East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) professors are used to being the ones doing the teaching, but this week 30 faculty members got a lesson from a Wind Gap fourth-grader on how to bring art to children who have none.

Bethany Kuster, a 10-year-old student at Wind Gap Middle School in the Pen Argyl Area School District, spoke to the ESU College of Education faculty Tuesday, March 22, about her project “Color for Kids” that has collected and delivered more than 1,200 pounds of crayons, markers, paints and other art materials to nearly 1,000 low-income children around the world within the past five months.

ESU’s education faculty and students are joining Bethany’s effort by collecting art supplies on campus that Bethany and her family can ship to children in need, according to Terry R. Barry, Ed.D., dean of the College of Education.

“What we are looking to do is a service-learning project with our students,” Dr. Barry said. Education professors will work with student organizations to collect the supplies, and donations can be dropped in the designated bins on the first and second floors of Stroud Hall on campus.

“This is a really good reminder that some of the very best lessons in education have nothing to do with standardized achievement tests, Common Core and national curriculum, and everything to do with the children in your school and what’s in their hearts,” Dr. Barry said. “Here’s a little girl making a difference.”

Bethany Kuster began her efforts last November after hearing about an elementary school in Alabama where the children had to share a packet of crayons because there were not enough for all.

She approached her teacher, Scott Kupec, about collecting art supplies for those pupils and sending them to the school. Kupec was all for it.

“I really like art and art makes people happy,” Bethany said.

Bethany’s passion for the cause was infectious and soon she had her parents, Rachel and Kraig Kuster, and other students, teachers and principals on board. They shipped art supplies to the elementary school in Alabama and received beautiful thank you cards from the kids, made with their new markers and crayons.

“It has just taken off from there,” Rachel Kuster said. “Art is incredibly important to Bethany. She did not think it was fair that every kid did not have their own box of crayons.”

The Kusters started a website at www.colorforkids.net which shows Bethany with some of the supplies collected and where they have been delivered.

Rachel Kuster said the project has spread rapidly, with schools in Fort Myers, Fla., Atlanta, Ga., Boston and Washington, D.C. working on replicating Bethany’s effort.

“I’ve asked her many times, ‘How long do you want to do this?’ Rachel Kuster said. “And she said, ‘Until every kid has their own box of crayons.’ And I said ‘Well, there are millions of kids,’ and she said, ‘I know. I’ll just keep going as long as I have crayons to give.’”

For more information about ESU’s endeavor to help Bethany, contact Dr. Barry at (570) 422-3377 or at tbarry1@esu.edu. For more information on Bethany’s project, “Color for Kids,” visit www.colorforkids.net.

Todd Behr, associate professor of economics and finance, Pats Neelakantan, Ph.D., chair and professor of economics and finance, Christopher Warburton, Ph.D., instructor of economics and finance and Constantinos Christofides, professor emeritus of economics attended the 32nd Annual Economic Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. March 6-8, 2016. The National Association for Business Economics (NABE) Economic Policy Conference is the premier national event addressing issues at the nexus of economics, business, and policy. This year’s theme, “Policy Challenges in an Interconnected World,” explored the challenges faced by political and business leaders as they guide their countries and companies through an increasingly complex maze of global challenges. The event was attended by hundreds of corporate economists, business leaders, and top policymakers.

The conference started with a keynote address by Sri Mulyani Indrawati, managing director and COO, World Bank. Some of the eminent speakers included Keith Hall, director of the Congressional Budget Office; Peter Orszag, former director of the United States Office of Management and Budget; David Lipton, first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund; Penny Pritzker, secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce; and the luncheon speaker, Stanley Fischer, vice chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, who was awarded the prestigious Paul A. Volcker Lifetime Achievement Award. The conference also included an offsite reception hosted at the residence of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the U.S, honorable Henne Schuwer.

Mariam Juya, a junior majoring in biology from Stroudsburg, Pa., was sworn in as the student member of the East Stroudsburg University Council of Trustees on Tuesday, March 29.

The student trustee represents the entire student body and gains the opportunity to work with top university officials.

Juya was selected from a pool of extraordinary applicants.

Each of Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities has a Council of Trustees consisting of 11 members including one undergraduate student.

Primarily, the trustees are responsible for following the powers and duties as required in ACT 188, Section 20-2009 A.

The rigorous application process consisted of a series of interviews, including with Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., president of East Stroudsburg University, Frank Brogan, chancellor of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, and the office of the governor in Pennsylvania.

Pictured with Juya is L. Patrick Ross ’67, chair of the Council of Trustees.

As a part of Autism Awareness month, Frank Campagna, author of “Autism Daddy,” a famous blog series which reached 4 million views this year, will be speaking at East Stroudsburg University on Tuesday, April 12 at 7 p.m. in the Hoeffner Science and Technology Building room 117.

Campagna is the father of a 12-year-old son who was diagnosed with severe, non-verbal autism. He has spent the past 10 years writing a blog about his experiences. In that time period, Campagna became a social media sensation, generating 120,000 Facebook fans. He began speaking to large crowds about his experiences in 2015 at Utah Valley University.

“This presentation is meant to raise awareness for autism,” Linda Van Meter, Ph.D., director of the Office of Accessible Services Individualized for Students (OASIS), said. “Mr. Campagna brings humor to a serious situation and has brought smiles, tears and joy to the autism community.”

Campagna’s talk is titled “Things no one ever tells you after your kid is diagnosed with autism.”

Sponsored by the Pocono Autism Society, a local community advocacy organization, and ESU’s OASIS, this event is open to the public and it is free of charge. The Council for Exceptional Children will also be offering babysitting. Interested parents should RSVP to beth@poconoautism.org.

For more information contact Dr. Van Meter at lvanmeter@esu.edu, or 570-422-3954.

Opera enthusiast Eugene Galperin, Ph.D., an associate professor of mathematics at East Stroudsburg University, will host a talk titled “How to See Madama Butterfly without Leaving Town” on Wednesday, March 30, 2016, at 7 p.m., in Stroud Hall 117on ESU’s campus. The event is sponsored by the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) ESU chapter as a part of the promotion of the Metropolitan Opera Live-In-HD series.

The program, geared toward people with little or no knowledge of opera, will examine its origins, history, and continued relevance in today’s society and provide an introduction to Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, a Metropolitan Opera production that will be screened Saturday, April 2 at 12:55 p.m. and Wednesday, April 6, at 6:30 p.m. at Cinemark in the Stroud Mall. The Cinemark screenings are part of the Metropolitan Opera’s Live-In-HD series designed to make outstanding opera productions accessible to audiences throughout the world.

One of the mainstays of the repertory, Madama Butterfly, is a gripping tale of love, devotion, sacrifice, and betrayal. Due to its lush melodies and dramatic story, it is a perfect introduction into the genre for somebody who has never been to an opera theater.

“I have given 14 talks during the past three years,” Galperin said. “As a result, many students and community members have attended the Cinemark broadcasts for the first time. That was encouraging, and I would like to keep it going.”

For more information, please call Galperin at 570-422-3931.

Students who began their studies at a community college in Pennsylvania before transferring to a university within Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education might already have earned enough credits to receive their first degree. And now there’s an easy way for them to get it, through the newly launched “reverse transfer” initiative.

The 14 community colleges in the state and the 14 State System universities today signed a statewide reverse transfer agreement that will allow students who have earned at least 60 total credits to apply for an associate degree from the community college where they started. Receiving the degree could immediately enhance the student’s earning potential, even as he or she continues working toward a bachelor’s degree or other certification or credential at a State System university.

The signing of this agreement is a great addition to the work already being done at East Stroudsburg University (ESU) where more than 73% of its 901 transfer students transferred from a community college. ESU’s eight reverse transfer agreements and 67 articulation agreements with 13 community college partners in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey reflect the university’s longstanding and growing commitment to serving transfer students.

Additionally, on March 28, ESU was named among the top 40 colleges and universities nationwide being recognized by Phi Theta Kappa as an inaugural member of the Excellence in Community College Transfer Honor Roll, which identifies the four-year colleges and universities for creating dynamic pathways to support community college transfers.

“The State System universities and the community colleges are natural partners,” said State System Chancellor Frank T. Brogan. “This agreement is another example of how we can work together on behalf of students all across the Commonwealth. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

“Collaborating with the State System on this agreement is the next step in the commitment of Pennsylvania’s community colleges to increase student completion rates to benefit both students individually and the Commonwealth as a whole,” said Luzerne County Community College President Thomas P. Leary, who also serves as chair of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges.

A student who earns an associate degree is more likely to complete the work necessary to receive a bachelor’s degree. “If their studies toward a bachelor’s degree are interrupted for any reason, with this program, they will still have their associate degree, which will benefit them as they prepare to enter the workforce or will help enable them to move up the career ladder,” said Elizabeth Bolden, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges.

Many students who initially enroll at a community college do so with the intent of eventually earning a bachelor’s degree, staying long enough to earn an associate degree before transferring to a four-year college or university. Some leave before earning a degree, either to transfer or to go directly into the workforce.

The Reverse Transfer Program gives those who transferred without a credential a pathway to their first college degree.

“We’ve been in the business of reverse transfer agreements since September 2014 when we signed our first agreement with Raritan Valley Community College,” said ESU President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D.  “We’ve seen the number of reverse transfer agreements continue to grow, which is a clear indication that these partnerships with community colleges are what students want and need.”

Students who began their postsecondary education at any community college in Pennsylvania and earned a minimum of 45 credits before transferring to any State System university can participate in the new program. Eligible credits may include those earned through Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), Credit by Exam and the military.

A student must have enrolled at a State System university within five years of leaving the community college and have earned at least 15 additional credits at a State System university to be considered for the program. Their State System credits will be transferred back to the community college and applied to the requirements for the associate degree.

The State System universities will identify eligible students once they complete the 60 total credits and invite them to participate in the reverse transfer program. If interested, the eligible students will fill out a release form and their State System university transcript will be sent to the community college for review and evaluation.

If approved, the community college will award the degree. Students will not be charged either a graduation or transcript fee by either institution involved.

Illustrative of this initiative, a new partnership was developed between ESU and Northampton Community College (NCC) last month. It enables NCC students graduating from its registered nursing program to transfer seamlessly into ESU’s B.S. in nursing program and complete it within 18 months.

Student Diane Jones of Bethlehem, who completed her R.N. in December at NCC in Bethlehem Township recently made the commitment to transfer to the B.S. in nursing program at ESU.  For her, the beauty of the program was that she is able to take all her ESU classes at NCC. “ESU made it so convenient. It’s easy for everything to transfer over,” said Jones.  “It’s also very affordable,” she added. “That was key.”

The first degrees could be awarded through the program as early as this summer. Many students likely already are eligible. Others could be once the current semester ends in May.

Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of undergraduate and graduate education in the Commonwealth, with about 107,000 degree-seeking students and thousands more who are enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs. Collectively, the 14 universities that comprise the State System offer more than 2,300 degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas. Nearly 520,000 State System university alumni live in Pennsylvania.

The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The universities also operate branch campuses in Oil City (Clarion), Freeport and Punxsutawney (IUP), and Clearfield (Lock Haven), and offer classes and programs at several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and in Center City in Philadelphia.

The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges is a voluntary membership association for Pennsylvania’s community colleges, which collectively are the largest providers of undergraduate education in the state, serving more than 313,000 students in 2014-15.

Pennsylvania’s community colleges are Bucks County Community College, Butler County Community College, Community College of Allegheny County, Community College of Beaver County, Community College of Philadelphia, Delaware County Community College, HACC – Central Pennsylvania’s Community College,  Lehigh Carbon Community College, Luzerne County Community College, Montgomery County Community College, Northampton Community College, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, Reading Area Community College and Westmoreland County Community College. The colleges operate 26 campuses and 84 instructional sites and centers, serving students from every county in the Commonwealth.

Four East Stroudsburg University student members of the University/Community Concert Band (UCCB) participated in 69th annual Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band Festival held March 4-6 at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa.

The students included Mirand Tripus, flute, a senior from Moscow, Pa. with majors in political science, philosophy, and English; Victoria Kraft, euphonium, a senior from Langhorne, Pa. majoring in middle level education with a concentration in mathematics and a minor in music; Matthew Helbers, trombone, a sophomore from East Stroudsburg, Pa., majoring in mathematics; and Jacqueline Hoffman, oboe, a freshman from Elizabethtown, Pa. with majors in nursing and in Spanish.

To be invited to the festival, the students went through a selection process that involved a recommendation from UCCB band director, Lance Rauh, a temporary instructor of theatre at ESU, and a review by a screening committee.

The four ESU students, accompanied by Rauh, joined 100 other college band members from colleges and universities throughout the state for the three-day event, which is the oldest, continually operating band festival in the country.

Under the direction of Dr. Michael Golemo from Iowa State University, the band students performed a full program of professional level band literature. The festival consisted of three days of intensive rehearsals and concluded with a Sunday afternoon concert

The University Dance Team at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania will host its sixth annual showcase at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 16 and 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 17. Each performance will be held in the Abeloff Center for the Performing Arts on the front circle of campus.

The performance will include t-shirt giveaways, a basket raffle, refreshments and a lot of entertainment. All the dances were choreographed by the students and include styles such as jazz, tap, contemporary and hip hop. The cost of attendance is $3 for ESU students and $5 for the general public. All contributions go to the dance team.

“I am so proud of our team and the hard work they have put into dancing and academics this year,” Marissa Kvacky, a senior majoring in biology from Bath, Pa., who is also president of the Dance Team, said. “This showcase is a chance for us to show everyone our talent and the hard work — we hope people come out and support the team.”

For more information contact Suzanne Prestoy, Ph.D., adviser to the dance team, at 570-422-3563 or sprestoy@esu.edu.

Local artists, art enthusiasts and/or comic book lovers who want to test their creativity and push their artistic limits are invited to a 12-hour Comic Thon sponsored by East Stroudsburg University’s Student Art Association.

The day of extreme cartooning will give amateur and professional cartoonists of any age 12 hours to challenge themselves to try to write, draw, and letter an entire 12-page comic story (one page per hour). Participants are not required to meet this goal, nor are they required to stay for the entire session.

The Student Art Association will be offering a prize to the artist or artists who complete the first 12-page comic in 12 hours.

Comic Thon will be held Saturday, April 16 from noon to midnight in Studios 102 and 103 of the university’s Fine and Performing Arts Center, Normal and Marguerite streets, East Stroudsburg.  Participants are asked to arrive 30 minutes prior to the official start of the event.

David Mazure, comic book artist and associate professor of art + design, will provide instruction and assistance for novices and amateurs.

The $5 registration fee, which includes all supplies necessary to create a comic book, is a donation to the Student Art Association. Participants also are welcome to bring their own supplies.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided throughout the day, but participants should also bring their own food and drink.

Space is limited to 50 participants. This event is open to the public. To reserve a space, email David Mazure at dmazure@esu.edu or call 570-422-3612 and leave a message.

About 175 people attended a talk by Anthony Drago, Ed.D., in Costa Rica, where he discussed suicide prevention, disorders of trauma and crises intervention, mood disorders, and anxiety in children and adolescents. Dr. Drago, psychologist and professor and chair of the psychology department in the College of Arts and Sciences at ESU, hosted five seminars at Universidad De Iberoamerica (UNIBE) in Costa Rica to provoke discussions on mental health issues within the country.

“Costa Rica is a highly educated country and they experience many of the behavioral health problems we do,” Dr. Drago said. “The seminars acted as a training in dealing with various disorders, and we were able to share commonalities and differences in diagnostic methods and treatment.”

Dr. Drago was invited to Costa Rica because of the existing relationship between the university and ESU.

“Dr. Drago’s visit to Costa Rica and his lectures at UNIBE are part of an important and growing collaboration between the two institutions that allow faculty and students from across the health disciplines to collaborate and learn from each other,” Alberto Cardelle, Ph.D., dean of the College of Health Sciences, said.

The biology department has been bringing students to the country for field experiences for more than two decades, according to Peter Hawkes, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

“The initiative of the psychology department extends and strengthens the relationship between ESU and Costa Rica,” he said.

ESU will be sending its third group of students to UNIBE this summer through the college’s global health program.

“The opportunity to go to Costa Rica is very enlightening and rewarding,” Dr. Drago said. “It allows us to continue to build our relationship with UNIBE and build the ESU reputation internationally.”

East Stroudsburg University is hosting the 29^th annual Interdisciplinary Association for Philosophy and Religious Studies (IAPRS) Conference April 8-9. Presenters will include students and faculty members from ESU, as well as Edinboro, Kutztown, Millersville, and Slippery Rock Universities.

The two-day conference, which is held at a different Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education university each year, aims to provide undergraduate students the opportunity to present their papers for peer review in an academic conference, foster and develop critical thinking, and promote mentorship between faculty and students. The keynote speaker will be Gordon C.F. Bearn, Ph.D., a philosophy professor at Lehigh University.

The conference is open to the general public and it is free of charge. Following is the conference schedule and list of papers being presented.  For more information contact Heon Kim, Ph.D., assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies, at 570-422-3602.

Friday, April 8

5:30 p.m. Registration Opens, Science & Technology Center (SciTech) Lobby

Session 1: 6:00-7:30 p.m.

1A— SciTech 135 (chair: Dr. Tim Connolly)

Robert Poe (Millersville University), “Dear Theism: A Pragmatic Letter to the Religious”

Reshard Neal (East Stroudsburg University), “Freedom and Happiness”

Dr. Martin Weatherston (East Stroudsburg University), “If there is morality, I am a Bad Person”

1B— SciTech 136 (chair: Dr. Storm Heter)

Kacie Scibilia (East Stroudsburg University), “A Philosophical Approach to War: Von Clausewitz and Hegel”

Corbin Sterling Fowler (Edinboro University), “Dismantling the Propaganda Machine: Using Theology to Differentiate Between Moderate and Radical Islam”

Dr. Andrew M. Winters (Slippery Rock University), “Metaphysics Without Substance”

Saturday, April 9

8:00 a.m. Registration Opens, Science & Technology Center Lobby

Session 2: 9:00-10:30 a.m.

2A— SciTech 135 (chair: Dr. Tom Sparrow)

Timothy Appleby (East Stroudsburg University), “Buddha Would Call Me a Masochist: The Case for Existential Happiness”

David Potsubay (Slippery Rock University), “Pure Experience and Nihility: The Place of Religion in Nishida and Nishitani”

Dr. John Kaiser Ortiz (Millersville University), “The I’s of the Spanish Inquisition Are Upon You: Sor Juana and the Force of 17^th Century Mexican Circumstance”

2B— SciTech 136 (chair: Dr. Corbin Fowler)

Isaiah Williams (East Stroudsburg University), “The Innate Heart of Man, My Favorite Myth”

Margaret Calvert (Slippery Rock University), “Is Pornography to Blame for the Violence Against Women?”

Dr. Allan Bäck (Kutztown University), “A Solution or Two for the Liar Paradox”

2C— SciTech 137 (chair: Dr. Andrew Colvin)

Robert Diehl (Edinboro University), “Reconciling Constructed Realities: The Epistemological Function of News Media in a Democracy”

Julian Schooley (Slippery Rock University), “Three Virtues of Livable Urban Spaces”

Dr. Chuck Ward (Millersville University), “Evolutionary Psychology and the Problem of Neural Plasticity”

10:45 am-12 p.m.

Keynote Address: “Inklings and Algebra” (Moore Lecture Hall 122)

Dr. Gordon C.F. Bearn, Lehigh University

Session 3: 1:45-3:15 p.m.

3A— SciTech 135 (chair: Dr. Chuck Ward)

Spencer Jay Knafelc (Slippery Rock University), “Nietzsche’s Account of the Death of Attic Tragedy and its Implications”

Adam Riddle (Slippery Rock University), “An Anti-Realist Argument for the Goal of the Natural Sciences”

Dr. John Lizza (Kutztown University), “Animalism and the “Decapitation Gambit”

3B— SciTech 136 (chair: Dr. Martin Weatherston)

Levi Walbert (Kutztown University), “古特- The Sage of the Tao”

Allison Simon (East Stroudsburg University), “Hispanics/Latinos Breaking the Barrier”

Dr. Storm Heter (East Stroudsburg University), “Black Noise/White Ears: Hearing Race in America”

3C – SciTech 137 (chair: Dr. John Kaiser Ortiz)

Jay Winkleman (Kutztown University), “Maximal Knowledge: Gettier Problems as Speech Acts”

James Smith (Independent Scholar), “Details and Trimmings in Plato’s Laches 195a-197e”

Dr. Heon Kim (East Stroudsburg University), “Wuwei and Ecological Self”

Prizes were awarded recently to the top artists in the East Stroudsburg University Student Art Association Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition.

Running, a pen and ink drawing by Morgan Weissbach, a junior from Saylorsburg, Pa., majoring in both art + design and fine arts with a concentration in studio art, was named best in show.

This is the second consecutive year that Weissbach’s work earned top honors.

Another of Weissbach’s pen and ink drawings, When Worlds Collide, earned honorable mention in the exhibit.

Science Fiction Automation, a mixed media piece created by Kristina Turturiello, a senior from Honesdale, Pa., majoring in integrated art + design, received the award for the best 3-D work in the exhibit.

First prize was awarded to Laila Andujar, a freshman art + design major from Milford, Pa., for her charcoal drawing, Self Portrait.

Brendan Reilly, a sophomore from Mount Bethel, Pa., majoring in art + design, earned the second prize for his painting, Vertigo.

Third prize went to Abigail Cruz, a sophomore from Scotrun, Pa., majoring in integrated art + design, for her 3-D piece, Royal Bird.

Prizes for the exhibit were sponsored by the Pocono Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen and Music in the Mountains. Jody Singer, founder of Origins Gallery, juried the exhibit this year.

The Student Art Association Annual Juried Student Art Exhibit, featuring more than 60 works in a multitude of media, continues through April 14 in the Madelon Powers Gallery of ESU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center, Normal and Marguerite streets, East Stroudsburg.

Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The exhibit is open to the public at no cost.

East Stroudsburg University (ESU) students canvassed the Capitol today, meeting with legislators to discuss the important role the university plays in the Commonwealth. ESU was among the other 13 universities that comprise Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.

The students talked with legislators about their own college experiences and how important the education they are receiving is to them and to their families. About 90 percent of the more than 100,000 students who attend State System universities are Pennsylvania residents, and the vast majority will stay here after graduation, to work, to live and to raise their families.

In all, nearly 150 students, faculty, administrators, trustees and alumni took part in the two-day advocacy effort on behalf of the State System. They began their Capitol visits Tuesday.

“We have a great story to tell – and it’s one that impacts not just our students, but everyone in the Commonwealth,” said Chancellor Frank T. Brogan. “The contributions our universities make all across Pennsylvania are enormous.”

In addition to meeting with legislators, representatives from each of the universities set up displays in the Capitol Rotunda, where they demonstrated some of their top academic programs and research projects and provided information about their schools to Capitol visitors.

The State System will receive about $433 million from the state this year to help support the operation of the 14 universities. That funding represents one of the best investments Pennsylvania makes each year, said Guido Pichini, chairman of the State System’s Board of Governors.

“Not only do these universities provide opportunities to students who otherwise might not be able to attend college, they serve the entire Commonwealth,” Pichini said. “They generate enormous economic activity in their home communities, in their regions and across Pennsylvania—to the tune of nearly $7 billion a year.

The State System universities combined have about 12,000 employees and support about 62,000 additional jobs, many with the hundreds of small businesses that thrive in the campus communities, contributing significantly to Pennsylvania’s economy.

The Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education approved a doctor of education in Educational Leadership and Administration for East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania on April 6. This 60-credit Ed.D. is the first doctorate program in the 123-year history of the institution.

“This is a proud day for us at East Stroudsburg University,” said ESU President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D. “We’re confident that this new offering will attract leaders in education to fill a well-established critical need in the region, particularly given the challenges of shrinking budgets and demanding professional standards. Earning these credentials enables educators to impact education, and therefore the region and state, through leadership and critical thinking.”

The Board of Governor’s decision is a significant next step. The final step takes place next month (May 2016) when the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) evaluates ESU’s substantive change request to review and approve the new Ed.D. program in order for it to be included within the scope of the University’s accreditation. Pending MSCHE approval, ESU will be allowed to launch the doctoral program during the 2016-2017 academic year.

Since 2000, ESU has offered this program in collaboration with Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), the only State System university approved to offer doctoral degrees. That restriction was lifted in 2012 with the passage of Pennsylvania’s Higher Education Modernization Act (Act 104), which permitted all State System universities to propose and offer professional doctoral degrees. Because of the demonstrated need for the Ed.D. in educational leadership and administration and ESU’s ability to support the doctoral program, both institutions agreed that ESU should develop its own degree. The program’s curriculum, closely modeled on the IUP program, has been fully approved through ESU’s university-wide curriculum committee.

Housed in the College of Education and offered by the department of professional and secondary education, the new doctoral program’s courses will be taught primarily by ESU faculty with supporting temporary faculty with specific industry specializations for certain courses. Students in the existing ESU/IUP program will have the choice to continue with IUP or move into the ESU program. Both ESU and IUP have kept the students best interest at the forefront of the new program development and are committed to assisting students to complete their programs.

“ESU’s doctorate is designed to enhance leadership and administrative skills of PreK-16 leaders,” said ESU Provost Joanne Bruno, J.D. “The Ed.D. is grounded in the belief that effective administrators play a key role in advancing their institutions and the students they serve. This program has been a long time coming, particularly for the members of ESU’s faculty and administration who have partnered to see this program come to fruition.”

According to Douglas Lare, Ed.D., professor of professional and secondary education and doctoral program coordinator, the ESU/IUP partnership program maintained strong enrollments throughout its 15-year existence. The partnership program used a cohort model with new cohorts entering the program every other year. Lare, who has played a key role in the development of ESU’s doctoral curriculum, added that ESU’s doctoral program will be vigorously documented, measured and assessed through an ongoing analysis of student performance data to ensure the program will continue to align with the educational standards required by state and national accreditation agencies.

Terry Barry, Ed.D., dean of ESU’s College of Education, noted that while the new doctoral degree will be housed in the department of professional and secondary education, there will be thoughtful collaboration and interdisciplinary involvement across the colleges with outside agencies providing opportunities for internships, research studies and other practitioner-based requirements.

ESU’s new program is among five that were approved by the Board of Governors today. These programs represent the State System universities’ latest efforts to address the changing needs of students and employers in Pennsylvania and beyond. In just the last five years, the 14 universities combined have introduced nearly 300 new degree and certificate programs and minors and reorganized and updated 100 others, as required skill sets have evolved. At the same time, the universities have either placed in moratorium or discontinued more than 400 programs that are no longer in demand. ESU has plans to propose a second professional doctoral of health sciences program in health policy and administration once the Ed.D. is fully approved.

“We continue to evolve our system in a way that addresses the changing needs of both students and employers,” said State System Chancellor Frank T. Brogan. “Each of the programs approved today was developed in response to specific demands in the workforce, and with the desire to ensure our students’ success in their careers beyond graduation.”

The 14 State System universities have significantly expanded their array of academic programs as they have grown from their historic beginnings as teachers’ colleges into comprehensive regional universities. The universities today offer more than 2,300 degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas.

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania’s department of sociology, social work & criminal justice is hosting its third annual Peter Roche de Coppens Spirituality Event on April 11 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Hoeffner Science and Technology Center, room 117. This year’s event is a lecture presentation titled Rejoining Life: How We Pieced Our Lives Together After DEATH ROW. A Story of love, healing and the human spirit.

Sonia “Sunny” Jacobs and Peter Pringle were both wrongfully tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Sunny spent five years on death row in Florida, followed by an additional 12 years among the general population prior to her full exoneration in 1992. Peter was sentenced in Dublin, Ireland where he spent 15 years in prison prior to his own conviction being quashed, resulting in his release. Sunny and Peter each devoted themselves to healing in peace and reconciliation upon their respective releases. The two met while advocating against capital punishment through Amnesty International, have been living together in Ireland since 2001, and are now married. Sunny’s memoir, “Stolen Time,” was published in 2007, and Peter’s book “About Time,” in 2012.

Together they have established the Sunny Center, a sanctuary for others who have suffered injustice, particularly those who were wrongfully convicted of crimes and received death sentences.

Sunny and Peter are inspirational messengers against the death penalty, reminding audiences of the power of the human spirit to triumph over adversity, suffering and injustice.

This is the third annual sociology and spiritually event, sponsored by the Peter Roche de Coppens Spirituality Fund. The lecture series was established in 2010 in honor of the late Dr. Roche de Coppens, ESU professor emeritus of sociology.

For more information, contact Dr. Carrie Maloney at 570-422-3448 or cmaloney5@esu.edu, Dr. Hooshang Pazaki at 570-422-3281 or shpazaki@esu.edu, or Dr. Ray Muller at 570-422- 3014 or rmuller@esu.edu.

PHOTO: Peer educators from East Stroudsburg University present to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Board of Governors about their sexual assault awareness month programming during the Board of Governors meeting on April 6 in Harrisburg. From left: Guido Pichini, chairman, PASSHE Board of Governors, Victoria Sanders, D.Ed., associate vice chancellor, chief compliance officer, Title IX executive vice chancellor for PASSHE; Doreen Tobin, D.Ed.; Samantha Walz, a freshman peer educator, undeclared major from Reeders, Pa.; Bridget Marley, a senior public health major from Havertown, Pa.; Zaria Cyriaque, a sophomore hotel, restaurant and tourism management major from Somerville, N.J.; Annie Frame, a senior public health major from Waynesboro, Pa.; ESU President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D.; Laura Suits, a graduate student studying public health from New Paltz, N.Y.; Meleena Olaniyan, a sophomore athletic training major from Germantown, Pa.; Alyson Patascher, coordinator of health education and AToD prevention at ESU; and PASSHE Chancellor Frank T. Brogan.

It’s hard to grasp the importance of what the peer educators at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania do unless you see them in action.

After the peer educators made such an impression on Doreen Tobin, D.Ed., ESU vice president of student affairs, and Victoria Sanders, D.Ed., associate vice chancellor, chief compliance officer, and executive vice chancellor of the executive office at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), they wanted to make sure these students were heard by PASSHE’s Board of Governors, a group that establishes broad educational, fiscal and personnel policies and oversees the efficient management of the State System.

On Thursday, April 7, in conjunction with sexual assault awareness month, six of ESU’s peer educators traveled to Harrisburg with Alyson Patascher, coordinator of health education and AToD (Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs) Prevention, where they gave a presentation to the Board of Governors about sexual violence and how they help their peers try to prevent it or have the strength to report it and deal with some of the outcomes if a situation arises.

“A big part of the work that is done by our peer educators helps to fulfill the University’s role relative to the work that is required by Title IX legislation that has been reinterpreted in the violence against women act,” said Dr. Tobin. “These students fulfill that role significantly through their work to educate their peers about domestic and relationship violence and assault. In doing so, they have made great strides in changing the culture of our campus relative to safety and awareness on these and other topics.”

“It’s not only just about being recognized by the Board of Governors,” said peer educator Annie Frame, a senior majoring in public health from Waynesboro, Pa. “It’s important to know that hopefully we are making a difference and what we do will continue to help others in the years to come.”

Patascher is certain ESU’s peer educators are making strides on campus. Not only have number of peer educators increased from five to 20 since January 2012, but she frequently gets positive feedback from students. She adds that ESU’s peer educators are passionate about the work they do, something that’s evident when you see them at work or engage them in a conversation about what they do. Some of them, such as Frame, spends 20 plus hours a week working as a peer educator. Others take it on as their internship. There are even a few who volunteer.

Whether it’s a compliment from a student who attended a program, follow-up questions after an event on campus, or a student telling her a story about how they’ve put some of the peer educators’ tactics to use, Patascher knows the influence her peer educators are having. The educational scenarios they do – which include alcohol awareness – are invaluable, the Potty Break Newsletter they put out has grown in popularity, and the far-too-real statistics they pass along regarding sexual assaults on college campuses has admittedly opened students’ eyes.

“We get feedback all the time,” Patascher said. “During our programs, we talk about being an active bystander. I just had a student raise their hand and say, ‘Last weekend I was on Main Street and saw a student sitting there visibly intoxicated, and I went to him and called the last number on his phone and asked his friend to pick him up. And this student stayed until his ride came.’ Another student said he was walking to Walmart when he saw a guy getting a little physical with his girlfriend and he said, ‘Hey, that’s not cool. Take your hands off her.’”

“We have been doing follow-ups and a lot of students are saying they think about it the training we provide a lot more,” Patascher said. “We want everyone to take care of one another. Students really buy into that.”

Patascher added that many of these attitudinal changes are based on the effectiveness of the peer educators. “At first, students are more reserved and don’t want to open up and talk about these sensitive topics,” said Bridget Marley, a senior from Havertown, Pa., majoring in public health. “The more we probe them and open the discussion, the more talkative they are. When we go through what-if scenarios, it’s something they can relate to, and they have that ah-ha moment, and they know it’s something that happens all the time.

“The work that we do as peer educators is extremely valuable because students, I have found, don’t get it anywhere else, really. We are the people who hone it in and make it relatable. After presentations, they come up to us in the hallway or Dansbury Commons and ask another question. It’s important to let them know they have a voice and any way I can help them have that voice, I’m willing to. It’s important to break down the barrier of communication.”

“These students are amazing,” Patascher said. “It’s really, really hard to get up in front of your peers and talk about the dangers associated with things that the general population likes to do. And when it comes to sexual violence, the university is really supportive of initiatives to avoid or handle these situations. I appreciate everything these students do every day because the expectations are really high on them. What I take a tremendous amount of pride in is that our peer educators always land jobs after graduation because they have this really high skill set.”

Both Tobin and Sanders got that vibe right away. Patascher said when Dr. Sanders was on campus last semester reviewing safety and accountability measures, she told Dr. Tobin how impressed she was after meeting with some of the peer educators. And in turn, Tobin reached out to Patascher about having the peer educators be featured in the Student Spotlight at the Board of Governors meeting.

“These students are putting in a great deal of time and effort to an extremely important cause,” Tobin said. “I know they are making a difference, and they deserve to be recognized and to tell their stories.”

Blaise Delfino, a graduate student at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania who developed “Fader Plugs,” designed to protect the wearer from harmful noise, won the $10,000 first place prize in the fifth annual Student Business Plan Competition sponsored by Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. This is the second time that ESU won first place in the competition with Jonathan Weber ’15, winning $10,000 in 2011 for eDentified. In 2012, Thomas Rounsville M’12, won the $5,000 second place prize for his company Wildlife Integrative Forensics.

“The faculty and staff at ESU have displayed great support, compassion and excitement as I embark on my journey of founding Fader Plugs, LLC,” said Delfino. “I consider myself both lucky and blessed to be a student at East Stroudsburg University. The faculty members and the staff tied to the University’s business accelerator and entrepreneurial leadership center truly care about the success of their students and they want to see them succeed; they are willing to go the extra mile.  Words just can’t express how thankful I am for their continued support and belief in me as a student, an entrepreneur and CEO of Fader Plugs LLC.”

Delfino, a licensed hearing aid dispenser and audio engineer, is a graduate student studying speech-language pathology at ESU, where also earned his bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology in 2014. His winning entry in the competition, Fader Plugs, are designed to provide for “controlled decibel reduction in a highly functional and fashionable design.” Delfino’s winning business plan included a blueprint for research and development followed by commercialization of the product. For the complete story on Blaise, click here.

A total of 223 students/student teams submitted their intent to compete in the competition last fall including 27 from ESU. Of those, 109 made it through the first round of judging, from which 17 entrants were selected as semi-finalists. Ten teams were selected as finalists, three of them from ESU:

• Edmond Hawi from East Stroudsburg, Pa., will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and continue to expand Failure2Fail, a silkscreen production facility that incorporates the company’s trademarked logo into active wear/sports apparel. For Edmond’s complete story, click here.
• Tammy Tuckey, a sophomore from Ambler, Pa., who’s majoring in business management with a minor in communication, continues to grow her podcast, The Tiara Talk Show, which focuses on individual interviews of members of the Disney Company. For Tammy’s complete story, click here.Another ESU student, Rebecca Connolly ’16, a business management major with a concentration in accounting, was recognized as a semi-finalist for her company Equi Vogue, which plans to import premium warm-blooded equines (horses) from Europe. Rebecca is the lead scorer in the Cachione Cup, an equestrian hunt jumping competition.

“I believe the name of our strategic plan, Students First: Innovate ESU, sets the tone for faculty and student involvement in programs such as the Business Plan Competition,” said President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D. “Students working collaboratively with faculty from various disciplines as well as the staff of our business accelerator program and entrepreneurial center really help to prepare learners like Blaise, Edmond and Tammy for a professional future in a constantly growing and evolving world. These students represent ESU at its finest.”

Delfino and Hawi also received top recognition for the Student Choice Award portion of the competition. Delfino took first place honors having the most viewed YouTube video with 4,250 hits and Hawi took second place for the best poster depicting his business model for Failure 2Fail.

The annual Business Plan Competition is designed to provide student entrepreneurs a real-world opportunity to pitch their original business plans and to win funds to assist in the start-up of their businesses. Students from the 14 State System universities are invited to participate in the competition each year. The first-place prize was donated by the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union, the event’s platinum sponsor.

Second place in the competition went to David Tini, a student at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, who developed “Hot Lips,” an attachment to the mouthpiece of brass musical instruments.  The third-place prize went to Brendan Shepherd of Clarion University of Pennsylvania, who developed a plan to establish a home remodeling business. Growth of the company will be into residential rental properties and real estate development. The second- and third-place winners received $5,000 and $2,500 respectively, to be used to assist in the further development of their proposed business ventures. The runners-up awards were donated by PNC Bank and J.P. Morgan.

Ann M. Kolanowski, Ph.D., RN, FGSA, FAAN, an Elouise Ross Eberly professor in the college of nursing at Pennsylvania State University; center director of the Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing at Pennsylvania State University; professor of psychiatry, college of medicine; and adjunct professor, associated faculty, school of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, inspired ESU nursing students during her presentation, “Promoting Behavioral and Cognitive Health in People Living with Dementia,” last evening at East Stroudsburg University’s Innovation Center, 562 Independence Road in East Stroudsburg.

The lecture was part of the Yvonne Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Lecture Series for Nursing Enrichment at ESU, supported by the Niedbala Family Foundation and its founders Linda (Troiani) Niedbala ’83 and her husband, Sam Niedbala ’82. The lecture series began three years ago as a tribute to Linda’s sister, Yvonne Troiani-Sweeney ’78, an ESU nursing alumna who held numerous leadership roles throughout her career before being diagnosed with a form of early onset dementia called posterior cortical atrophy. This endowed lecture series is a lasting tribute to Sweeney’s devotion to others while making a significant contribution to the education of healthcare professionals and the community-at-large about the cognitive impairment associated with dementia and other diseases of a similar nature.

Pictured at last night’s lecture are, from left: ESU President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D.; Sam Niedbala’82, Ph.D., ESU alumnus; Linda (Troiani) Niedbala ’83, ESU alumna; Ann M. Kolanowski, Ph.D., RN, FGSA, FAAN, keynote speaker; and Laura Waters, Ph.D., ESU associate professor and chair of nursing.

More than 200 students from East Stroudsburg University’s Greek organizations joined members of the local community in a day of spring clean-up on Sunday, April 3. 

Members of Kappa Delta Rho, Alpha Sigma Tau (photo 1) and Theta Chi participated as a way to promote ESU’s Global Week activities and to provide service to the borough of East Stroudsburg. Students opted to clean areas that are routine pathways to and from campus for University students, faculty and staff including Analomink Street, Crystal Street, Prospect Street, Ransberry Avenue, the area near the inter-borough bridge, and East Brown Street to University Ridge Apartments. 

The Eastburg Community Alliance (ECA) sponsors several clean-up days throughout the year as part of The Great American Clean Up and Keep PA Beautiful initiative.

A 50-second video of Rachel Grace learning she was accepted to the Career, Independent Living & Learning Studies (CILLS) program sponsored by East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania went viral a few days after her mom posted it on Facebook March 25, and by last week it had been viewed more than 14 million times.

The heart-warming video shows Rachel, a 20-year-old North Penn High School student who has Down syndrome, opening and reading aloud her acceptance notice to the CILLS program, and hollering happily, “I got in!” to her excited parents, Deb and Tom.

The three-year CILLS program allows about eight program participants with intellectual disabilities to be integrated into the ESU campus community, including joining college clubs and activities alongside ESU students while taking courses that help them learn practical skills in independent living, such as money management, as well as skills for jobs.

Grace will be living near campus in a house with other participants in the CILLS program supervised by a house resident — usually an ESU student — who will help the participants become more self-sufficient.

“We love the aspect of independent living, living in a house with an ESU student mentor,” said Deb Grace. “It’s just the right amount of oversight and freedom.”

Deb Grace said they had looked at other higher education opportunities for Rachel but picked CILLS, which is a certificate program, sponsored by ESU.

“We chose ESU because of the community, the support the university community seems to have around this program, from the students to the faculty,” she said. “It’s amazing. It just felt like a really good fit for her.”

Terry Barry, Ed.D., dean of the college of education, said the program is a win-win because just as the CILLS participants get to experience college life and gain key social and work skills, ESU students learn from them.

“It’s important that we clarify that Rachel and others joining her in the CILLS program are certification program participants, not students of the university,” he said. “However, within the college of education we have students who are studying special education and rehabilitation and they work hand in hand with the CILLS program participants to acclimate them to campus, to help them with their classes, to socialize with them, to cheer alongside them at sporting events and go to the gym and eat meals together in the cafeteria.”

Special Education Professor Domenico Cavaiuolo, Ph.D., who coordinates the CILLS program, said that participants like Rachel will be able to audit some of the classes that ESU students take and will also have internships on campus.

“At the end of the three-year program our goal is to transition CILLS participants back into their home community and work with the families to try to help them be employed and in a living arrangement commensurate with the person’s abilities and needs,” Dr. Cavaiuolo said. “So it’s a very holistic type of approach.

“It’s the experience and social aspect, the fun that goes along with being at a university, and also the practical learning and work that goes into helping the CILLS participants become productive citizens that makes this satisfying,” he said.

Since the video of Rachel went viral, there has been a whirlwind of news coverage and public attention for the family who live in North Wales, Pa. and for East Stroudsburg University. For Rachel and her family, that activity has included interviews with her and her parents on the Fox television show “Fox & Friends,” 6 ABC Action News and other outlets. And while the features of ESU’s CILLS certificate program are different than the 56 bachelor’s degree programs offered at ESU, Rachel’s acceptance to this distinct program makes her an ESU Warrior at heart.

“Rachel has received such a great outpouring from ESU alumni and ESU current students,” her mom said.

Those Warrior alumni reaching out include some notable people who are used to the media glare.

“Today I got a letter from the head football coach at Penn State congratulating me for getting into college,” Rachel said. James Franklin ’95 sent her a formal letter praising her “amazing achievement” and inviting her to be a special guest at a Penn State Football practice.

“We went to Target the other day and she actually got recognized,” Deb Grace said.

So how does it feel to get that kind of attention?

“It felt awesome and amazing,” Rachel said.

14 million views … and counting.