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The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties and Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education have released a joint update about negotiations. Click here to read the release.

Dr. Nancy VanArsdale, center, was East Stroudsburg University’s APSCUF chapter president when she received APSCUF’s Distinguished Service Award in 2019. With her are Dr. Allan Benn, left, who introduced the award, and APSCUF President Dr. Kenneth M. Mash. APSCUF filed photo

After 26 years serving as APSCUF’s East Stroudsburg University chapter president, Nancy VanArsdale was ready to make way for new leadership. She remains a professor of English at ESU, where she started in August 1990. VanArsdale quickly got involved with APSCUF. Astonished by the sense of community she said she felt during her first fall APSCUF meeting, she saw how well-run APSCUF was. She also met the state president at the time, William Fulmer.

“I was excited to become a part of it,” VanArsdale said of APSCUF, recalling the experience. She signed her union card.

During the spring semester of 1991, VanArsdale ran for ESU’s chapter public-relations position and the sabbatical committee, ultimately being elected to both. VanArsdale joined the statewide meet-and-discuss team in 1996. She said she knew representing ESU on state committees was a “fulfilling aspect of my career.”

VanArsdale saw the APSCUF strike of 2016 as a standout event during her presidency. She recalled meeting with both senior and junior faculty to explain why APSCUF was striking and what this meant for them as faculty members. She also described the strong solidarity. She shared memories of students joining her and other members on the picket line, supporting their educators with motivational signs, sweet treats, and cold water.

Reflecting on the challenges she had as a chapter president, VanArsdale shared an example of when she believed APSCUF was progressive beyond its time. She recalled that, more than 20 years before the pandemic, APSCUF’s collective bargaining agreement addressed distance education. Being one of the professors who agreed to learn distance education, VanArsdale felt prepared when the COVID-19 pandemic forced distance education onto everyone. VanArsdale described the solidarity that shone among APSCUF members as she watched faculty helping each other restructure their educational plans.

Stepping into the role as chapter president is Andi McClanahan, the chair of the ESU communication department. McClanahan said VanArsdale and other members encouraged her to get involved with APSCUF early in her career. McClanahan described how VanArsdale has listened to the members of her chapter and helped shape the union at ESU.

“She was always a steady leader who was able to be firm in promoting the union and fair in understanding concerns,” McClanahan said of VanArsdale.

After stepping back from chapter presidency, VanArsdale said she plans to stay active at the local and state APSCUF. She shared that she is excited about this new chapter in her life.

—Chloe Kissinger,
APSCUF intern

The July 20 Board of Governors meeting was streamed via YouTube. The video is cued to start at APSCUF President Dr. Kenneth M. Mash’s comments. He discussed funding for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, encouraged caution about updates to board policies, and lauded our State System coaches. Coaches go above and beyond to make sure student-athletes get best possible experience, Mash said. “Too much of what they do takes place under the radar,” he said, urging recognition and respect for coaches.

The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties and Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education have released a joint update about negotiations. Click here to read the release.

The desire to help those around her never came as a want for Cassandra Reyes but as a need. She fulfills this need as an associate professor at West Chester University, and she was re-elected in April as an officer-at-large with State APSCUF.

In her previous career as a probation and parole officer, Reyes joined the Fraternal Order of Police in 1995, where she took hold of the leadership opportunities presented to her. She remains involved even after leaving the job. Reyes is the vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, New Jersey Bicentennial Lodge #76.

Cassandra Reyes listens to speakers during an APSCUF legislative assembly in 2019. APSCUF file photo

As a product of the State System, she knew this was where she was meant to return to after her time as a law-enforcement officer. After receiving her graduate degrees from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Reyes joined the faculty at West Chester University. Since both of Reyes’ graduate degrees are in criminology and with her history in law enforcement, she knew that she could bring her real-world experience into the classroom. At West Chester, Reyes immediately joined APSCUF due to her exposure to the union at IUP as a graduate student, where she served as the vice president and president of a Graduate Student Assembly. Through her roles in GSA, she worked hand in hand with APSCUF faculty members on search committees for new university administrators. There she felt like she had a voice as a student because of the faculty members around her who encouraged her to express herself.

After signing her union card in 2009, Reyes immediately became involved with APSCUF at a higher level. She served as a departmental representative, then as a legislative assembly delegate in 2012, and as a State APSCUF officer-at-large in 2017. As a newly elected officer-at-large, her immediate goal was to understand the inner workings of the state and campus staff, and she set out to get to know everyone personally. She’s also served on the legislative and election committees, where she worked with the state staff to understand and further the wants and needs of the faculty. This time as officer-at-large, Reyes plans to continue serving the faculty and working with the staff from across the state.

Reyes says that the communication between the state staff and the campus chapters is extraordinary and one of the reasons for solidarity across state members. Being able to connect with other faculty members from different campuses and understanding their individual needs at different universities is what she says makes the APSCUF community stronger.

“Always go where your passions lie,” Reyes said, encouraging students and faculty.

—Chloe Kissinger,
APSCUF intern