Blog

Kutztown University student Melissa Stough will intern remotely with APSCUF’s government-and-communications department through August. Click here to learn more about future APSCUF internships.

My name is Melissa Stough, and I am a senior at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. I am studying English with accompanying minors in sociology and women’s, gender and sexuality studies.

The opportunity to work as APSCUF’s communications and government-relations summer intern is incredibly important to me as a transfer student from private higher education to public education. APSCUF embodies what I believe higher education should be, which is student-focused and filled with accessible resources. My experiences led me to state institutions, and I could not be happier with my involvement at Kutztown University.

My passion for students lies in my focus on students’ rights and an affordable, equitable approach to education. I am incredibly drawn toward human rights in education, such as LGBTQ+ protections, racial justice and disability rights. I will be pursuing a master’s in a field that will allow me to further connect with students and educators via the local, state and federal levels.

I hope to learn more about higher education and government relations to channel my passions into change, wherever the future takes me.

—Melissa Stough,
APSCUF intern

APSCUF is collecting stories from retrenched faculty members to spread awareness about the effect of such cuts and to put human faces on the numbers. Thank you to those members who have shared their experiences. (Click here to read previous testimonies.) Members: To participate in this project, email Kathryn Morton, APSCUF communications director, at .

To learn more about retrenchment, click here.

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Retrenchment. What does it mean to a university or the impacted individuals? At my university, there are some in the management area who seem to think it has limited to no impact on individuals. In reality, it can affect not only income and healthcare, force retirement decisions and lead to loss of aspects of one’s identity. It is the change from working person to nonworking or work-seeking individual or transitioning to retirement.

For my university, it means so much more. Cheyney already has by far the smallest faculty among the 14 State System universities, and, with the retrenchment of the last two library faculty members, no future student will have on-campus, physical assistance with information-seeking and research needs. The door of the Leslie Pinckney Hill Library building has been locked since Jan 25, 2020, and now there are no library faculty members to reply to any requests from students, faculty or staff.

Since 1853, the former Institute for Colored Youth had either a reading room or library. The Quaker Board and the early leaders of the educational institution understood the value of a library. Libraries open the doors to new ideas, new thoughts, new information needs as well as to learning how any given discipline grows and evolves its theories and guiding principles. Change is ever present and constant in all aspects of human endeavor; the library provides a means to locate vetted information and to fact check what is reported by various outlets.

For myself, it is sad to observe that the university I joined 23.5 years ago seems worse off than it did when I arrived: fewer faculty, fewer majors, fewer students and no sports or student newspaper or broadcast station.

Throughout the state, there may be those who believe it is good to have fewer faculty, that working-class students, marginalized students or all of the students who choose System universities do not need the full resources of a library or the full extracurricular programs that add to the college experience.

For me, as I have told others, retrenchment is an indication of managers not being able to manage well, to plan well, to live up to the college experience purported to be present at an educational institution or to recruit with integrity. So I hope that all of us who are being retrenched and have been retrenched will understand any ensuing damage comes from managerial decisions. This and any retrenchment is more a result of lack of interest in and poor stewardship by those selected to manage the universities of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.

—Dr. B.J. Mullaney,
Cheyney University APSCUF chapter president

APSCUF file photo

APSCUF is collecting stories from retrenched faculty members to spread awareness about the effect of such cuts and to put human faces on the numbers. Thank you to these members for sharing their experiences. Members: To participate in this project, email Kathryn Morton, APSCUF communications director, at .

To learn more about retrenchment, click here.

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I have invested nine years of my life and career at Edinboro, and because of custodial reasons (my kids Anna and William), I cannot leave this area. I have spent my entire career (over 20 years) as a math professor, and it was a profoundly sad day this May when I taught my last class at Edinboro University. It is not unlikely that my kids and I will lose the house we are in as a result of this. I am sure there is a way for the university to attain financial stability without hurting people like me and my family. I have worked hard and taught my students to the best of my abilities. I feel betrayed!
—Dr. Larry Downey,
Edinboro University faculty member

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IUP’s president retrenched all four faculty in the journalism and public relations department but is still offering the major and minor in the communications media department. Students who believe they are majoring in JRNL and PR will not be offered any writing intensive JRNL or PR courses. There are no JRNL courses on the summer or fall 2021 schedules. JRNL students will be directed to take media production, media marketing and media studies courses. It’s unethical and unfair to mislead our students this way. If IUP can’t afford to offer the journalism and PR program with qualified faculty, they should not offer it at all. This is a bait-and-switch scam to current students and an outright lie to incoming freshmen. Continuing this charade will also eventually devalue the JRNL degree for the alumni who hold it.
—Dr. Michele Papakie,
Indiana University of Pennsylvania faculty member

Photos courtesy of Larry Downey and Michele Papakie.

Edinboro APSCUF Chapter President Dr. Sam Claster and Edinboro Professor Emeritus Dr. Mary Jo Campbell were among today’s panelists at a Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus policy committee hearing about university consolidation. Click here to watch hearing footage. APSCUF live-tweeted the hearing, and the collated tweets are below.

The hearing comprised four panels:

Panel 1: 

• Dr. Sam Claster, chapter president of Edinboro APSCUF
• Lydia Laythe, Washington Township councilperson and Edinboro University alum
• Dr. Mary Jo Campbell, chapter president of Edinboro APSCURF and professor emeritus

Panel 2: 

• Ross Brumagin, president of AFSCME Local 2329, Edinboro University high-voltage electrician
• Shane Clark, director of AFSCME District Council 85

Panel 3: 

• Chancellor Dan Greenstein
• Dr. Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, president of Clarion University and interim president of Edinboro University

Panel 4:

• Kyle Hurysz, Edinboro University council of trustees (student)
• Majd Al Halaby, Edinboro University student-government president

APSCUF President Dr. Jamie Martin and State System students were among today’s panelists at a Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus policy committee hearing about university consolidation. Click here to watch hearing footage. APSCUF live-tweeted the hearing, and the collated tweets are below.

The hearing comprised three panels:

Panel 1: PASSHE Redesign & Students

• Dr. Jamie Martin, president of APSCUF
• Cameron O’Neill, junior at Bloomsburg University
• Justina Arena, junior at California University

Panel 2: PASSHE Redesign & Workers

• Ross Brumagin, President AFSCME Local 2329, Edinboro University High Voltage Electrician
• Shawn O’Dell, President AFSCME Local 2360, Lock Haven University Clerk Typist 3
• Dr. Marc Stier, Director, Pennsylvania Budget & Policy Center

Panel 3: PASSHE Leadership & University President

• Chancellor Dan Greenstein
• Aaron Walton, president of Cheyney University
• Dr. Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, president of Clarion University and interim president of Edinboro University
• Mia Swales, student trustee and graduate student at Lock Haven University

A Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus policy committee hearing is slated for 1 p.m. (time change) Thursday, May 20. We’ll share information about how to watch via our social-media channels.