Pennsylvania Western University
Council of Trustees Regular Quarterly Meeting
Thursday, January 19, 2023
3 p.m.
PennWest California Convocation Center
250 University Ave., California, PA 15419
Meeting Minutes
The Council of Trustees at Pennsylvania Western University met in regular session on Thursday,
January 19, 2023, at the PennWest California campus at 250 University Ave., California, PA, and via
Zoom. The meeting began at 3:04 p.m.
ATTENDING
Mark Bellini
JD Dunbar
Patricia Kennedy
Barbara Logue
Commissioner Larry Maggi
Barry Niccolai

Representative Donna Oberlander
Kathy Pape
Larry Pickett
Sarah Seader
Neil Weaver
Sonia Yost

ABSENT: Danny Jones, Kathryn Robinson
At the direction of Chair Pape, roll call attendance was taken. A quorum of Trustees was present.
Also in attendance: Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, Founding President; Lorraine Bernotsky, Executive
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; James Geiger, Vice President for Advancement;
Susanne Fenske, Vice President for Student Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness; Brenda Fredette,
Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost; Daniel Engstrom, Deputy Provost and
Interim Dean, College of Education; Fawn Petrosky, Vice President for Finance; Erinn Lake, Vice
President for Enrollment Management, Student Services and Global Innovation; Kelly MoranRepinski, Chief of Staff; Molly Passmore, University Legal Counsel; Robin Weaver, PennWest
Faculty Senate; Jackie Knaust, PennWest Faculty Senate; Peter Kuvshinikov, PennWest Faculty
Senate; Mario Majcen, Local APSCUF President, PennWest California; Joyce Overly, Local
APSCUF President, PennWest Clarion; Staci Tedrow, Administrative Assistant II.
APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA
Chair Pape moved that the Consent Agenda be approved as presented:
• Meeting Minutes 10-12-2022
Yeas: All
Nays: None
Motion Passed
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
APSCUF COMMENT (Full comments in video archive)
Dr. Mario Majcen, local APSCUF President, provided comment on behalf of PennWest California.
Dr. Joyce Overly, local APSCUF President, provided comment on behalf of PennWest Clarion.

COUNCIL CHAIR REPORT (Full report in video archive)
Chair Pape provided a report highlighting PennWest Trustee engagement, appointment of trustees
to committee assignments, and focus of attracting students to PennWest and retaining current
students.
STUDENT REPORT (Full report in video archive)
Student Trustees Sarah Seader (California) and Sonia Yost (Edinboro) provided reports on the
status and activities at PennWest California and PennWest Edinboro.
No report from Trustee Robinson for PennWest Clarion.
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT’S REPORT (Full report in video archive)
President Pehrsson welcomed new student Trustees Sarah Seader and Sonia Yost, and
congratulated PennWest California student, Darrek Harshberger, on his appointment as a student
representative on the PASSHE Board of Governors.
President Pehrsson shared the focus of the semester:
• Achieving long-term fiscal sustainability and promoting efficiencies.
• Putting our students first and ensuring decisions add value to the student experience.
• Continuing initiatives that build a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
• Growing community engagement.
• Strengthening engagement and partnerships with regional business and industry leaders.
PACT/BOG UPDATE (Full report in video archive)
Trustee Niccolai offered a PACT update.
FACULTY SENATE REPORT (Full report in video archive)
Dr. Peter Kuvshinikov provided remarks on behalf of the PennWest Faculty Senate.
UNIVERSITY REPORTS (Full reports in video archive)
1. ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Dr. Daniel Engstrom provided an update on division activity:
• Review of Academic Structure
• Curriculum Update – Graduate and Undergraduate
• Commencement Summary
• Center for Faculty Excellence
• Academic Excellence Days
2. INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS AND STUDENT AFFAIRS
Dr. Susanne Fenske provided an update on division activity:
Institutional Effectiveness and Institutional Research:
• IE/IR Team submitted progress reports and hosted Middle States site visits as follow-up
to Complex Substantive Change; Assessment Team working to launch overall PennWest
assessment protocols and mapping for the institution; Advanced Analysis Team working
to combine campus NSSE data to provide actionable data for PennWest use and are
managing data-gathering tools for the Strategic Plan process.
• Strategic Planning: Currently, finalizing plans and tools to fill stakeholder feedback gaps.
University Police:
• Working towards certification for University Police officers through the Municipal Police
Officer Education and Training Commission per a legislative change initiated by the State
System Police Chiefs and PASSHE administration.

University Police continued valuable university and community service this fall to engage
with students and the campus communities through Cornhole with a Cop, Coffee with a
Cop, and Shop with a Cop to name a few.
Auxiliary Services, Budgets, and Project Management
• Implemented weekly Did You Know? newsletter to division faculty and staff with
information and resources from the IESAP division and university-wide to help us better
serve and support our students.
• Auxiliary team working closely with F & A on multiple integrations projects for Auxiliary
Services; bookstore, laundry, and food service contracts to name a few, as well as
University student fees and budgeting.
Campus Life
• Campus student food pantries combined this fall under the PennWest Pantry moniker.
Campus pantries served 203 individual students during the fall semester.
• PennWest recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge for having a Highly
Established Action Plan and a Most Engaged Campus for voter registration.
Residence Life and Housing
• PennWest Residence Life conducted 667 activities during fall through a combination of
collaborative programs, campus events, and floor programs.
• PennWest common housing application for fall 2023 freshmen opened in November and
room selection began for current students on all campuses.
Wellness
• Recreational Services hosted former NHL player Kevin Stevens to educate 300+
students about the dangers of substance abuse (www.powerforward25.com) and held a
memorial hockey game to benefit the Branson King Memorial PennWest Endowed
Scholarship.
• Student Wellness Services presented the 35th annual Health Fair at California, and
Edinboro hosted the annual Stories of Strength Day providing wellness activities for
students, faculty, staff, and communities.
• Office for Students with Disabilities received a grant for a fourth year to support
Edinboro’s wheelchair basketball team and to provide student resources for OSD
programming.
• Student Health Services teamed with local Intermediate Units to provide free COVID
testing this fall.
• Alcohol and Other Drugs office and PASSHE AOD coordinator received multiple grants
through the PLCB to educate and help prevent underaged and dangerous drinking.
•

3. STRATEGIC ENROLLMENT AND GLOBAL ONLINE
Dr. Erinn Lake shared an update on Spring 2023 enrollment; CPP FTE target achieved.
• Fall 2022 Freeze data still in process (98% complete). Will update recruitment and
retention plan when available and focus on Fall 2023 class projections with assistance
from RNL.
• Refining SEM org. structure in collaboration with WCU colleagues.
• Revisiting student search strategy and contracts for UG and GR.
• Continued collaborations with Marketing and Communications on campaigns.
• January 2023 – PennWest held its first Study Abroad program in 1,290 days.
• ASU Accelerator Grant for $60k approved and executed.
• A PW-trained Innovation Team will coordinate regular student, staff, faculty, alumni, and
employer feedback loops that will provide stakeholders an opportunity to have their voice
heard and share concerns or ideas to improve the student experience.
• Data will be used to fuel innovations and initiatives towards a more student-centered
university.

4. FINANCE AND FACILITIES
Fawn Petrosky introduced CliftonLarsonAllen audit team to present on the Audited Financial
Statements for California, Clarion and Edinboro.
Action Item: Audited Financial Statements
Chair Pape moved to approve the Audited Financial Statements as presented.
Yeas: All
Nays: None
Motion Passed
VP Petrosky reported on the quarterly contracts and purchases for the period of July 21, 2022,
through November 20, 2022. Further division activity reported on includes Accounting, Financial
Planning and Analysis, Student Accounts, Information Technology, Human Resources and
Administration.
5. UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT
James Geiger provided an update on University Advancement to include:
• Communications and Marketing:
o Launched PennWest News @ pennwest.edu/news
o Launched PennWest eNews
o Alumni Magazines will remain campus-focused; will introduce some PennWestwide information.
o Social Media
 Facebook page reach grew 13% November – December

Instagram followers grew 15% November - December
• Alumni Engagement/Advancement Services/Grants
o Total alumni of record – 188,444; total alumni of record with PA addresses –
126,868 (67%).
o Homecoming 2023 dates announced
 Edinboro – September 30
 Clarion – October 7
 California – October 14
o Fundraising for June 30, 2022 – December 13, 2022 (unaudited) exceeded
combined campus 5-year average.
• Brand Identity/Marketing
o Enrollment Marketing
 “Here for It” campaign launching in January
 Informed by market research
• Responses from more than 7,000 respondents, including 170
prospective. students, 1,045 current students, 430 faculty and
staff, 943 community members and 4,523 alumni.
• Workshops with key stakeholders, including students and
faculty/staff.
 Partner with Strategic Enrollment on mail flow pieces.
o Fall 2023 launch of new integrated website, Global Online subdomain and
PennWest intranet.
6. UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS
Kelly Moran-Repinski provided an update on University Affairs:
• People and Culture Taskforce
o Fall Highlights
 We listened and took action

•

• PennWest Employee Directory
• Organizational Charts
• Forms and Policies SharePoint
 Identified areas of focus for spring semester
• Employee Morale
• Employee Recognition
• Work-Life Balance
o Spring 2023
 Three sub-committees to focus on key areas: Employee Morale,
Employee Recognition, Work-Life Balance
 Goals: Collection feedback from employees across three campuses, use
data to identify opportunities, recommend solutions, Action Plan
Advocacy
o Promote the power and promise of PennWest and PASSHE – our economic and
social impact and value.
o Build a culture of advocacy with leadership, students, students, faculty, staff,
trustees, and supporters of PASSHE.
o Achieve the FY 23-24 funding request to:
 Keep tuition affordable for students
 Educate students for career in high demand fields
 Strengthen Pennsylvania’s workforce and economy

ADJOURNMENT
Chair Pape moved to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m.
Meeting webcast available here.