is among the union leaders who signed the message.

Click here to read about the State System and COVID-19 vaccines in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Kutztown University student Melissa Stough interned with APSCUF’s government-and-communications department this summer. Click here to learn more about future APSCUF internships.

I must admit that, as a new transfer student from a private university, I had no concept of faculty unions or what purposes they served beyond the faculty. However, when I noticed APSCUF’s focus on social justice, equitable education and worker solidarity, that message resonated more than any other internship posting I explored. Public relations and government relations: How could an internship get any better than that? Upon meeting Sean and Kathryn, APSCUF staff members, in the interview, I knew I needed this internship.

As an English major with a determined interest in social justice and activism, I wanted the experience of collaborating with academic professionals and policy-makers. I threw myself into learning everything about the State System redesign plans, and I recognized the importance of sharing information and making details accessible to all affected parties. APSCUF helped me recover my passion for public speaking and speech writing through the Nellie Bly press conference and the public hearings on consolidation. From transcribing videos, researching student debt and writing profiles, I feel the opportunities in this internship dwarf other experiences in my college career.

There are so many compassionate, talented individuals working at APSCUF, and I have to agree with former intern Kyle Bower when he wrote that APSCUF is a “lovable group that nurtured my (his) development.” I couldn’t agree more. Jamie, Kathryn, Sean,Ty, Bim, Chris, Mary Rita, Beth, Chabria, Katie and every single person at the State APSCUF office all truly care. Each of these State APSCUF employees contribute to the mission of APSCUF. From meeting these individuals, I learned about leadership, communication, politics, administration, retirement benefits, research, arbitration, finances, labor relations and planning. As an intern, you are granted a place in this incredible community. Yes, meeting senators and representatives is exciting; however, meeting individuals with the wealth of knowledge that APSCUF staff possess is absolutely unrivaled.

I will never forget the knowledge I gained from current APSCUF and APSCURF members, and I will promote the importance of unions, which are integral to the success of individuals and their communities. President Jamie Martin exemplified the qualities of leadership, which all organizers can only hope to demonstrate, and for that I am incredibly grateful. Kathryn and Sean expanded my view of higher education and public policy, and they encouraged me to explore so many options I never viewed as possible prior to meeting them. Their guidance elevated my professional experience to a different level, and Pixel, Kathryn’s cat and the APSCUF mascot, filled my heart with joy every time she joined a remote meeting.

Beyond the sappy goodbyes and my heartfelt thanks for their advice, I discovered a deeper message that all State System students should hear at some point in their college career. Regardless of your major, or what people may say about your desired career path, the APSCUF internship taught me to utilize the skills I have and how I can apply them to a diverse range of situations. If you do not apply to this internship, you are doing yourself a disservice.

Forever humbled by the work of everyone at APSCUF,

—Melissa Stough,
APSCUF intern

As required by Act 50 of 2020, Chancellor Daniel Greenstein updated legislators about Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s consolidation plans at a joint House appropriation- and education-committee hearing today. Click here to view full hearing footage. Read APSCUF’s collated tweets from the hearing below:

As required by Act 50 of 2020, Chancellor Daniel Greenstein updated legislators about Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s consolidation plans at a joint Senate appropriation- and education-committee hearing today. Click here to view full hearing footage. Read APSCUF’s collated tweets from the hearing below:

Michelle Jones-Wilson studied the letter in her hand; she read that she was to be retrenched. It was 2013, 13 years after she joined APSCUF, and she discovered how much people cared about fellow APSCUF members and colleagues, she said.

Michelle Jones-Wilson is an APSCUF officer-at-large. Photo courtesy of Michelle Jones-Wilson

“I think that (receiving a letter) made me realize what was involved in saving peoples’ jobs,” Jones-Wilson said. “I got a real window into the dedication of other people. It wasn’t their job. They didn’t have letters. But they fought as hard as if it was (for) their letters.”

After working with her colleagues to save her job and others, Jones-Wilson, a professor at East Stroudsburg University in chemistry and biochemistry, remains active in the ESU chapter of APSCUF. In April, she was elected an officer-at-large for State APSCUF.

“Dr. Jones-Wilson is one of the most energetic professors at ESU and a dynamic supporter of APSCUF … She is currently also chair of chemistry, and she has been a member of a grant team that secured a National Science Foundation grant that helps recruit community college students into our STEM field majors,” Nancy VanArsdale, president of the APSCUF ESU chapter, said. “She is an absolutely terrific role model for so many of our women STEM majors, too.”

As a first-generation college student and a scientific analyst, Jones-Wilson said she wanted to work at a Pennsylvania State System university to help students succeed. She said APSCUF is a part of her identity that cannot be separated from her work as a professor and said that APSCUF assists her in the classroom.

“It is across the board, treating everyone the same — supporting everyone no matter their background, equitably and with a fair playing field with everyone,” she said.

Fellow ESU faculty member Andrea McClanahan highlighted the positive traits Jones-Wilson brings to APSCUF.

“I always viewed Michelle as a leader — even without the titles,” McClanahan said. “She has always had a power of conviction when it comes to justice and making sure that people are treated fairly.”

Jones-Wilson said she hopes to be seen as “determined” and “fair.”

“I find justice to be extremely important,” she said.

Jones-Wilson said she also values solidarity in APSCUF. Her positions in APSCUF include local mobilization chair, member of the local meet-and-discuss, local delegate, local secretary, state arrangements chair and now as a state officer-at-large.

“Michelle is a true leader who keeps our chapter informed and updated,” VanArsdale wrote in an email. “I consider her a wonderful friend, and I so admire how she is a fabulous mother who is raising two amazing sons.”

APSCUF, to Jones-Wilson, is like an extended family, she said. Over the years, Jones-Wilson established herself as a member of local and State APSCUF groups, and she said she continues to notice the changes in APSCUF leadership and structure. There are more challenges than ever, and although many aspects of APSCUF have changed socially, APSCUF’s mission remains the same, she said.

“People really care,” Jones-Wilson said. “They (APSCUF and its members) try to support and make things right, even though the funds and resources and energy are out of proportion to faculty. That is how it should be. It doesn’t matter, because at some point it could be your school that needs your support.”

Amid the plans for State System redesign, Jones-Wilson said she wants to contribute her support for public higher education funding and hopes to make a difference.

Jones-Wilson enjoys a variety of activities beyond her APSCUF service and research on STEM student-performance levels. She practices indoor hobbies such as sewing and outdoor recreational activities such as kayaking and bicycle riding.

—Melissa Stough,
APSCUF intern