Review
Quarterly
Bloomsburg University
of Pennsylvania
Communication
April 2016
President’s Office
Building a better campus community
This semester’s faculty town hall meetings and informal
discussions with members of the campus community have
demonstrated the need to take a deeper look at the environment
in which we work every day.
As the next step, you and other full-time faculty, staff and
administrators received an invitation from Ruffalo Noel Levitz to
participate in an employee satisfaction survey focused on campus
culture and policies, institutional goals, planning and decision
making and work environment. Your confidential responses will
identify the opportunities and challenges facing Bloomsburg
University as a whole and within individual divisions and
colleges. Your feedback will also help us to learn the specific
issues that are most important to the campus community and
how they fit with the goals and initiatives of our strategic plan.
I strongly encourage you to click on the link at the bottom of the message and complete the
survey before May 4, 2016. Results will be tabulated by Ruffalo Noel Levitz and all responses
are held confidential by Ruffalo Noel Levitz and reported in aggregate form. Your name or
email will not be included in any report; no identifiable information is included in the reports.
The information provided will be invaluable as Bloomsburg University moves forward.
Thank you, in advance, for participating in the Bloomsburg University Employee Satisfaction
Survey. If you have questions, please write me at president@bloomu.edu.
Sincerely,
Office of the President
Carver Hall
Bloomsburg University
400 E. Second St.
Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301
Email: president@bloomu.edu
Blog: bupresident.blogspot.com
www.bloomu.edu/president
ON THE COVER:
James McMenamin ’01, an actor known for his
work in live theatre and his role on TV’s Orange
is the New Black, speaks to students at the
Center for Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) first
biennial symposium, Breaking Ground: Building
Careers through the Arts. The symposium,
held March 17, aimed to help students in art,
art history, English creative writing, mass
communications, music, dance and theatre
understand how their arts education can develop
into a career. It included keynote speakers,
alumni panels, and a reception for an exhibition
of alumni panelists at the Gallery at Greenly
Center.
.
David L. Soltz, Ph.D.
President
Bloomsburg University is an AA/EEO institution and is
accessible to disabled persons. Bloomsburg University
does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,
religion,sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age,
national origin, ancestry, disability, or veteran status in
its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the
Educational Amendments of 1972, the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and
other applicable statutes and university policies.
Three collaborative research projects
received a total of $112,000 in
2015 President’s Strategic Planning
Grant Awards as part of the
ongoing initiatives of Impact 2017:
Building on the Past, Leading for
the Future.
• Bloomsburg University Center
for Strategic Communication
Services; project leader, Kristie
Byrum; grant award, $20,000.
• English-Spanish Summer
Enrichment (ESSE) Program;
project leaders, Betina
Entzminger, Christopher
Donahue, Kim Cardimona and
Kailyn Stewart; grant award,
$43,000.
• Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Research in Collegiate and High
School Student Athletes; project
leader, Joseph Hazzard; grant
award, $49,000.
More information in
Vision: President’s Report 2015.
New programs introduced
Bloomsburg University introduced new programs designed to meet the
workforce needs of the commonwealth. These include:
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS
Academic Affairs
President’s Office
Strategic planning
grants awarded
Interdisciplinary Studies major: An individualized program of study,
directed by Scott Lowe, that enables students to tailor a major to their
personal and professional interests or apply credits already earned to design a
customized major.
Professional Writing minor and certificate: An 18-credit minor and
30-credit certificate program, administered by the English department,
based on the concept that employees are required to write more often and at
a higher level as they advance in an organization.
Graphic Design concentration: A concentration designed to provide
students majoring in art studio with an interdisciplinary art background,
theoretical understanding and practical experiences in graphic design, under
the direction of Sue O’Donnell and Dave Kube.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management minor: A program
designed to help students understand the creation and management of a
business.
Specialization in Professional Selling and a Professional Selling minor:
The only sales programs among PASSHE schools will prepare students to
take advantage of changing labor dynamics and the increasing demand for
professional salespeople. The programs are administered by the marketing
department.
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring (IONM) graduate
certificate: IONM encompasses the application of a wide variety of
electrophysiological methods to monitor the functional integrity of neural
structures during surgery.
Academic Affairs
New department name:
Mathematical and Digital Sciences
The Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and
Statistics is now known as the Department of Mathematical
and Digital Sciences. The change is designed to better represent
the increasingly diverse and multifaceted programs within
the department, including the digital forensics program. The
potential abbreviation, “MADS,” or “MAD Science” provides
an interesting way to start conversations with prospective
students and other interested stakeholders.
Reverse transfer agreement with HACC
Bloomsburg University recently signed a reverse transfer
agreement with HACC: Central Pennsylvania’s Community
College. The agreement will allow eligible students to transfer
up to 30 degree-related BU credits back to HACC to apply
toward completion of the school’s associate’s degree. To be
eligible for the reverse transfer program, students must have
successfully completed a minimum of 30 credits at HACC and
be in good academic standing.
BASTL program in Philly
Bloomsburg University and Community College of
Philadelphia (CCP) signed a program-to-program guaranteed
admissions agreement that allows CCP graduates of technical
associate degree programs to enter BU’s Bachelor of Applied
Science in Technical Leadership (BASTL) degree program
with at least full junior standing. Similar to existing programs
BU offers at other community colleges, the entire BASTL
degree program may be completed at PASSHE Center City.
Daniel Pany
Cyber Defense Club competes regionally
Putting its network, security and hacking skills to test, the Bloomsburg
Cyber Defense Club recently reached unprecedented success in the National
Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition against 33 other universities in the
Mid-Atlantic Regional qualifier. Bloomsburg University advanced to the
regional finals for the first time ever.
Competing with team captain Daniel Pany were fellow digital forensics majors
Mike Frauenhoffer, Jesse Mancuso, Kyle Mumper, Ben Tice, Dylan Sperber,
Erik Josuweit, Josh Meyers, Megan Haggerty, Mike Martino, Joe Oriel and
Vince Phan. According to Pany, the team has kept busy this school year by
competing in the CSI CyberSeed, GrrCon Social Engineering and Hacking
competitions, as well as participating in BU’s first vulnerability assessment of a
company, “The Textron Project,“ this past fall and its inaugural BloomCon last
month.
MBA Philadelphia program starts in fall
Bloomsburg will offer its MBA program to Philadelphia starting in fall 2016.
A unique class structure allows students to complete a course every two months.
Courses will combine online work with face-to-face classes every other Saturday
in downtown Philadelphia at the State System, Center City Campus. Students
will be able to complete their degree in one year. Bloomsburg will also offer an
eight-month graduate certificate program and part-time option in Philadelphia.
Additionally, on-campus Bloomsburg’s MBA program has been structured so
students earning their bachelor’s degree at Bloomsburg can complete their MBA
with one additional year of study.
The new seven-floor, suite-style residence hall being constructed at the
site of the former University Store Building is set to open in August
2017. The multiuse building will feature services for the entire campus
community, including the University Store, two new dining venues, the
mailroom, an integrative learning center for tutorial services and the
university writing center.
The new dining venues, Chick-fil-A and Qdoba, will address the
unmet demand for non-meal plan dining options offering quality food
at a reasonable cost.
PA Liquor Control Board pilot program
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) has selected
Bloomsburg University as one of three institutions (including
Millersville and Gannon universities) to participate in a nine-month
pilot program designed to strengthen campus and community
cooperation and coordination in the prevention of underage and
dangerous drinking by college students.
The program, overseen by PLCB professionals and the Bureau of
Alcohol Education, includes training sessions, data analysis and action
plan development. The PLCB was awarded grant funding from the
National Alcohol Beverage Control Association.
Enrollment Management
Student Affairs
New residence hall and dining options
Lapos named admissions director
Chris Lapos has been named director of admissions after a
national search. He previously served as interim director for
the past two years. Lapos came to BU as a Latino student
recruiter in 2001 and also served as the transfer coordinator
and functional lead for MyHusky implementation. Earlier
in his career, Lapos worked in admissions at Northern
Illinois University and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in
Bolivia. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of
Pittsburgh and a master’s from Ohio University.
Ruffalo Noel-Levitz consultant
guiding Strategic Enrollment Plan
BU has recently engaged in a three-year consulting initiative
with strategic enrollment management consulting firm
Ruffalo Noel-Levitz to develop a comprehensive strategic
enrollment planning process. The goal is to align BU’s
mission, vision and values with the shifting market needs
and expectations of students.
Five working groups formed in March to concentrate on
the areas of graduate programs, undergraduate programs,
marketing and recruitment, student success, and finance and
financial aid, are working to complete a situation analysis.
The analysis will show what Bloomsburg University is
currently doing and what we must do to enhance student
success. More information.
Enrollment update
BU’s overall spring headcount enrollment totaled 9,008,
a 2 percent drop compared to last spring. Undergraduate
enrollment totaled 8,427, a 1.5 percent drop compared to
last spring, and graduate enrollment dropped from 640 to
581 from 2015 to 2016.
Construction is in progress on the
pedestrian bridge across Lightstreet
Road. Completion of the project is
scheduled for September 2016.
The PennDOT projected work
schedule for the Town of Bloomsburg’s
Lightstreet-Country Club Road
intersection project is summer 2017.
Safety at the forefront
Campus safety initiatives this spring
include a mobile app, campus lighting
and security cameras. Prospective
vendors for the safety app were
evaluated in February, with a goal of
implementation late in the semester.
In addition, the university is
conducting a campus-wide survey to
measure the outdoor lighting levels on
campus. The measurement survey will
identify areas of inadequate lighting,
for which projects will be generated
over time to improve the lighting.
University Advancement
Administration and Finance
Construction update
From left: management faculty Chris Granzol and John Granzol, College of
Business Dean Jeffrey Krug, business students, President David L. Soltz,
and Giuffre family members Nick, Kathy, Nicky, Charlie and Natalie.
Gift establishes Giuffre Center
Nicholas J. Giuffre ’78 recently contributed a $2.5 million blended gift to the
BU Foundation and the university’s It’s Personal campaign – the largest gift in
Foundation history. The gift establishes the Nicholas J. Giuffre Center for Supply
Chain Management within the College of Business. The gift also endows the Nicholas
J. Giuffre Distinguished Professor in Supply Chain Management to support the
university’s supply chain management major and experiential learning opportunities
for students. It is the first endowed professorship in the College of Business.
It’s Personal raises
$41.6 million
By the time the public phase of BU’s
It’s Personal campaign kicked off last
October, 14,800 individual donors
had contributed nearly $37 million
toward the $50 million goal. As of
March 31, the campaign has reached
$41,693,151 to benefit academic and
athletic scholarships, faculty support and
Professional U.
Learn more at itspersonal.bloomu.edu.
Ficca named Breiner
Professor of Nursing
Michelle Ficca, the chairperson of the
nursing department, is the recipient
of the first Breiner Family Endowed
Professorship for Nursing. The
professorship is supported by a gift of
$1.9 million from Edward and Julianne
(Miller) Breiner, who graduated from
BU in 1977. The Breiners established
the university’s first endowed
professorship a year ago in support of an
exceptional teacher, mentor and leader.
www.bloomu.edu