The Liberty Partnerships Program at Buffalo State College will sponsor a Warm Hands~Warm Heart Glove and Sock Drive during the month of February. Our homeless and abused neighbors and friends typically receive donations of needed items during the holiday season. The need, however, is year-round.

We are asking the campus community to reach into their hearts and donate new adult and children’s gloves and socks to those in need. Buffalo weather does not greatly improve until well into spring, so these items are still needed.

Donation baskets are currently located in the following areas:

Butler Library Circulation Desk
Campbell Student Union Information Desk
Civic and Community Engagement Office, South Wing 130
Educational Opportunity Program Office, South Wing 710
Institute for Community Health Promotions, Classroom Building A203
Learning, Engagement, and Development Services, Bacon Hall 114
Precollegiate Academic Success Center/Liberty Partnerships Office, Buckham Hall A106

The drive ends February 29, but items will be collected and distributed weekly throughout the month of February.

Please contact Patrice Cathey, director of LPP, 878-4055, with questions or for pickup.

The Writing Center will continue to offer a number of initiatives to support faculty this semester. Faculty members in all disciplines are invited to take advantage of the following:

• Commercials
  If you wish to encourage your students to visit the Writing Center, consider scheduling a live “commercial”—a 10-minute in-class presentation by a tutor who will explain the services offered by the center and how students can use them to their advantage.
• Made-to-Order Workshops
  Is there a writing issue your students tend to struggle with or a concept you want to reinforce? We are happy to design and deliver a 30-minute in-class workshop on a writing-related topic (for example, citation styles, thesis statements, or peer response). Please request a workshop at least two weeks in advance.
• One-to-One Consultations
  Maggie Herb, director of the Writing Center and assistant professor of English, offers individual consultations with faculty members on both pedagogical concerns (writing assignment design and implementation, for example) and professional and academic writing.

To schedule a commercial, a workshop, or an individual consultation, please contact Maggie Herb.

Please join us for the next film in our Beyond Boundaries: Dare to Be Diverse screening and discussion series, The Green Book: Guide to Freedom, a documentary by filmmaker Yoruba Richen, on Thursday, February 6, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center's Tower Auditorium. The film tells the story of Victor Hugo Green’s manual that helped African Americans find safe places to stay, eat, shop, and do business on the road from the early 1900s until desegregation. A short discussion will follow the screening. This event is free and open to the public and is presented by the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, the Communication Department, and the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

Visit the event Facebook page.

The Civic and Community Engagement Office will offer a hands-on workshop designed to help students plan and manage service projects in the community on Tuesday, February 11, from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Bacon Hal 225. Explore and identify community organizations and volunteer opportunities and learn how to communicate effectively with community partners and engage in meaningful post-service reflections with your participants.

RSVP online.

Please advise seniors who are graduating in May 2020 that the deadline to apply online for graduation is Monday, February 17. Students must have a minimum of 102 earned credit hours to be eligible to apply online.

The online graduation application is for students to have their academic records reviewed and have their degrees awarded. A minimum of 120 credit hours and completion of all requirements on the Degree Works audit are required to be considered for graduation. Premature applications will be rescinded by the Registrar’s Office.

For more information, please visit the Graduation Preparation page or contact the Registrar’s Office, Moot Hall 210, 878-4811.

SUNY has announced the 2020 call for proposals for round 9 of the SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grants (PDF, 800 KB). Three funding tiers are available: $10,000, $20,000 and $60,000. These competitive, peer-reviewed awards are allocated for proposals that can demonstrate, communicate, and replicate innovations developed at campuses across SUNY. 

As in previous years, proposals and budgets must be reviewed internally before their submission to SUNY (see below). Proposal deadlines are Wednesday, February 12 (internal), and Sunday, February 23 (SUNY).

Faculty and staff members who are interested in submitting a proposal may contact John Draeger, director of the Buffalo State Teaching and Learning Center, or Meghan Pereira, director of instructional design and training, with ideas or questions.

All proposals, including narratives, budgets, and budget narratives, must be submitted to Melissa Miszkiewicz, technology communications officer, by Wednesday, February 12, for review by the CIO and vice president for enrollment, marketing, and communications. The CIO will provide a letter of support for approved proposals.

More information, including the program’s mission, application details, a list of currently funded projects and outcomes, and previous award recipients, is available on the SUNY IITG website.

Join the Newman Center, 1219 Elmwood Avenue (across the street from the Burchfield Penney Art Center) for our weekly Thursday Night Student Dinners. Members of our permanent community prepare a home-cooked meal for all students. Meet at 6:30 p.m. for food, fun, and fellowship—completely free!

The Undergraduate Research Office Early Undergraduate Research Opportunity (EURO) Program, which provides lower-division students with the opportunity to serve as research assistants to faculty mentors, is now accepting applications for the spring 2020 semester. Stipends of $1,000 are provided for students, with an additional $200 available for supplies. Students must be classified as freshmen or sophomores with at least 12 and no more than 60 earned credit hours at the time of application.

For more information and the online application portal, please visit the Undergraduate Research website’s EURO program page. Applications should be received by Wednesday, February 12, for full consideration.

Come and join the conversation during this Teaching and Learning Center workshop, “Getting Back on Track: Helping Students Move from Academic Risk to Academic Success,” on Thursday, February 13, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Chase Hall 109. Presented by Aimee Woznick and Sara Reese, director and assistant director of the Academic Commons.

Students who lose good academic standing are often most at risk of departing from the college before they earn a degree. When a student falls into academic warning or academic probation, it can be discouraging and disorienting both for the student and for his or her academic adviser. In this workshop, participants will learn about the myriad factors that cause students to lose good academic standing and how to motivate students to get back on track to realize their potential, whatever their unique circumstances. We will discuss how to approach challenging conversations on topics like losing (and potentially regaining) financial aid eligibility and how to help students navigate complex policies so they can get back in good shape. Advisers will also come away with a few simple but critical strategies they can implement right away to help students make difficult academic, professional, and life choices—even when it seems there are no good choices. 

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

Come and join the conversation during this Teaching and Learning Center workshop, “Metacognition in the Arts,” on Wednesday, February 12, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in Chase Hall 109. Presented by John Draeger, professor of philosophy and director of the Buffalo State Teaching and Learning Center.

This session explores metacognition in the arts. Metacognition encourages us to be intentional about the processes we engage in (for example, driving, cooking, building a business, teaching, learning). Those engaged in metacognition are aware of what’s working, what’s not, and when they need to make adjustments. After a brief presentation on some of the themes in the literature on metacognition, participants will be invited to reflect on their own experiences and discuss how metacognition figures in their own thinking about artistic processes.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.