Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Kutztown University field hockey had six representatives earn National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Scholars of Distinction honors for 2024. The list includes Megan Doyle (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown), Marlee Fetrow (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone), Kiera Gallagher (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown), Katie Lawless (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley), Lorelai Lehenky (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) and Jordan Stroup (Millerstown, Pa./Greenwood). It is the fourth straight honor for Doyle. This year, 125 student-athletes were recognized as NFHCA Division II Scholars of Distinction. The Division II Scholars of Distinction program recognizes student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.9 or higher through the first semester of the 2024-25 academic year. Since head coach Marci Scheuing arrived prior to the 2013 season, Kutztown has consistently paired high-level of play on the field and academic performance in the classroom. Multiple Golden Bear student-athletes have been honored as NFHCA Scholars of Distinction each season since 2014 --including a program-high seven following the 2016 season.

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.

Kutztown University will have 25 student-athletes representing its women's acrobatics and tumbling program for the 2025 season. Read the full season preview. Kutztown University acrobatics and tumbling begins a new and historic 2025 season this weekend. For the first time in program history, KU will be competing as a conference member with the Mountain East Conference, joining as an associate member prior to this season. With this new affiliation, the Golden Bears will have a chance to compete for team and event conference championships, while also gaining opportunities to earn MEC Athlete of the Week and All-MEC honors. Fourth-year head coach Karah Paull knows the conference well as a former All-American and Athlete of the Year at MEC member Fairmont State. She is excited for what this brings for her team. "We are very excited to have the opportunity to be an associate member of the Mountain East Conference this year," said Paull. "The MEC is a very competitive conference, and I am looking forward to seeing the team fight for a spot in the Mountain East Conference Tournament and event finals. This is our first year with seniors that have spent all four years here at KU as part of the Acrobatics & Tumbling Team. It is bittersweet to watch them enter their final year of competition and see how much they have grown and improved over the years." Last season was successful for the Maroon and Gold as they finished with their best record to date at 6-3 overall and qualified their acro 5-element squad for the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) Event Finals. "It has been a dream come true to create a program here at Kutztown University," Paull said. "Each year the team has improved their overall team score, broken several event records, and been able to post consecutive winning seasons. I am eager to watch this team continue to grow and improve this season. We have high goals this year coming off last season's 6-3 record and our first national debut. Our main goals are to stay focused, strive to always be better than the day before, and to enjoy the season together as a team." The 2025 Golden Bears will be very talented and experienced with a ton of student-athletes returning from last season. "This is our fourth year as a program and our largest roster with 16 returning players and nine newcomers," said Paull. "We are eager to see our team work together on the mat and continue to lift each other up. Our team really focuses on the 'we' aspect of our sport as it is imperative that everyone supports one another to achieve our goals." Kutztown's 2025 campaign kicks off this Sunday, Feb. 16, when it competes in a tri-match with Frostburg State and West Virginia State in Frostburg, Md. The match is set to start at 2 p.m. Not only will it be the first match of the season, but also the first conference match in program history. "We kick off our season away at Frostburg in a tri-meet with Frostburg and West Virginia State University," Paull said. "As new members of the MEC we are expecting really good competition and exciting meets to watch. We have a challenging schedule ahead of us as we will be competing against two nationally ranked teams and one DI university. We will be striving to have another winning season for year four."

National runner-up Kutztown University field hockey was once again well represented with National Field Hockey Coaches Association National Academic Squad members. The program honors student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or higher through the first semester of the 2024-2025 academic year. 430 student-athletes from 30 Division II institutions have been named to the 2024 NFHCA Division II National Academic Squad. A list of KU's award winners can be found below: National Academic Squad (13) *Four-year member Paige Bucher (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) *Megan Doyle (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown) Marlee Fetrow (Birdsboro, Pa./Daniel Boone) Kiera Gallagher (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) Grace Harrold (York, Pa./Central York) Katie Lawless (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) Lorelai Lehenky (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) Hannah McConnell (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) *Greenleigh McGehee (New Tripoli, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) Jocelyn Morgan (Easton, Pa./Easton) Marissa Rice (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter Strasburg) Jordan Stroup (Millerstown, Pa./Greenwood) Jessica Traynor (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen)

2,178 students have been named to the Fall 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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.