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MU Receives $150,000 Safety Grant Millersville University has received a near $150,000 dollar grant from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration to support safety training for small businesses and hard-to-reach workers. Dr. Jack Ogutu, chairperson of Millersville’s Applied Engineering, Safety & Technology Department says, “The funds are to be used for training workers in construction and general industry environment workers on ladder safety.” OSHA awarded $12.7 million in grants, spread across 102 non-profit organizations across the country. The organizations include universities and colleges, worker safety organizations, charity foundations, and research foundations. The grant is named after the late Susan Harwood, a longtime member of OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment. Harwood was instrumental in developing federal standards that today protect people from workplace hazards, including asbestos, benzene, bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, formaldehyde and lead. “The Susan Harwood Training Grants are a critical investment that the Department of Labor makes to help workers know their rights and power – in turn making their workplace safer and healthier,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “This grant honors Dr. Harwood’s remarkable legacy of safeguarding workers from workplace hazards throughout her years at the Department of Labor. I’m eager to witness the impact these organizations will achieve in her name.” “These grants are our most effective tool for connecting organizations with needed resources to train and educate hard-to-reach workers in high-hazard industries,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas L. Parker. “Training is a key part of ensuring vulnerable workers understand what protections should be in place in their workplace and to know the […] “MU Receives 0,000 Safety Grant”

Dr. Amina Gautier Speaks at Hazel L. Jackson Lecture Millersville welcomes the award-winning short story author and professor, Dr. Amina Gautier at the 2024 Hazel L. Jackson Lecture Series. Gautier will speak and share her writing on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Reighard Multi-Purpose Room in the Student Memorial Center. Dr. Hazel L. Jackson was the first Black female professor hired at Millersville University in 1970. After her retirement in 1994, Professor Rita Smith Wade-El began the Hazel L. Jackson Lecture Series in honor of Jackson’s contributions to the University. Each year, Millersville invites Black authors to share their experiences and literary art with the Lancaster community. Gautier has published a record number of short stories including her four award-winning short story collection that celebrates the nostalgia of Black childhood: “The Best That You Can Do,” which won the first Kimbilio-Soft Skull Publishing Prize. Gautier was also a recipient of the PEN/Bernard and Ann Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story in 2018, becoming the first Black woman to win the prestigious award. The Hazel L. Jackson Lecture Series event is free and open to all students and community members. Read more about Dr. Amina Gautier here. Learn more about the Hazel L. Ja […] “Dr. Amina Gautier Speaks at Hazel L. Jackson Lecture”

Alums Who Are Authors “U […] “Alums Who Are Authors”

Millersville Celebrates Pride: PrideFest 2024 Show your pride at Millersville’s 11th annual PrideFest! PrideFest will be held on Friday, October 25, 2024, in the Student Memorial and the Reighard Multi-Purpose Room. To celebrate National Coming Out Day, which is earlier in the month, Millersville University holds an annual PrideFest for students and community members. PrideFest was organized to celebrate students who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community who are not normally on campus during June, the official month of pride. National Coming Out Day happens to occur while classes are in session which inspired the University to hold a festival to provide LGBTQIA+ students a safe space to celebrate who they are and enjoy a fun day of activities. Andrew Kline, a history graduate student, and the chair of the planning committee, explains how important it is to hold PrideFest at Millersville: “PrideFest really is an event for LGBTQIA+ students. This is an event that promotes community, which is especially important. In the times that we are living in, now more than ever, it is important to ensure these students feel accepted and included. There have been students who have come out during PrideFest and shared that it is the first time that they have felt seen.” Each PrideFest finishes with a drag show, hosted by local drag queen, Miss Nevaeha “JZA” Le’Vixenn, with special guests who were contestants on the popular television show, RuPaul’s Drag Race. This year’s guest star is RuPaul’s Drag Race runner-up and RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Star Season 5 winner, Shea Coulee! Coulee has worked with well-known artists such as Madonna, Lady Gaga and Chappel Roan. To promote the drag show, the planning committee is giving away VIP tickets to students who enter their giveaway. These selected students will get the chance to have front-row seats, go backstage and meet the queens after their performance. Students will also be handpicked during PrideFest to upgrade their tickets to VIP. This year, Campus Life has partnered with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation to provide students with resources that will empower them. “The goal of PrideFest is to create a safe space for students who are a part of the LGBT+ community,” Kline adds. Tickets for the PrideFest Drag Show are on sale at the Ticket Office or online at https://bit.ly/3BvA2zM. Current students who present their ID can purchase one ticket for five dollars. MU faculty, staff and non-MU college students can purchase tickets for $10. Tickets are $20 for commu […] “Millersville Celebrates Pride: PrideFest 2024”

MU’s Bryanna Nase Interns at the American Philosophical Society From working in MU’s archives to scanning paper objects and harvesting metadata in the heart of Philadelphia, Bryanna Nase has done it all.Nase, a sophomore at Millersville majoring in history, spent her summer interning at the American Philosophical Society. Through this internship, Nase had one-of-a-kind experience working with data, transcribing diaries kept by Quaker women during the Revolutionary War and writing blog posts about Quaker households in the late 1700s.When asked what drew her to apply for the internship, Nase shared that it was her fascination with working in archives.“Archives are magical places—I learned that here at Millersville,” says Nase. “I wanted to learn more about the field and gain practical skills to do the work.”Though her work at MU was research-based, Nase was new to digitization and transcription. APS gave her the skills she needed to succeed in her internship and beyond, and she learned how to use eScriptorium, a program that recognizes historical text and aids in the transcription process.A favorite part of Nase’s internship was the weekly “Career Chat” hosted for the interns on-site.“Someone from a different department would spend an hour telling us about their career path, how they got to the APS, and what they love about their job. It was heartwarming to see people so excited and passionate about their job,” says Nase. “It was also reassuring to hear how many of them did not have their careers figured out immediately. Everyone took a different path to get where they are today.”Nase recommends that other students apply for the internship, as it was an amazing experience and opportunity for her.“Apply for anything that piques your interest, even if you’re not confident you’ll get it. You’ll get better at writing cover letters and explaining why you want to work in a certain field the more you apply,” says Nase.While the internship is for summer only, students interested in applying should frequent the C. Dallett Hemphill Summer Internship Program page on the APS website for more information about Summer 2025. For information on all internships through Millersville University visit […] “MU’s Bryanna Nase Interns at the American Philosophical Society”

MU’s Robotic WorX Internship Program Wins STEM Award A workforce development program at Millersville University, in partnership with Precision Cobotics, is the recipient of a Business Education Partnership award. The award, presented on May 20, is from the Lancaster County STEM Alliance      The LCSA award was presented to MU and Precision Cobotics for the successful launch of a new program called Robotic WorX. This program allows high school and college students to gain experience working with robotics and develops their problem-solving abilities.    Precision Cobotics is an automation company based in Lititz that houses many services for customers to understand automation as well as provide training on specific products the company uses. The company aims to provide more engagement to STEM to younger individuals, which is what started the partnership and Robotic WorX program with Millersville University.   Of only one of four awards presented at the 2024 STEM Awards Banquet and the only award presented to a partnership, representatives from Millersville University and Precision Cobotics expressed the honor that comes with receiving this award in just the first year of the program.   “Our passion and motivation is to provide that same spark to others to allow them to see the amazing opportunities in this field,” says John Bridgen, president of Precision Cobotics and co-founder for Robotic WorX. “By winning this award we make the program visible to more people, giving us an opportunity to engage with more youth and make an even bigger impact.”   According to Dr. John Haughery, assistant professor in MU’s Applied Engineering, Safety & Technology department, Automation & Robotics Engineering Technology program coordinator and co-founder for Robotic WorX, the award aligns with the University’s core values of exploration, public mission, professionalism, inclusion and integrity.   “It’s a way we hit on the exploration and creativity within our community going out beyond our campus limits,” he says “The professionalism piece is exemplified in the way we allow our students to practice modeling professional interactions with companies through the internship.”   In just its first year, Robotic WorX guided 600 interns on tours, mini-job shadows and internships related to automation and robotics for real-world STEM problems beyond the classroom. 39% of the interns were underrepresented minorities, creating a diverse environment for students to engage in. College students are paired with high school students, acting as mentors and preparing them for what to expect at a college level.    The main focus of the program is to provide students with a STEM experience they will not find in school and provides a larger talent pool of career-ready candidates for companies to recruit.   As for the future of the program, Haughery and Bridgen plan to expand the internship and mini-job shadows with the hopes of increasing the number of students as more funds come in.   “In terms of the future with Precision Cobotics, we plan to submit funding requests to continue the process into the coming years,” says Haughery. “We have funding secured through January thanks to Millersville University Workforce Initiative and LCSA support.”   The program is proudly sponsored by Lancaster County Workforce Development Board, Lancaster STEM Alliance, Career Ready Lancaster and Advanced Atomization Technologies.   For more information on tours of the lab, applications for job shadows or applications for the internship, please visit precisio […] “MU’s Robotic WorX Internship Program Wins STEM Award”

MU Honors Juneteenth with Celebration Celebrate Juneteenth this summer by attending the Juneteenth Jubilee hosted by the Imani Edu-Tainers African Dance Company. This non-profit organization promotes awareness, appreciation and understanding of African culture. The celebration will be on Saturday, June 22 at the Ware Center in Downtown Lancaster in collaboration with Millersville University. There will be an assortment of cultural foods, auctions, vendors and traditional performances.    Additional community partners include The Lancaster Community Foundation, YWCA Lancaster and The Giant Community. The Dr. Rita Smith Wade El Intercultural Center and The Department of Campus Life are working closely with the Ware Center to bring this event to the Lancaster/Central PA community. Whitlow, director of campus life, explains that Millersville’s collaboration with Imani has been taking place since 2021, “Lancaster and Central PA community members come out to support this annual event, Imani’s biggest cultural event each year.” Juneteenth is recognized as the second Independence Day, celebrating the freedom of African Americans and recognizing the continuing fight for social justice and racial equity. Many Juneteenth celebrations today are held through art, performance and providing an educational platform.    Whitlow expresses the significance of Millersville partnering to hold this celebration, “Aligning with our EPPIIC Values, specifically public mission, and inclusion, this cultural celebration is important for many reasons. While Juneteenth has been celebrated in the African American community, prior to it becoming a federal holiday and being celebrated more broadly across various communities, Juneteenth is a reminder of freedom, freedom that we fight for every day. It serves as an opportunity for reflection and celebration, which is exactly what folks will get when attending the Juneteenth Jubilee celebration on June 22, 2024.”   “Partnering with a community organization and being visible in the community aligns greatly with our public mission. We also know that we have daily examples of communities of color fighting to be seen and heard. This event is a chance to celebrate the beauty of our community, think about how we acknowledge the history of slavery in this country and actively work to center the experiences of the most vulnerable,” Whitlow concludes.    Celebrate traditional West African culture with Millersville at this unique event, which will feature drum and dance performances, art and an educational museum.    5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. – Educational Museum, Cultural Vendors & Silent Auction in Lobby    6:45 p.m. – 8 p.m. – Performance in Steinman Hall    *8 – 9 p.m. VIP Meet the Artist’s Dessert Reception*, sponsored by Giant.   There are 30 complimentary tickets for MU community members. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084BACAD23A6F5C16-49980426-juneteenth.   General Ticket Link: https://www.etix.com/ticke […] “MU Honors Juneteenth with Celebration”