Introduction

  • This election is for APSCUF State Delegates. The rules for this election are listed below.
  • The nominees for the APSCUF State Delegates election are listed to the right. The list to the right is not a ballot.
  • This list in not official until nominations have been closed and the list of nominees has been reviewed and verified by the APSCUF Nominations and Elections Committee.
  • The statements the candidates submitted with their nominations are given below. By clicking on a name in the list of candidates, you will be taken to that candidate's statement.
  • Clicking on the words Return to Top will return you to this part of the page.
  • If you are a nominee and wish to modify your statement or withdraw your nomination, click on the "Modify" button. You will need your password to make any modifications.
  • When you are finished, you may choose to view nominees for other elections, nominate yourself, view the list of elections, return to the APSCUF Nominations and Elections homepage, visit the APSCUF homepage, or visit the WCU homepage.
The nominees for APSCUF State Delegates are:

Heather Edelblute
Andy Famiglietti
Clayton Garthwait
Erin Hipple
Orhan Kara

Nominations close Apr 2, 2026.
All APSCUF Faculty may be nominated.

Rules for the Election

    • This election is for 6 Delegates to APSCUF State Legislative Assembly. The six candidates with the highest vote counts will be elected to those seats. Of the remaining candidates, the two with the highest vote counts will be elected as alternates.
    • State Delegates are elected by a plurality of votes cast, with no delegate being elected with less than twenty-five percent of the ballots cast.
    • State Delegate seats will be filled by the candidates with the highest vote count until all seats are filled. Any remaining candidates having achieved at least 25 percent of the vote, ranked by highest vote count, will fill seats for Alternate State Delegate until all seats for alternates are filled.

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Heather Edelblute


Department: Public Health Sciences

I would appreciate your vote to serve as a Legislative Assembly delegate. I have served as a Department Representative since 2020 and a Legislative Assembly delegate since 2024. As a public health professor, the foundation of my work is on (health) equity, a goal that is best achieved through policy. Serving as a Legislative Assembly delegate gives me the opportunity to contribute to both the university and the PASSHE system through active participation in the assembly. It also allows me to cultivate awareness of APSCUF initiatives and state-level policy efforts among WCU faculty. I would welcome the opportunity to continue serving our community in this role.


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Andy Famiglietti


Department: English

I've been serving on the state delegation for a few years now. I find legislative assembly very informative, and I've been thinking about ways to help move information and organization from the state level to local and back again in conjunction with some other members of the local exec. I'd like to keep working on that!

Thanks for your consideration!


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Clayton Garthwait


Department: University Libraries

Dear Colleagues, I respectfully submit my name to serve as one of your fine WCU APSCUF State Delegates. After serving three terms in this capacity, I took a break from this important role to recharge and refresh. I am excited for the opportunity to serve again. I have been active in APSCUF, both local and state, in many capacities. I always seek to represent our union and its members to the best of my abilities. Thank you for considering me for this invaluable position.


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Erin Hipple


Department: Graduate Social Work

I am humbly seeking election as a Delegate to APSCUF State Legislative Assembly. I am a tenured faculty member in the Graduate Social Work department. I hope to bring a justice-centered, member-driven perspective to this role. My teaching, scholarship, and activism focus on equity, relational pedagogy, and collective action, exploring ways institutions can better support students and workers. I prioritize practices that build trust, encourage open dialogue, and foster collaboration. These approaches directly inform effective legislative advocacy and policy work.

If elected, I will work to ensure APSCUF policies protect academic freedom for all, promote fair and sustainable workloads, and address systemic injustices that continue to push faculty to do more with less. I would be honored to serve as a bridge between faculty concerns and the Legislative Assembly, and I am not afraid to speak up when needed.

I have proudly served as a Department Faculty Representative for APSCUF since 2021, I am a member of the ad hoc APSCUF Bylaws Revisions Committee, the APSCUF Representative on the Philadelphia Center Future Lease Working Group, and I trained as a Member Support and Contract Enforcement Liaison. Since 2025, I have also been an APSCUF Legislative Assembly Delegate Alternate. I have worked across departments with university-wide conferences and interdisciplinary research. Through this work I have built relationships across departments and would love to continue building relationships across the entire PASSHE system in service of faculty solidarity around labor rights.

I am passionate about ensuring a sustainable working and learning environment at WCU and in the PASSHE system. I will prioritize transparency, collaboration, and action that strengthens our collective voice and empowers faculty, in coalition with staff and students, to shape the future of our university system. We are stronger together!


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Orhan Kara


Department: Economics & Finance

I would be honored to receive your vote for a State Delegate. I bring my experience as a former alternate, a record of meeting attendance, and membership in the International Faculty Caucus. I deeply appreciate APSCUF’s commitment to ensuring every member has a voice, especially those most in need of support. I welcome the opportunity to serve, bring our shared concerns directly to the Assembly, and advocate for priorities that benefit every single member—a commitment I’ve held throughout my twenty-three years here at WCU. Thank you for your consideration and your vote.


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