Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Mallory Hoch of the Kutztown University women's volleyball team picked up her first career College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honor Tuesday, Dec. 17. The junior outside hitter/libero from Zionsville, Pa., played in all 28 matches (92 sets) for the Golden Bears. She surpassed 200 digs for the second year in a row, finishing with 208 (2.26/set), while adding 14 service aces and five kills. Hoch is an elementary education major with a 3.88 cumulative grade point average. To be eligible for CSC Academic All-District recognition, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically. Nominees must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average and volleyball student-athletes must compete in 90% or start in 66% of their team's matches.

The NCAA Division II national runner-up Kutztown University field hockey team had four student-athletes recognized as 2024 All-Americans by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). Midfielder Juliana Donato (Cedarville, N.J./Schalick) and defender Sarah Gatehouse (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) were First Team selections, while forward Erin Gonzalez (East Earl, Pa./Garden Spot) and defender Danielle Panati (West Chester, Pa./Unionville) were named to the Second Team. Gatehouse earned her third straight All-America First Team honor, Donato is a repeat selection from 2023, and Gonzalez and Panati are first-time All-Americans. The quartet led Kutztown to another outstanding season in defense of its 2023 national championship. The Golden Bears finished 16-6, reached the NCAA DII national championship game for the second year in a row and spent every week of the 2024 season in the top three of the NFHCA national poll. Donato, the team's top two-way player, controlled the midfield for the Maroon and Gold. She started all 22 games, putting up 18 points on 6 goals and 6 assists. The Cedarville, N.J., native scored the game-winning goal on an overtime penalty stroke to lift Kutztown past Southern New Hampshire in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and finished 3-for-3 on stroke attempts this season. Donato earned All-PSAC First Team and NFHCA All-America First Team honors in both 2023 and 2024. She ranks third all-time at KU with 30 career assists. Gatehouse, from Sinking Spring, Pa., solidified herself as one of the top defenders in program history with another tremendous season. Defensively, she helped KU hold opponents to one goal or fewer in 14-of-22 games, which included 7 shutouts. Gatehouse was also deployed on offensive penalty corners, finishing with 18 points on 6 goals and 6 assists. The three-time All-PSAC First Team and NFHCA All-America First Team selection started all 22 games for the second year in a row and finishes her career with 79 starts and games played. Gatehouse also added to her academic accomplishments with a second consecutive NCAA Elite 90 Award. The award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average at each of the NCAA's championship sites. Gonzalez took her game to a new level this fall with career-highs of 13 goals, 5 assists and 31 points. She led the team in goals, points and game-winning goals (4). The junior from East Earl, Pa., amassed five multi-goal games, including a two-goal performance (and game-winning goal) in Kutztown's upset of No. 1 Shippensburg in the NCAA DII national semifinals. Gonzalez had already produced 20 and 19 points in her first two seasons, respectively, and sits at 30 goals, 10 assists and 70 points through 62 career games. Panati joined Gatehouse as a crucial piece of Kutztown's back line. The senior from West Chester, Pa., started and played in all 22 games for the second year in a row. A three-year starter, Panati capped her career with 75 games played and 64 starts. She helped the Golden Bears record 7 shutouts in 2024. KU ranked third in the PSAC and ninth in NCAA DII with 0.32 shutouts per game, while also ranking top 10 in the nation in goals against average (1.17). Kutztown's four All-America selections are the program's most in a single season since it had five honorees in 2005. The program record for All-Americans in a season is six, back in 1997.

Kutztown University is pleased to welcome the newest members of the Golden Bear family, including both new incoming freshmen and transfer students, for the upcoming 2024 fall semester.

Kutztown University is pleased to welcome the newest members of the Golden Bear family, including both new incoming freshmen and transfer students, for the upcoming 2023 fall semester.

Kutztown University athletics recorded a new department high as 133 student-athletes earned Division 2 Athletic Directors Association (D2 ADA) Academic Achievement Award status. The 133 Golden Bears eclipses the 2021-22 previous record of 128. For a student-athlete to qualify for the award, they must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale, have completed a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college level work at a two-year and/or four-year institution and also been an active member of an intercollegiate team during the last academic year. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tallied 1,919 student-athletes on the list. The Academic Achievement Awards, in its 17th year, is a program that recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level. In total, there was a record-breaking 19,774 student-athletes from 192 institutions recognized for the 2023-24 Academic Achievement Awards, which is the highest total of student-athletes recognized since the beginning of the awards program. Kutztown's 2023-24 D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award recipients are online.

Gabby Cohen, Brooke Graham and Rhi Stutz of the Kutztown University women's golf team were recognized as 2024 Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholars. It is the first WGCA scholar recognition for each Golden Bear. A total of 1,497 golfers across multiple divisions were named All-American Scholars. To be eligible, a student-athlete must hold a cumulative grade point average better than 3.50 and must have played in at least 50 percent of the institution's regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year nominated through the team's conference championship. Graham was a First-Team All-PSAC performer last season and gave the program a First Teamer for the first time since Shannon Weber in 2018. The freshman from Carlisle was a medalist at this spring's PSAC Championships at the Berkleigh Golf Club, finishing third overall with a 54-hole total of 11-over 227 (75-76-76). She is the highest finishing individual for the Maroon and Gold since Weber took second at the 2017 PSAC Championships. Graham won three Invitationals during the fall and spring seasons and had three other top-three finishes out of the 10 tournaments. She was a two-time PSAC Golf Athlete of the Week. Stutz, a freshman from Prescott, Wisc., joined Graham as an All-PSAC golfer, earning Second Team honors. She helped KU to a fourth-place finish overall at PSACs. Stutz finished in the top-10 in the field at PSAC Championships. She shot a 5-over par 77 to collect her first collegiate tournament victory at the ESU Spring Invitational, earning that week's PSAC Golf Athlete of the Week. Cohen, a sophomore from Jeffersonville, N.Y., competed in all 13 rounds during the fall and spring regular season tournaments and then placed 27th overall at PSACs with a weekend score of 263 (89-87-87). Kutztown has now had multiple honorees in seven of the last eight seasons.

Kutztown University has conferred degrees for 404 students for the 2023 fall semester and 2024 winter session. Kutztown University announces degree conferment twice a year, once in the winter and once in the summer. Commencement exercises are held in May and December; however, students finish the requirements for graduation throughout the entire year. The cumulative grade point average necessary for honors distinction is: with honor (cum laude) 3.40; with high honor (magna cum laude) 3.60 and with highest honor (summa cum laude) 3.80. Students who have requested privacy (FERPA) are not listed publicly.

1,990 students have been named to the Spring 2024 Dean's List at Kutztown University. To be eligible for the Dean's List, an undergraduate student must be registered for at least 12 credits and have a minimum grade point average of 3.60.

Kutztown University has conferred degrees for nearly 1,100 students for the 2024 spring semester. Kutztown University announces degree conferment twice a year, once in the winter and once in the summer. Commencement exercises are held in May and December; however, students finish the requirements for graduation throughout the entire year. The following students have been awarded degrees following the 2024 spring semester. The cumulative grade point average necessary for honors distinction is: with honor (cum laude) 3.40; with high honor (magna cum laude) 3.60 and with highest honor (summa cum laude) 3.80. Students who have requested privacy (FERPA) are not listed publicly.

2,093 students have been named to the Fall 2023 Dean's List at Kutztown University. To be eligible for the Dean's List, an undergraduate student must be registered for at least 12 credits and have a minimum grade point average of 3.60.

Kutztown University's Jazz Ensemble I has been honored by the DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards with the Outstanding Performance Award in the category of Undergraduate Jazz Ensemble College Performance. The DownBeat Student Music Awards recognize the top jazz ensembles at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Nine judges evaluate the participating groups based on several performance criteria including overall sound, proper interpretation, improvisation, creativity, intonation, phrasing and dynamics. The honorees are selected from a competitive pool in which winners must demonstrate a distinct voice in addition to technical proficiency. The DownBeat Student Music Awards are considered the most prestigious awards in jazz education. Since its founding in 1976, hundreds of musicians, music educators and music industry professionals received their first international recognition as DownBeat Student Music Award winners. This is the 10th win for the KU Commercial Music program but the first for the Jazz Ensemble. Other winners in this category were Vanderbilt University and University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Kutztown Universty students in the Department of Communication Design won awards at the 2022 Graphis New Talent Annual Showcase.

Kutztown University's Department of History inducted the 2024 class of its Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society Tuesday, April 16. Learn more about KU's Department of History at https://www.kutztown.edu/academics/colleges-and-departments/liberal-arts-and-sciences/departments/history.html.

Kutztown University inducted 45 students into the Tau Sigma National Transfer Honor Society at its induction ceremony in April 2024. Tau Sigma was incorporated in 1999 at Auburn University and there are more than 175 chapters across the country. Tau Sigma National Honor Society is a growing, prestigious organization on KU's campus for transfer students. Established in 2016, the Eta Mu chapter is the third Tau Sigma chapter within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). This chapter has been recognizing transfer students who earned a GPA of 3.5 or higher in their first semester at KU.

Kutztown University awarded its Unpaid Internship Scholarships to 10 students for this year. The Unpaid Internship Scholarship provides a student, who otherwise may not be able to complete an internship due to financial reasons, a scholarship to assist with financial needs (i.e., transportation, food). Students must have a 3.0 or higher GPA and submit an application, essay and a letter of recommendation.

Kutztown University proudly announces the six art students selected and awarded the 2020 Summer Workshop Scholarships. A committee of art department faculty selected the six undergraduate students from a pool of applications which will grant them the opportunity to study under master artisans over the summer. Thanks to generous donors, KU offers numerous cost-free master classes and mentorships every year to students. This year's Summer Workshop Scholarships are funded by award-winning artist, Sandra Corpora. The 2020 recipients include Jocelyn Belisle, Danielle Schwesinger, Taylor Schatz, Emily Nieberlien, Amy Haws and Nick Roberts. Each student will travel to participating schools and have the opportunity to work with nationally recognized artists in professional studios, housed in nurturing, artistic communities. The workshops provide opportunities to explore new perspectives, problem-solving methods and techniques. The young artists will be immersed in art-making and experimenting with a variety of new media and forms. As an enrichment to the hands-on curriculum already offered by Kutztown University, these students will be able to discover and explore new art forms that will help inspire and fuel their artistic experience. Schwesinger, Schatz and Belisle will attend the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Schwesinger will learn new techniques in wax that will help shape ideas for new bodies of work and exciting changes to existing work while attending Integumentary Experiments with Leslie Pearson. Schatz will be working with Brenda Lichman on a soda-firing class as part of her journey to becoming a successful artist and art educator. Belisle will attend Clay as a Canvas: Imagery of Porcelain hoping to broaden her knowledge and experience. "I want to develop a cohesive collection of ceramics that not only explores my truth but may also reach a wider audience," Belisle said. Nieberlien will travel to Farmington, Pa., for Chasing and Repousse at Touchstone Center of Crafts. Nieberlien connects the acquisition of technique and experience to ability as an artist, stating that this further allows her to better translate inspiration into a physical work. Haws will study with Paul Neilsen at Peters Valley School of Craft in Layton, N.J. Her class, Hand Carved Settings, is a technique which inspires her to improve her skills Roberts will attend Andrew and Kathryn Polk's Stone Lithography workshop at Penland School of Craft in Penland, N.C. Roberts expressed his interest in working with Kathryn Polk due to her elegant treatment of the lithographic process. To learn more about the Kutztown University Department of Art and the programs offered, visit the department website or contact art@kutztown.edu.

Kutztown University student Jean Kiklikian Herrera (piano) was honored by the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association as part of its performance and composition competition winners.

Congratulations to Tammy Starner Wert M'23, executive assistant to the vice president of University Relations and Athletics, for being named the Assistant to the Provost for General Education. Tammy's new appointment will be effective Monday, Nov. 6. Tammy has served the division of University Relations and Athletics for more than eight years and has been with the university since 2007. She has been the lead point of contact for the Daily Brief and university operators, among other duties. Wert earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

Congratulations to the seven Kutztown University students presenting their geological research success at the annual international Geological Society of America meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa. this week. - Dr. Adrienne Oakley, Gabriella DeMarco (Marine Sciences) and Hannah Cutshaw (Biology) studied sands and mud deposited in the Chesapeake Bay to characterize changes in the environment during the past 20,000 years (after the last ice age). - Dr. Ed Simpson and Alayna Rea (Environmental Sciences-Geology) described a preserved termite mound from the Jurassic dinosaur period. - Dr. Ed Simpson, Jaylin Calistro (Geography and Geology), Jamie Cook (Geology), Joshua Scherer (Geology), Garrett Rogers (Geology) and Dakota Pittinger (Geology) studied microscopic features that help future paleontologists interpret the fate of dinosaur eggs - distinguishing between the different characteristics of eggshells fossilized after immediate burial, delayed burial and transport in a stream before fossilization. These studies were conducted using the Fred and Martha Hafer Scanning Electron Microscope Lab. Dr. Kurt Friehauf helped when he could.

Twenty-one Art and Design student-designed pieces were recently selected to be included in the Graphis International 2023 New Talent Annual. There were also gold and silver medals of outstanding achievement awarded to nine students. A gold medal was awarded to Emma Pearl Smith for the diecut album cover the Expansion of Soul from the Advanced Type course taught by Professor Elaine Cunfer, the Gold Medal is recognized internationally as an outstanding honor. Silver medals were granted to Anam Khan for her album cover, website and app for Creme de la Creme and to Hannah Ross for her Right Day for the Wrong Trousers album cover also created in Professor Elaine Cunfer's Advanced Typography course. An advertising print series by Anam Khan for Professor Summer Doll-Myers' Intro to Advertising course won a Silver Medal as well. Bluepr"nt Restaurant design by Em Mirra won a silver medal and was created for the KU Restaurant Design Seminar taught by Professor Vicki Meloney. Spiked Sweets by Olivia King and Flapper Chocolate Sauces designed by Em Mirra for a Package Design course taught by Professor Vicki Meloney also received Silver Medals. Two posters from a Poster Design Seminar taught by Professor Kate Clair received Silver Medals one was for Microplastic Biomagnification by Morghan Straub and Energy of the Future by Haley Wawrzynek. These silver medals from Graphis International are clearly an award of distinction. There were additional honorable mention awards garnered by KU students: three advertising pieces for Professor Summer Doll-Myers, branding for Professors Josh Miller, Mia Culbertson and Summer Doll-Myers, editorial design completed for Professor Elaine Cunfer, wine label designs for Professor Vicki Meloney, branding for Professor Karen Kresge and 12 posters designed for Professor Kate Clair.

Four Kutztown University students participated this year in Dr. Phill Reed's Planet-hunting Around the World with Students (PAWS) project. Fatima Kamara, Genevieve Macfarlane, and Philip Jahn spent 10 weeks working as research assistants at University of Southern Queensland and the MINERVA-Australis observatory in Australia, and Lauren Murphy worked on related outreach and broader impacts of the project here at KU's Observatory and Planetarium. The project focuses on discovering and characterizing new exoplanets in collaboration with NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission, and they explored additional topics including novel polarimetric observations, pulsating white dwarf stars, and the evolution of the Sun's magnetic activity. The PAWS project is three-year program funded by Reed's current $244,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF award #1952545).

The Kutztown University Marching Unit (KUMU), an energetic part of the campus community, provides music, marching and entertainment for all KU Golden Bears football games, select away games, marching band festivals/competitions, professional sporting events, parades and campus spirit building activities. Under the direction of professor Daniel Neuenschwander, KUMU has announced its 2023 roster.

Kutztown University and the Kutztown University Foundation have named 15 students as Presidential Ambassadors for the 2023-2024 school year. Founded in 1997, the Presidential Ambassadors is a Kutztown University student organization that works directly with the President's Office and the Kutztown University Foundation and Alumni Relations. The mission of the group is to support events that connect current students with alumni, faculty, staff and university friends, to act as ambassadors of the university and to create new traditions which enhance KU Pride. The Presidential Ambassadors' major fundraiser is the Tuition Sweepstakes. The winner of the sweepstakes is awarded one semester of in-state tuition to Kutztown University. Proceeds from the sweepstakes benefit ambassador programs and Kutztown University, including support of Dinner with Golden Bears, Grin and Bear It, Professional Headshots for KU Juniors and Senior, Love a Donor Week, Ladies Tea Scholarship, General Fund Scholarship, Play for Kay, Wounded Warrior 5k Race, campus and community wide events as well as many other events geared towards philanthropic efforts. The organization strives to build philanthropy and stewardship with the Kutztown University community. Learn more at https://www.kuf.org/alumni/kupa.

42 juniors and seniors at Kutztown University have completed a Career Success Certificate for the Spring 2023 semester. The Career Success Certificate is open to all juniors and seniors. Students gain a greater understanding of themselves, employer expectations, effective job search strategies, interviewing skills and the role of social media in the hiring process. They will also be better prepared to conduct the internship, job, or graduate school search.

Kutztown University has issued Career Exploration Certificates to 68 students for the 2023 spring semester. The Career Exploration Certificate is open to all freshmen and sophomore students. Students gain a greater understanding of themselves and the career development process. They will be better prepared to choose/confirm a major, research careers, gain related experience through informational interviewing and job shadowing experiences, and plan for a successful internship/professional job or graduate school search.

Six students from Kutztown University will attend The Washington Center's Academic Internship Program this summer, the most KU students in one session to date. The Washington Center is the largest and most established student internship program in Washington, D.C. Since its founding, The Washington Center helped more than 60,000 young people translate their college majors into career paths. KU students include: Elizabeth Kolb, Phoenixville, Pa. Olive Mulbah, East Lansdowne, Pa. Emily Prior, Fogelsville, Pa. Makayla Pfister, Schwenksville, Pa. Paula Guarderas, Pottstown, Pa. Lismeylin Feliz Medrano, Reading, Pa. The Washington Center's Academic Internship Program is composed of three components - internship, academic course and career readiness programming - each designed to help students translate their academic and professional interests into careers they love.

This spring, two students from Kutztown University participated in The Washington Center (TWC)'s first Cybersecurity Accelerator Program, including Adam Frederick, a sophomore, computer science major from Exeter, Pa.; and Delijah Joseph, a junior, information technology major from Mount Pocono, Pa. This program was designed to engage historically marginalized learners with career exploration, mentorship and networking in the fastest growing and rewarding field of cybersecurity. Thanks to scholarships provided by select states along with private donors, this program was available at no cost to students. Participants were invited to join The Cyber Guild for a digital Cyber Discovery Experience and to travel to Washington, D.C. for a Cybersecurity Bootcamp Weekend. As part of this weekend experience, students heard from representatives from The White House, United States Cyber Command, CISA (among others) and were able to network with over 35 employers. They also had the opportunity to tour the Verizon Tech and Policy Center and AWS Skills Center. See photos of the bootcamp here. Through this program, many participants were also selected for a virtual micro-internship by a cybersecurity employer, where they received a financial stipend, worked with an employer supervisor and gained access to Teach to Work trained project-based mentorship. About The Washington Center The Washington Center is the largest and most established student internship program in Washington, D.C. Since our founding, we've helped more than 60,000 young people translate their college majors into career paths. We use our scale and expertise to customize each student's experience to be truly transformative. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn.