Dear UPJ Community,
I hope the Fall Term started well for you and yours, and that, as always, you are making the best of it, embracing and enjoying our world -- despite the trials and tribulations of our testing times. I am delighted to share this Fall 2026 Campus newsletter to update you on numerous initiatives and to highlight the success of our People, Programs, and Place - in pursuit of our Public Purpose. Thanks to you and all you do in the classroom and beyond, UPJ is thriving, even excelling, despite the omnipresent enrollment and budget challenges that bedevil coeval higher education.
Highly laudatory external validations of UPJ's performance should definitely infuse plenty of verve and vim in our stride -- as we navigate a tough higher ed landscape riven by unrelenting enrollment challenges and related budget woes. Besides being ranked as a top-tier Regional Public College in the North, UPJ is also designated as one of the "great" "A+ schools" providing access and opportunity for all students, alongside major national institutions such as Michigan State University, the University of Kentucky, and West Virginia University. Our Nursing program is ranked #12 in the nation, and our nursing graduates are highly sought after. A US News top 5 Best College for Veterans in the North, UPJ is home to the unique Heroes Memorial, where we recently gathered for a solemn commemoration of September 11, 2001.
Furthermore, UPJ is also nationally recognized as a high-access, high-earning institution, outperforming most AAU institutions in that combined category. With an excellent placement rate of 96%, UPJ alumni have higher earnings post-graduation, exceeding the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) average by nearly $3,000 - a feat that also contributes to our ranking as a top school for social mobility.
In view of the foregoing, we were not surprised when UPJ was recently included in the inaugural Best Colleges for Rural America by Washington Monthly - a new ranking that recognizes institutions renowned for boosting upward mobility. UPJ earned the No. 13 spot in the nationwide survey and was one of only two Pennsylvania schools to place in the top 50. The ranking weighs measures such as the share of Pell Grant recipients an institution serves, degrees awarded in high priority/in-demand fields, and affordability and high earnings. Four years after graduation, UPJ alumni earn roughly $73,700 a year, about $12,500 more than their backgrounds would predict, a powerful measure of the doors a UPJ degree opens. As Washington Monthly put it, rural colleges like ours are "load-bearing pillars of local tax bases" --- vital to the economic and civic life of the communities they serve.
This most recent accolade is strong external validation of our Public Purpose, to wit, cultivating Real World Ready graduates who help fuel regional economic development, catalyze social mobility, and contribute to improvements in the quality of life for people in our region. Thus, even as we celebrate Pitt's designation as a "New Ivy" by Forbes Magazine, we are equally thrilled to 'represent!' out here in rural America!
Enrollment & Budget Challenges
At the beginning of this term, we welcomed 604 new and transfer students into our community, a very positive outcome that matched last year's entering class, marking the two largest classes over the past six years. Year-round, our pipeline showed strong positive momentum, with applications up by about 6% over the prior year. For example, Nursing applications were up 25% and deposits up 28%; Natural Sciences deposits were up 15.5%, and pre-med applications nearly doubled! Engineering held steady with its second consecutive year above 120 deposits.
These accomplishments were made possible by our hardworking Admissions Team, along with the support of faculty and staff across Campus. Thanks to these efforts, overall enrollment remains stable at approximately 1825 FTE students, meeting the ambitious strategic plan objective we established about three years ago, which, among other things, envisioned a very challenging demographic landscape and other socio-economic challenges.
As we begin another enrollment drive, we continue to be mindful of the challenges posed by the so-called demographic cliff and other constraints in the environment. Despite the challenges, we are energized by the potential impact of the newly established access and affordability
initiative launched by the University of Pittsburgh. Beginning this fall, the new Pitt Regional Campus Tuition Pledge offers eligible Pennsylvania students a last-dollar $0-tuition path --- a potent new tool for access and recruitment, particularly given the large percentage of households in our region that fall below the $75,000 AGI eligibility threshold.
Nonetheless, the picture is far from rosy. Despite the strength in the new first-year classes for two years in a row, we are still far from our peak enrollment levels around 2800 students. The resulting pressure on our budgets is substantial, as expenses have continued to grow while tuition revenue has declined. Efforts are underway to reduce the ensuing structural deficit and to restore budget stability through prudent fiscal management over the next couple of years.
Welcome Class of 2030!
As always, UPJ rolled out a warm welcome mat for the Class of 2030, beginning on move-in day, where student leaders and staff members helped families haul and deliver their students' belongings into their residence halls. Orientation activities on August 20-22 were a great success, including signature events such as the NSTO Kick-off featuring Judson Laipply, a yard game night, fire pits, and a Casino, Mountain Cat Pride Night. The move-in momentum continued into "Weeks of Warm Welcome - UPJ-WWW," a full slate of campus traditions running from Pizza with Professors and the Majors & Minors Fair to the class trip to Cedar Point. Quite clearly, it was obvious that despite our reputation for studiousness, there is plenty of good times to be had by all on the UPJ Campus -- what with all the range of student activities, clubs and Greek Life organizations, including the newly introduced slate of clubs!
To be sure, welcome week was not all fun and games. Socializing new students into our university is also a solemn activity exemplified by the Freshman Convocation, where participating faculty and guests introduced students into our community of scholars, practitioners, and professionals. The attendees heard remarks from UPJ administrators and SGA President Alijah Gibson.
Kudos to Our Faculty!
The impressive record of accomplishments of UPJ faculty scholars and practitioners continues to be a great source of pride. Our faculty's commitment to up-close-and-personal teaching, mentorship, and advising is the nucleus of the UPJ experience. Evidence of such impactful engagement includes signature experiences such as UPJ-SPACE, the Teaching Showcase for Education Seniors, the annual Concrete Canoe Competition, Soil Judging Contest led by Dr. Mitzy Schaney, and the Business Internship Showcase.
Through leading-edge research, UPJ faculty are expanding the frontiers of knowledge, discovery, and scholarship in their fields. Taking it a notch higher, Dr. Jill Henning and her colleagues (Drs. Nigam, Tracey, and Bonachea) developed a product to prevent tick-borne illness through the transformational, prize-winning, and patent-securing B.I.T.E. product commercialization initiative. Equally impressive, they engaged several undergraduates in the landmark project. Other faculty are creating meaningful practical experiences for students, including some that culminate in certifications that pave the way to good-paying jobs.
Meanwhile, UPJ Communications faculty hosted the Pennsylvania Communication Association (PCA) during their 86th Annual Conference, held on our campus, September 18-19. Our esteemed Dr. Maryl McGinley, in her capacity as President of the association, graciously chaired the well-attended event that drew participants from 30 universities across the U.S. and beyond. Included in participants was our very own Women's Basketball Assistant Coach and UPJ Alumnus, Mia Oterson ('21) who was honored as the PCA Speaker of the Year.
The distinctive up-close-personal ethos of our faculty is increasingly reflected in the rankings and assessments of student learning and engagement. The most recent National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) reveals students are connecting with their professors more than ever: nearly two-thirds now say they have had meaningful conversations with faculty about their careers, up from just over four in ten a year ago, and our broader measures of student-faculty interaction and effective teaching both climbed notably. Roughly three in four students now feel well supported in their academic success, up from about two-thirds, and participation in civic and social programming jumped from about a quarter of students to two in five. Bravo!
A special kudos to faculty in the Engineering Division who worked assiduously and successfully to attain their program reaccreditations. ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission reaffirmed accreditation for all five of our engineering programs following a comprehensive site visit. Likewise, a special shout-out to Respiratory Care Director Wendy Smith and her colleagues who secured reaccreditation of the Respiratory Care Program!
As I shared at the last Faculty Senate meeting, we plan to do a better job recognizing and celebrating all our faculty accomplishments and milestones. Parenthetically, it seems we were doing a better job on that score until the disruption of the pandemic years. For those interested, VPAA Dr. Wrabley is compiling a wide-ranging list of recognitions for an annual faculty celebration next Spring that, among other things, should vivify and, I daresay, reify our community's spirit.
As I emphasized at the Faculty Senate, perhaps now, even more so than ever, we should endeavor to get together as a human community -- what with all the talk about the Age of the Smart-Aleck Machines that increasingly feign certain human traits and may be purportedly scheming
to claim our place, shrink our space, or, perhaps even make us extinct. Perish the thought! Recall the PCA event I mentioned earlier: after all the esoteric theorizing and profound critical analysis was completed, the group got together in a song circle! (Yes, I did enjoy it.)
In Appreciation of Our Staff
Equally central to our success is the great work our dedicated staff is performing. From the Facilities Team, whose work ensures our premises are safe and suitable for learning, to the Student Affairs Team that coordinates various programming initiatives to enhance student wellbeing, satisfaction, and connectedness, one cannot help but be filled with gratitude.
Thanks to the Student Affairs Leadership Team, campus clubs and organizations such as our Programming Board are well supported as they run events such as the annual "Nerdology" trivia night, Free Ticket Friday, the annual Leadership Summit, and the like. The diligent efforts of our Student Affairs Team are being noticed and felt not just on Campus but well beyond, at a national level no less. For example, our own Heather Hall, Director of Campus Activities and Engagement, was named the inaugural Fraternity Sorority Advisor of the Year by the national headquarters of both the Acacia Fraternity and Sigma Tau Gamma. With such leadership in place, it is hardly surprising that several individuals and chapters from our Fraternity and Sorority Life Community also recently received national and international honors.
Our Office of Health and Counseling Services (OHCS) continues to do much-valued work serving our students. OHCS handled over 2,468 appointments, 60 crisis responses, and 151 Care Reports over the year --- a reflection of both real student need and the strength of our response.
The strength of our Campus life programs is also reflected in various surveys and assessments. For example, student satisfaction with dining reached its highest level in five years -- reflecting undoubtedly award-winning Director Lacey Gearhart and her team's emphasis on customer satisfaction and responsiveness to students' concerns.
Not every indicator moved the right way. Most concerning, students' sense of social involvement slipped a few points, as did their sense of well-being support. We are developing a plan to improve in these areas going forward.
A Shoutout to Mountain Cat Athletics
As always, Mountain Cat Athletics has so many highlights to applaud and celebrate: Men's Wrestling sent six athletes to the NCAA Division II National Championships, where several distinguished themselves! Women's Wrestling -- in the inaugural year - produced a national qualifier and All-American (Makayla Paclib); teammate Emma Hoppe won an individual title at the 2026 Pennsylvania Collegiate Women's Championships. Baseball rose to 10th place regionally, and the men's indoor track relay team placed 7th nationally. Men's and women's swimming programs ---brand new this year --- sent their first-ever competitors to the PSAC Championships. Our men's golf team captured the Appalachian Collegiate title, with David Razinskas earning medalist honors! In addition to the impact on the fields of competition, Mountain Cat Athletics has also had a very positive impact on student recruitment.
Facilities & Infrastructure
One of our major strategic plan goals involves tackling a backlog of deferred maintenance issues, especially those associated with HVAC and critical systems, including roof and boiler maintenance. To that end, I am pleased to share that recently completed projects include the $1.6 million Living-Learning Center chiller and cooling tower replacement. Other ongoing priority projects include boiler and electrical work at the Aquatic and Sports Centers; boiler maintenance in Blackington Hall and HVAC controls in Biddle Hall and the Student Union.
We have also taken significant steps towards addressing a major strategic plan goal involving Student Union upgrades, renovation, and construction, including more recreational spaces. Towards that end, we initiated and completed a $3.1 million renovation of our dining facilities, including the main Dining Hall, The Mountain Cat Club, and Food Court. In addition, we invested $650,000 in designing and constructing a new E-sports facility, expected to be, upon completion, among the finest of its kind in the region. The completed facility will be a huge boost for one of the best teams on the entire East Coast!
Other initiatives included paving and patching around Blackington Hall, a completed project that has undoubtedly made the entrance used by many of our prospective students and their families more welcoming and inviting!
Finally, a key element of our strategic plan commitment to enhancing our "Place" involves developing and implementing initiatives to ensure that UPJ remains a safe and secure campus. Over the past few months, we have also made very significant improvements in campus lighting and security camera installation in urgent areas requested by the students.
Despite such progress, deferred maintenance remains a pressing challenge, with lots of unfinished business, including better paving of roadways and parking lots, improving accessibility, and renewing aging academic technology, all of which remain top priorities.
Community Engagement
We continue to see progress in the development of our FutureReady Center in the Jupiter Building downtown. Last April, we explored the development and 'testing' of a drone operation certification program there that could train students for bridge and railroad inspections. With funding received from the federal level as well as grants secured through our partners, we plan to acquire two sophisticated AI drones from Horizon Aerobotics. If anticipated funding is secured and work commences as planned, FutureReady Center could emerge as a vital hub for entrepreneurial innovation for people in our region.
Continuing our civic education on and off campus, we hosted a special America 250 Democracy Bowl to celebrate our Semiquincentennial! The event featured students from ten regional school districts for the annual Civics showcase, featuring wide-ranging student exhibits and the awarding of prizes sponsored by the Weimer American Democracy Fund.
UPJ Social Science Division collaborated with Senator Dush to co-host an End Human Trafficking Conference on campus, work that was later honored with a Pennsylvania Senate Recognition of Service.
Last April, UPJ hosted its fourth annual Naturalization Ceremony at the Murtha Center, welcoming new American citizens from around the world to campus.
UPJ also served as the host for "AI in the Alleghenies" -- a convening of regional leaders in education, healthcare, and business to explore AI's impact across industries.
Working with community partners including the United Way of the Southern Alleghenies, we are also developing a new food insecurity initiative, building on our existing Food Pantry work with Chartwells.
UPJ hosted the NCAA Division II Golf Regionals at Sunnehanna Country Club in May --- bringing 20 teams, 120 competitors, coaches, and fans to Johnstown for an event with an estimated $100,000-plus economic impact on the community.
In total, more than 2,000 community members visited our campus this year through these and other outreach efforts --- a testament to how central UPJ has become to civic life in this region.
Alumni & Development
Our roughly 23,000 alumni worldwide remain among UPJ's greatest assets, and their generosity continues to build our institutional foundation for the future. Working in partnership with the Development Office, the Alumni Association helped meet the "Century Challenge" goal during Pitt Day of Giving, identifying 100 new donors who gave at least $100. We are grateful for their efforts! The Alumni Association has also played a significant role in supporting several Campus events and connecting with Alumni Parents of UPJ students. Kudos!
Meanwhile, several athletics alumni were feted at the 20th Athletics Hall of Fame induction on April 25, where new inductees, including the historic AIAW Final Four Women's Basketball Team, joined the pantheon of champions!
We also continue to hold various alumni gatherings as we intensify spirit-raising and friend-making. The number and scope of these events will surely intensify during the unfolding comprehensive campaign, which also coincides with our Centennial year celebrations and campaign for the next century.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our alumni and friends, we enter the new campaign with the wind behind our backs. According to the most recent report, our endowment has topped $80,000,000, exceeding a five-fold increase over the past two decades.
On the eve of our 100th anniversary, I look forward to engaging our alumni and friends around the world to plan and prepare to celebrate UPJ's historic impact, even as we also position it for the next century. If all goes well, we will continue to grow our endowment to support even more generous scholarships, strengthen our academic programs, and improve our facilities to sustain UPJ well into the next century.
Transitions
As is always the case as we progress from the end to the beginning of another academic year, we have seen a number of faculty and staff transitions, while also welcoming new arrivals to our community. We are immensely grateful to all our recently retired faculty and staff colleagues whose excellence and dedication helped build UPJ. Godspeed.
Earlier this term, we were thrilled to welcome several new faculty who chose to make UPJ their home in the next phase of their professional and personal journeys. We warmly and enthusiastically welcome them and wish them the very best in this new phase of their lives. Likewise, we are thankful for the new staff who made the decision to join us. We hope you too will have a fulfilling and impactful career!
In Memoriam
We also express our deepest condolences to members of the UPJ family who passed away and express our heartfelt gratitude for their service to the University.
Bookends
Over the past few months, we have witnessed two events that, in so many ways, are complementary bookends: graduation and convocation. Last May, as we said goodbye to the Class of 2026, I could not help but marvel at the Walt Whitman-like 'miracle' of education. During the ceremony, we
were reminded of the uniquely transformative power of education by the inspiring life story of our Commencement speaker, Dr. Miguel Cardona, the 12th U.S. Secretary of Education, who traced his phenomenal ascent to opportunities he had as a first-generation student.
As the 2026 graduating students collected their diplomas, I marveled at all they had accomplished at UPJ and dreamed that they too, like Dr. Cardona, would enjoy equally illustrious careers in their respective fields. Nearly six in ten earned honors: 16% graduated summa cum laude, 21% magna cum laude, and 22% cum laude! Many excelled in athletics and were involved in numerous clubs and organizations. Many participated in internships, clinicals, apprenticeships and other significant practical experiences. Many had already found excellent jobs, while others were on their way to graduate school, etc. Great outcomes that attested to the transformative power and the Whitmanesque 'miracle' of education.
Fast forward to last August when we welcomed the new Class of 2030. My message to this new class echoed the same themes they shared with Class of 2026, including: (1) the importance of purpose as a guiding principle (2) the power of potential; (3) the role - and proven record - of up-close & personal UPJ professors (and staff) in helping students of promise and potential develop a plan and program to succeed; (4) the importance of positive participation and persistence (often against the odds) in the journey to attain personal well-being and professional success; and (5) the duty to balance the pursuit of private interest or personal profit with attention to the public good.
With these bookends in mind, I cannot help but dream of more Whitman-like miracles for all our students. I trust that they too will persist till the finish line, and graduate into a strong, prosperous economy where well-paying jobs are plentiful... That they leave the ceremony imbued with a strong sense of purpose, full of optimism about their promise, potential, and prospects; that they will achieve personal and professional success, while also furthering the public good.
Against this leitmotif infused with miracles, one cannot help but be filled with joy, awe, and gratitude for all our people are accomplishing, often against the odds. Kudos: From marvels like the unparalleled UPJ BITE faculty team to enterprising engineering teams building steel bridges and racing concrete canoes; from astonishing feats of our student athletes to our Dance Ensemble's electric performance of the cancan that transformed the PPAC into Moulin Rouge!
What a wonderful world... as goes the song by Louis Armstrong!
Embrace & Enjoy Our World!
Jem Spectar