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Service Employees International Union members prepare to rally Tuesday, June 12, in the Pennsylvania Capitol Rotunda in support of unions in Pennsylvania. Photo/Kathryn Morton

As workers nationwide await the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Janus v. AFSCME case, APSCUF today stood in solidarity with Service Employees International Union members to proclaim that Pennsylvania needs unions. Click here to view additional photos from the rally on APSCUF’s Facebook page.

APSCUF members and legislators discuss higher-education issues at Legislative Reception Tuesday, June 5, at The Capitol Gastropub. Photo/Kathryn Morton

It’s been an advocacy-packed week for APSCUF members in Harrisburg.

APSCUF members talked with legislators and union supporters about higher-education issues and our 14 universities at APSCUF’s annual Legislative Reception Tuesday, June 5, at The Capital Gastropub. Click here to view additional photos from the event.

APSCUF members flank Sen. Vincent Hughes during a press conference to announce Pennsylvania Promise bills Wednesday, June 6, in the State Capitol. Photo/Kathryn Morton

The next morning, members hit the Capitol for advocacy meetings with their legislators and to attend a press conference announcing Pennsylvania Promise House and Senate bills. Visit PApromise.org to learn more about the plan to make college affordable for all Pennsylvanians who want to pursue higher education. Click here to view photos and here to view a video from the Pennsylvania Promise announcement.

Thank you to all who attended events this week. Want to talk with your legislators about the importance of quality, affordable public higher education in Pennsylvania? Click here to look up your legislators’ contact information.

We are always proud to recognize APSCUF members’ accomplishments, whether it’s in the classroom, on the field, or in the community. Here are some of their achievements from the spring semester.

• Bloomsburg University English faculty member Michael Martin led writing students to create a website and online cookbook of “easy, quick, affordable, and healthy meals that college students can make.”
• Cal U Professor Holiday Adair contributed to the discussion on mental-health screenings and mass shootings in American schools.
• Cheyney University APSCUF members handed out literature about the Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court case.
• Rod Raehsler, professor of economics at Clarion University, will serve alongside Nobel laureates on the internationally recognized Omricon Delta Epsilon honor society. He was chosen as vice president for the national chapter.
• Jyh-Hann Chang of East Stroudsburg University presented about changing the ways we view individuals who have disabilities.
• Stan Swank, former head coach of Edinboro University women’s basketball, retired as the all-time winningest coach in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference history
• The women’s basketball team at Indiana University of Pennsylvania reached this year’s Final Four under the guidance of Coach Tom McConnell, who was also named PSAC West Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year.
• Kutztown University faculty member William Bender is using his skills as a licensed social worker to combat substance abuse in his community.
• Lock Haven faculty member Praful Bhatt is making waves in the classroom and in private medical practice.
• Mark Thompson, a faculty member at Mansfield University, helped train 16 FBI agents on how to analyze blood-spatter evidence at crime scenes.
• Brittany Hartman, Millersville University track-and-field throws coach, is USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year
• Shippensburg University Professor Kim van Alkemade published her second book, “Bachelor Girl.”
• Wilma Cavill, retired safety-management assistant professor from Slippery Rock University, donated $25,000 to support students entering her field of study.
• West Chester University Professor Jonathan Friedman spoke at an event that remembers the victims and survivors of the Holocaust.

APSCUF aims to keep our members and followers updated on our faculty members’ and coaches’ successes. Don’t forget to follow us on our social media sites for more stories featuring our incredible faculty and coaches. Have a story to be told? Tag APSCUF on social media or email us at .

—John Danvers, APSCUF intern

Hi, my name is John Danvers, and I am excited to be APSCUF’s government-relations and public-relations student intern for summer 2018. My home institution is Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where I am a double major in economics and political science with a minor in philosophy. After I complete my undergraduate studies, I plan on attending law school, while also earning a graduate degree in public policy. My career ambitions include working as a public-policy attorney and running for public office. Some of the issues I am most passionate about include healthcare, education, and social justice.

I was motivated to intern with APSCUF because of the recent attacks made on public-sector unions. The American middle class was built by workers who assembled to advocate for their rights, and the systematic dismantling of unions forced by state legislatures and courts around the country worries me greatly. Supporting unions is bigger than a political cause. It’s standing with the steel worker who wants to send his children to college, the coach who spends days in the blistering heat to train our athletes, or the professor who works countless hours to give his or her students a quality education. I’m thrilled to be working with APSCUF over the next 10 weeks, and I can’t wait to learn as much as I can.

Finally, let me tell you a little more about me! Some of my hobbies and interests include running, working out, listening to music (I’m a huge John Mayer fan.), and exploring the great outdoors. I am a proud member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Clarion University, and I enjoy hanging out with my brothers. Lastly, I’m a huge animal lover as well, and I have two dogs and three cats at home. I look forward to meeting many of you at Legislative Reception and wish you all a safe and pleasant summer.

Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors meets May 21 via conference call to announce the next chancellor. Photo/Kathryn Morton

Daniel Greenstein is the next chancellor of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, effective in September, the State System’s Board of Governors announced today.

“My colleagues and I look forward to Dr. Greenstein’s leadership,” APSCUF President Dr. Kenneth M. Mash said in a State System release. “He comes to the State System armed with experience as a faculty member, an administrator and as a nationally recognized advocate for innovative and proven approaches to public higher education. His ability to explain how it is that accessible, high quality and affordable higher education benefits all citizens is precisely what our System and our Commonwealth needs at this very moment.”