December 19, 2025
As we approach the end of the year 2025, I am filled with gratitude for all the accomplishments of our community, even as we continue to tackle the many challenges facing coeval higher education. This newsletter and related links tell a story of a resilient Campus making steady progress in unusually turbulent times, powered by the incredible efforts, talents, and dedication of students, faculty, and staff, and further turbo-charged by the generosity of alumni, friends, supporters, and well-wishers. As you will read below, including in the many links provided, this is very much like the fable of the little blue engine that thought it could…
Notwithstanding the challenges we face in a turbulent higher education environment, UPJ is making remarkable progress, achieving significant distinctions that would be the envy of many other prestigious, not to mention better-funded, institutions. Let me cite a few examples. Notably, US News & World Report (2026) once again ranked UPJ among the nation's “great” A+ “schools…” that believe in access, opportunity, and success for all students. In effect, these are institutions that welcome a variety of students, with less-than-perfect academic backgrounds, such as those with “slightly lower” GPAs (and even a B-average) but who demonstrate “individuality, persistence, and seriousness of purpose”, and potential. This consequential national ranking has also been awarded to major national universities such as Michigan State University, the University of Kentucky, Florida International University, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Iowa, and West Virginia University. Finally, we also take pride in the fact that the entire University of Pittsburgh has now received the elite designation of a new Ivy! H2P!
In another significant milestone, Pitt-Johnstown has been recognized as a high-access and high-earning institution by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and the American Council on Education (ACE). With strong scores on key metrics related to accessibility and graduate job outcomes, Pitt-Johnstown distinguished itself as one of the select few institutions in the sweet spot of very high access and above-average earnings relative to peers for graduates in high-demand fields. An analysis of the rankings revealed that UPJ bested AAU institutions in this specific category. In addition to our Nursing School being ranked among the top 10 in the USA, our ABET-accredited School of Engineering just received its first ranking on a list of nationally recognized engineering schools. We continue to be recognized by US News (2026) as one of the top 15 of all Regional Colleges in the North, and a top ten regional public. In addition, US News (2026) has named UPJ the #5 Best College for Veterans. Finally, in the US News (2026 edition) Pitt-Johnstown is ranked in the top 50 in the category of “top performers on social mobility.”
These and other distinctions that enable us to achieve our mission and purpose would not be possible without the excellence, talents, and dedicated efforts of our faculty. For one, our capacity to recruit, enroll, and graduate promising students in this challenging environment depends on the success of that faculty’s signature, up-close-and-personal teaching, learning, and advising approach, a feature that continues to make UPJ a compelling destination. I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate all faculty who received recognition, distinctions, and/or made remarkable contributions over the past year in the areas of teaching, professional development/scholarship, and service, including those with recent promotions. Earlier in the Fall term, we were delighted to welcome five new teacher-scholars from some of the best institutions around the world, bringing their talents, and I am confident they will work to burnish our reputation for excellence and serve as positive mentors and guides for our students. Let me also take this opportunity to express our appreciation for our recently retired faculty colleagues and to acknowledge their immense contributions to UPJ. We also lost faculty colleagues this past year whose impact, nevertheless, will continue to shape the lives of their students for decades.
Equally central to our success is dedicated staff, who consistently demonstrate Up-Close & Personal Care, Attention, Responsiveness & Engagement. Kudos. I also want to thank all new staff members hired this year for selecting UPJ, and we look forward to supporting your professional development, success, and quality of life. Regarding the latter, I hope we continue to enjoy the camaraderie during our signature Team UPJ Days - even as we do serious, satisfying, sometimes stressful, work. Let me also take this opportunity to thank recently retired staff colleagues for their dedicated service to UPJ.
To be sure, despite our successes, personnel challenges persist. Several departments face challenges, as hiring for certain vacant positions has been slow, constrained, or limited due to the current budgetary climate. Likewise, many units have been unable to hire additional staff, in part due to the current fiscal environment, exacerbated by funding shortfalls. We continue to address these challenges as best as possible in an unusually challenging fiscal environment, and we appreciate your patience and are grateful for your understanding.
Students, as always, are the center of our UPJ universe, fundamentally the reason we are all here doing what we do: to enroll promising ones; to educate them in a supportive environment characterized by Up-close-personal-teaching-learning and advising as well as Up-Close & Personal Care, Attention, Responsiveness & Engagement; to support and help retain them as they attain practical, real-world experiences; to celebrate their myriad academic achievements and athletic feats, and, to eventually to say a bittersweet goodbye at commencement as they head off to good jobs or graduate school.
Last Spring, we were delighted to graduate over 450 students in wide-ranging disciplines, many of whom already had jobs before collecting their diplomas at the May 3, 2025, commencement ceremony. In addition to a very significant cohort of exceptional summa cum laude graduates - some with double majors, to boot- another show-stopper at the ceremony was the commissioning of an ROTC officer, the first for a UPJ graduating class. More recently on December 14, 2025, UPJ held its first ever winter commencement, an event made even more memorable by the first snow storm of the season. Strong job placement rates for our graduating classes are one of the major reasons why UPJ does very well in recruiting as well as in rankings related to student success and social mobility.
Almost as soon as one cohort headed out the door, we were ecstatic to officially welcome the Class of 2029, comprising over 600 students - our largest incoming class since 2019. The composition of the class included students from our traditional recruitment in Pennsylvania, as well as many out-of-state students (an 80% increase in deposits), including those from as far away as Hawaii, and many new international students, with 17 countries represented (a 55% increase). There was a 5.6% increase in students comprising the top 10% of their class. Of note, we also welcomed several transfer students from PHCC, five of whom I was especially delighted to meet and chat with recently in Krebs Hall.
On behalf of a grateful community, a very special kudos to our Admissions Team for this very significant success during a difficult period. I visited with Brett Haselrig, Director of Admissions, and several members of his Team, including newbie Madalyn Ankney, a former student Admissions Ambassador, to congratulate them on a job well done and to challenge them to do it again and to top themselves. Likewise, I expressed the appreciation of a grateful campus to Joni Trovato, Director of Financial Aid, and her Team for their extraordinary efforts to make UPJ more affordable for our students. Kudos to one and all!
To be sure, all is not smooth sailing; there is plenty of turbulence in the air, and we are dealing with our fair share of the choppy enrollment waters. In particular, despite enrollment success this year, the steep decline from approximately 2,750 students to 1,850 students has put significant pressure on our budgets, resulting in a nagging annual budget deficit of approximately $2 million, which we are actively working to reduce going forward.
The Fall Term kicked off with an exciting Freshman Orientation program for the Class of 2029, combining standard information-sharing with lots of fun events and activities to boost student connectedness. It was a blast. At the Convocation ceremony, faculty and administrators welcomed over 600 students gathered at the PPAC. We were thrilled to welcome so many students of promise who pledged, among other things, to do diligent work to achieve their highest potential, to develop a plan for personal and professional success, and to persist until graduation. We are thankful that, of the many choices available, they chose us. We also pledge to support them in this critical phase of their life's journey as they prepare for professionally rewarding lives of impact. I know I speak for all of you when I say we wish the world for them: Godspeed, Class of 2029. And, as always, Mountain Cats Fight On!
A big shout-out to our clubs, organizations, and student groups, making the most of college through their engagement and participation. At the start of the academic year, the SGA baton passed to the Poole-Pavusek administration from the Mucci-Seeley team (Thank you all for the beautiful word cloud; I will always treasure it)!) As I recently told the new student government senators, members, their input makes a difference, as evidenced by the advocacy efforts of SGA last year that led to the paving of two parking lots.
As you probably know by now, there are many new and exciting things happening in our Mountain Cat Student Athletes. For the first time, we welcomed the inaugural cohorts of the UPJ Women's Wrestling Team and both the Men's and Women's swim teams. To be sure, our student athletes are an incredible point of pride and their extraordinary performances delight attending fans (including yours truly) and energize school spirit. Equally important, our coaches’ successful recruitment initiatives, have significantly boosted enrollment with students coming from near and far, such as volleyball phenom Adi-Beaz-De Jesus, from Puerto Rico, from Track and Field athlete Nathaniel Thomas, from Chicago, and Soccer player Pau Cano, from Spain. Other star athletes, such as Volleyball player Ellie Zuro-Cirino, have been prominently featured in a Post-Gazette article. With such incredible talent, I have no doubt that there are going to be many more championships and awards the UPJ storehouse this year. Meanwhile, kudos to championship Coach Reinhart, his colleagues, and community members who ran fearlessly in near 80-degree heat in a Jog-A-Thon to support the Mountain Cat Summer program. Mountain Cats Fight On!
Over the past few months, our Campus infrastructure has undergone numerous upgrades, not just in terms of renovations but also in terms of scale expansion. We were honored to welcome so many members of our Campus to the dedication of the John R. Musulin University Center, including members of the Board of Advisors and other VIPs from the area. The event, which was also prominently covered in the media culminated in a fiesta featuring food, music, and fireworks.
The Campus is already benefiting from this generous gift, including our IT Department, which is now calling it home, and several academic divisions planning maker spaces. Gensler, the world's largest architecture firm, was selected to conduct a feasibility study for projected utilization. They have already scheduled numerous meetings with staff, faculty, and students to develop a Campus vision for the facility. In the meantime, countless pieces of furniture from the facility have been repurposed, including upgraded chairs and furnishings for faculty and staff. Meanwhile, the departure of the bookstore created an incredible opportunity to expand student recreational spaces, including an expansive new space (as yet to be named) downstairs. As you can see from the photos, it is quite an upgrade! Meanwhile, the Zone was also refurbished with furnishings from the University Center, receiving very positive feedback from students. The new pool room upstairs is a hit!
Over the last year, several significant deferred maintenance challenges identified in our strategic plan were addressed, initiatives that amounted to about a $5 million investment to sustain and augment our facilities, infrastructure and technology. We replaced the Biddle Hall roof, gutters, downspouts and soffit/fascia at a cost of $530,000; replacement of the HVAC dehumidification system in the Zamias Aquatic Center costing $815,000 along with draining and scrubbing the pool, replacing broken tiles and other cosmetic maintenance; and replacing the gas boiler in the Student Union at a cost of $600,000. Additionally, repairs to the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center roof are completed, positioning this premier facility for another great year of shows and top-notch entertainment. In response to student requests (SGA), we paved the Upper Townhouse parking lot (44 spaces). We also completed residential Wi-Fi upgrades and implemented a new mobile meal ordering app (Transact) to enhance the dining experience. Furthermore, a $1.6 million project to replace the chillers and cooling tower at the Living-Learning Center has been started and will be completed in 2026.
Despite the progress, significant facilities challenges persist. Many of the deferred maintenance priorities identified in our 2023 Strategic Plan remain unaddressed. In that regard, during a recent meeting with visiting members of Pitt's Planning, Design, and Construction (PDC) team, I shared the urgency of the scale of our deferred maintenance challenges. We discussed the prospects of a comprehensive Master Plan project to gain a deeper understanding and resolve the issues over the long term.
Pitt-Johnstown is a vital partner in efforts to strengthen our community. We continue to make progress on the development of Pitt-Johnstown Future Ready, in collaboration with key stakeholders in the community, committed to the revitalization of downtown Johnstown through fostering an ecosystem of innovation and strengthening workforce-readiness. Kudos to the faculty working with the VPAA to develop a proposal for programming, which we shared with our Board of Advisors last week, soliciting their input. Meanwhile, I joined several other community leaders in welcoming Dr. Anna Paulson, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve President and her team to a community forum on regional economic development where a major topic of discussion was collaborative efforts between UPJ and our partners in the city and Vision 2030 to spur the renewal of our region.
The Pitt-Johnstown Campus continued to support civics education throughout the Johnstown region in collaboration with our K-12 partners. This year we sponsored the third annual Democracy Bowl event featuring about 125 students and their teachers from 7 high schools. Poster presentations included, “Helping Hands,” “Revitalizing the Railroads,” “Our World, Our Future, Our Community,” and “Growing the Community.” The top three winners received a total of $1250 prize money, and all participating students received $50. Meanwhile, kudos to our American Democracy Scholars for making this year’s Constitution Day even more special as they gave out copies of the US Constitution one of the best gifts ever (certainly more precious over the longer term than the Labubu dolls!)
We continue to support global education, including through study abroad and the development of significant institutional partnerships. in countries such as Japan, Canada, and Colombia, thanks to the engagement of key faculty leaders on Campus. Meanwhile, UPJ has partnered with Tilting Futures, a leading globally-focused nonprofit, to deliver an innovative, high-quality study and service abroad program in Cape Town, South Africa. In this regard, we announced the Global Changemakers Fellowship for student leaders who take action to solve real-world challenges while also sharing/amplifying their efforts through social media, blogs, etc., in order to educate, challenge, inspire, and engage others to be part of the hive for change.
We are also thankful for the many guest speakers who visited the Campus over the past year to deliver talks. ABC News Correspondent and host of Nightline, Stephanie Ramos, delivered a talk to the Class of 2025 that shared life lessons learned from her illustrious career, including during her service as a veteran during the war in Iraq. Meanwhile, SAGE speakers included Nick Chasler, ’79 a former executive at Harley Davidson, Doug Weimer, ’75 Former legal counsel at the Library of Congress and, most recently, Rob DeMichiei, ’87, a Chief Operating Officer at UPMC. In addition, Erin Lewellen, the CEO of Tilting Futures, delivered a talk during Freshman Convocation.
As always, we continue to build stronger ties with our alumni and friends, who remain connected with their alma mater. As we prepare for the next Capital Campaign in the future, I am heartened by the generosity of many major donors to UPJ who have given very generously and helped our endowment exceed $ 72 million – a fivefold increase over the last 18 years. The strength, loyalty, passion, and generosity of our alumni are a powerful propellant as we steer forward, making it possible for so many of our students to enjoy a top-notch Pitt educational experience.
In conclusion, after all is said and done, the success UPJ enjoys today and its ability to thrive and forge ahead in these times is because of you. Yes, It all comes down to you, whether you are a current student or alum, faculty or staff member, active friend of UPJ, and/or generous donor. You are our secret sauce. You, and everything you do every day, seen and unseen, known and unknown, and the gifts you make, big or small, make us all better.
Remember the little blue and gold engine that thought it could? It did. Actually, we did. We press on, pulling forward and pushing harder, and we are producing results that far exceed those of peer institutions with far more resources. This is the Johnstown Way. Incidentally, I am speaking not just of the Campus but of our resilient city that has been on the downside of the deluges of fate and fortune one too many times. And yet, we are still here, buoyant, even in these very unforgiving seas, steering steadfastly between Scylla and Charybdis.
As you can see, it is for good reason that we often chant Mountain Cats Fight On! channeling the indomitable spirit of the legendary G.O.A.T., Coach Pecora, and the mindset of William Ernest Henley's Invictus.
Thank you all for all the contributions you are making to the success of UPJ. Your talents, energy, endeavors, dedication, and love for this place are a great blessing indeed. On the eve of our 100th anniversary, I look forward to engaging with you all, including our alumni and friends worldwide, as we prepare for a grand celebration of UPJ's accomplishments and impact since 1927. Likewise, I hope you continue to engage with us as we position the institution to begin the next UPJ century as a highly impactful college, exceptionally proficient at preparing students for personal and professional success, particularly in careers that sustain our regional economy, spur social mobility, and strengthen the greater Johnstown community.
Embrace & Enjoy Our World!
Season’s Greetings,
Jem Spectar