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Dr. Kenneth M. Mash, left, and Dr. Jamie Martin, visit the Pennsylvania Capitol in summer 2019, when they were APSCUF president and vice president, respectively.

Today Dr. Jamie Martin began her term as APSCUF president. Thank you to Dr. Kenneth M. Mash, immediate past president, for your leadership.

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

My name is Kyle Bower, and I am a student at Bloomsburg University majoring in communication studies with a focus in leadership and public advocacy.

I am incredibly proud and excited to work with APSCUF. I believe this organization is doing profoundly impactful work — not just for students and faculty but also, by extension, for working people everywhere. APSCUF is founded on principles that I believe in, and I am happy to be a part of it.

As a student, I wrote for university news outlets, performed in plays, and participated in speech and debate. All of these experiences brought me out of my comfort zone, and I am grateful for my experience at Bloomsburg and to all of my professors and fellow students for helping me grow. I have learned the value of community, and my No. 1 career goal is to use my argumentative and speaking skills to help causes I believe in, with love and appreciation of others as my prime motivation. I think APSCUF is a great place for me, and I’m excited to begin!

—Kyle Bower,
APSCUF intern

The April 29 Board of Governors meeting took place via Zoom. Click the player above to listen to APSCUF President Dr. Kenneth M. Mash’s comments, or read them below as prepared:

Chairwoman Shapira, Chancellor Greenstein, governors, and guests,

My name is Ken Mash, and I am the president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties. This is the last regular meeting of the Board that I will address as APSCUF president — although the word “regular” does not seem particularly apropos. Nothing is regular in these times. For those of you who do not know, I have been addressing this Board for 10 years — four years as vice president and six years as president. APSCUF has a tradition of presidents stepping down after six years (three terms), and I am happy to abide by that norm and very proud to turn over the reins to my friend and colleague, Dr. Jamie Martin of IUP. Dr. Martin is quite simply one of the most competent, smart, and dedicated people I know. I am absolutely positive that she will be a fantastic APSCUF leader.

Madam Chair, I would like to thank you. We met under some extraordinary circumstances; you certainly were thrown into the fire at the start. Since that time, you have been more inclusive, more respectful, and more dedicated than we could have hoped. Thank you for your efforts to build a better, more appropriate relationship with the faculty and the coaches. And thank you for the courtesy you have shown me personally and your willingness to directly participate in the contract negotiations. That would have been absolutely unthinkable a few years ago.

Chancellor Greenstein, thank you for all you have done, too, to improve the relationship between the State System and its faculty and coaches. You have without a doubt been the most transparent, accessible, and competent chancellor the System has ever seen — at least for a very long time. Thank you, too, for your willingness to participate in negotiations, your openness to ideas, the energy and intellect you have brought to the position. Personally, thank you for the respect and, in your words, “the thought partnership” we have formed.

Thanks to both of you for forming a relationship where we can disagree without being disagreeable, so we could plot out a positive future in the best interest of our students.

These have been an interesting 10 years. Addressing the Board has not, to be honest, been my favorite activity. Let’s just say it has often been a cold experience. I’m glad to say that these last couple of years have been, well, less cold.

Disagreements are inevitable. That is largely because unions are, at their best, countervailing forces. It is our job to point out the human element of an enterprise. Universities are very much about people. And the job that we do is aimed at improving people’s lives. Now more than ever, it is important to remember that the stakes are high. There are always dangers to looking only at aggregate numbers, the balance sheet, the benchmarks, etc. We simply cannot forget that we are talking about communities in which our universities reside. We cannot forget the very real, dedicated people in the classroom, on the field, and in our administrations. Every one of our students is someone who deserves an opportunity to achieve a high-quality education.

It is our job — that of my APSCUF and other union colleagues — if we are doing our jobs well, to bring to the surface the human costs and opportunities. While that may cause tension or even conflict, that tension is essential. This is even more the case in higher education. We all have a burden to model behavior that is respectful of human beings: It is part of our education function.

This is especially true today. We all have an obligation to work toward truth – that’s small “t” truth. We have an obligation as a System to model the best decision-making, the most humane possible behavior, and to bring forth the best possible ideas for improving our society. As we deal with this crisis, let’s never forget the hundreds of thousands who depend upon us. Let us never forget that the Commonwealth’s future depends in large part on how we proceed.

I could not be more proud of the professionalism and dedication demonstrated by my colleagues, our administrations, and our students during this crisis. Let it never be said again that higher education institutions cannot move swiftly and do so well.

It has been an honor and the privilege of a lifetime to represent my colleagues over these past 10 years. Thank you, as always, for the opportunity to address you.

Dr. Jamie Martin

Dr. Jamie Martin is APSCUF’s president-elect after delegates met today for a condensed, virtual legislative assembly. She is joined by other newly elected officers: Dr. Chris Hallen of Bloomsburg University is APSCUF’s new vice president, and Dr. Clifford Johnston of West Chester University is the new treasurer. Dr. Michele Papakie of IUP was reelected secretary. Delegates also elected budget- and audit-committee members. Click here to read APSCUF’s news release.

Congratulations to all, and thank you to Dr. Kenneth M. Mash for six years of presidential service.

As the COVID-19 crisis has forced faculty and coaches to shift their work online, APSCUF’s membership committee has shared stories of how solidarity is keeping our union strong.

Mansfield University Professor Rebecca Parks held a mock driver’s-license test for her daughter’s 16th birthday, as they practice physical distancing. Photo/Submitted

APSCUF faculty, who believe in the tested, tried-and-true practice of in-person education, discussed how they refreshed or learned new skills to transfer coursework online. With the widely practiced change in pedagogy, faculty have scheduled courses with videoconferencing, and coaches are exploring conversations around mental health that inspire student-athletes who are trained to integrate their sport with academic goals, yet not without questions regarding future expectations. Faculty and coaches, even with the NCAA’s ruling to suspend on- and off-campus recruitment, have found an avenue to continue supporting students through this uncertain time.

Here are 16 things APSCUF faculty and coaches are doing to brave a 21st century global pandemic:

• Bloomsburg University’s Teaching and Learning Enhancement Center and IT hosted online learning trainings for a week. Faculty also served as peer-to-peer mentors.
• Bloomsburg University and West Chester University faculty are using drop-in Zoom sessions to allow students to ask questions to reduce stress related to the coronavirus and their studies.
• Cheyney University faculty worked together to welcome students back from spring break and to train for an efficient transition to distance learning.
• Clarion University faculty are doing their part to support the local hospitals. The respiratory-care department loaned ventilators; the nursing department, in partnership with the biology and geosciences department, donated gloves and surgical masks; and the Department of Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics loaned their 3D printer and filament to local hospitals to make disposable parts for needed equipment.
• East Stroudsburg University’s 3D lab, led by Darlene Farris-Labar, is designing and printing face shields.
• Dr. Tom White, nursing department chair at Edinboro University, is working at Saint Vincent Health Center as a nurse practitioner.
• Edinboro APSCUF’s executive council decided to provide gift cards to students remaining on campus in partnership with the Office of Student Affairs.
• Edinboro University’s communication, journalism, and media department held online training sessions. Viki Hedderick, Edinboro APSCUF’s interim chapter president, asked faculty members who were familiar with teaching online to help faculty who were not.
• Mansfield University is lending all seven on-campus hospital beds from its nursing lab in Elliot Hall to UPMC Wellsboro as reserve beds, in case the hospital should experience a patient surge due to COVID-19.
• Mansfield’s Campus Technologies held training sessions on how to use Zoom and move courses online.
• Professor Rebecca Parks at Mansfield University held a mock driver’s-license test for her daughter’s 16th birthday, as they practice physical distancing.
• Shippensburg University coaches are working on mental-health checkpoints with student-athletes. This goodwill deed was featured on FOX43.
• Professor Constance Case at West Chester University is sewing PPE masks. She is working with Professor Victoria Tischio at WCU, Dr. Christine Meyer, and Janiene Pitt from Tandigm Health. She submitted three different prototypes of medical masks.
• Professor Victoria Tischio at WCU is tracking students who need internet hotspots to complete course assignments.
• Faculty at West Chester University are interfacing with one another through email and Facebook to share ideas on distance learning and how to convert courses to an online format.
• West Chester University is offering daily webinars about Zoom, functionality in D2L, and Kaltura. A survey is being circulated for faculty to share the types of additional support needed for students.

Since self-care is essential, APSCUF members are driving back roads to clear their minds on the way to getting groceries, doing jigsaw puzzles, starting online book groups, and sometimes concluding their workday with their favorite apéritif. APSCUF staff are making facemasks, homemade soap, and starting a vegetable garden for sustainable wellness.

The resilience of our community shines through tremendously in students, too. At Clarion and Kutztown universities, students are helping to make masks for local hospitals, and a student from Mansfield is active in the out-of-school early learning and preschool community in the area using a video-sharing platform for interactive storytelling.

To share a story of how you are lending your expertise and talents during this time of change, please send Chabria Thomas, director of organizing, a short description of the activity you are involved in as a faculty, coach, or APSCUF ally. Please email . Tell us who you are and what you are doing to positively impact your university and the community around you. Please include a photo and caption information, too. You also can tag APSCUF on Twitter and Facebook and use #APSCUFproud.

—Chabria Thomas,
director of organizing

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Updates: More stories from around our campuses

After The New York Times published The Coronavirus Class Divide: Space and Privacy, featuring the story of a Kutztown University student, APSCUF’s Kutztown Chapter President Thomas Stewart reached out to KU administration to get the ball rolling on supporting that student. Administrators report that they communicated with the student and affirmed KU’s support. KU Foundation’s Bears Band Together fund also supports students in need due to COVID-19. KU members who are aware of a student in need are asked to contact Kutztown’s Dean of Students office, the academic dean’s office liaisons, or CASA.

Calida Barboza, digital-innovation librarian and APSCUF member at Millersville University, was the project coordinator for the Student Confessions project. Librarians and library staff at Millersville University uploaded the 1889–94 volume of Student Confessions into their digital repository to provide remote access to students using the materials for their coursework. The collection, which was previously digitized and transcribed with the help of student employees, contains archival student confessions of transgressions thought to be handwritten by school administrators and signed by students after they read them aloud.

Janet Walker, mathematics professor and APSCUF member, in her 24th year of teaching at IUP, made 220 cloth masks and shipped them to hospitals in Oregon; Washington, D.C.; and New York. Janet has been making 5-10 masks a day since teaching remotely due to the pandemic, and sends them to area businesses, colleagues, and friends.