Buffalo State Dining will host our popular Farmers Market event on Thursday, November 14, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. outside the Bengal Kitchen. This event gives students and faculty the opportunity to purchase fresh produce from our local farmer partners.

One meal swipe or $10 plus tax = two bags of fresh produce.

The Equity and Campus Diversity Office is pleased to announce the 2019 Men of Merit Leadership Conference on Saturday, November 23, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center (first floor). This year's theme is "Paving the Way."

This annual conference brings together attendees to discuss contemporary topics and hear from influential speakers in an open atmosphere that encourages dialogue and analysis. Opportunities to hear various speakers on topics ranging from emotional intelligence to investing in wealth building will be available throughout the day.

This event is free and open to all students at Buffalo State, though preference is shown for Men of Merit group members and male students. Attendance is limited, so please register sooner rather than later if you are interested. Please register online.

Please join the Biology Department and Great Lakes Center today, December 2, for the seminar "Development and Application of a Robot-Assisted Computer Vision System to Support Ecological Monitoring in the Great Lakes," presented by Peter Esselman, Ph.D., research fisheries biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center, from 3:00 to 3:50 p.m. in Technology Building 160. All are welcome.

Abstract
The benthification of Great Lakes food webs, facilitated by dreissenid mussel population expansion, places new emphasis on the need to quantify benthic ecosystem attributes including habitats, mussels, round goby, Cladophora, and other attributes. The U.S. Geological Survey has been working collaboratively with partner institutions to develop a robot-assisted computer vision system that includes mobile technologies to deploy camera systems close to the lake bed, as well as algorithms to receive and condition acquired imagery and automatically quantify features of interest. Data collected during the 2018 and 2019 field campaigns with autonomous underwater vehicles and a scuba-assisted camera system were used to support algorithm development for substrate classification, 3-D reconstruction and structural characterization of the lake bed, analysis of multi-scale structural characteristics of bottom habitats, round goby presence, Cladophora presence and volume, and dreissenid mussel presence. Initial findings from these algorithm development processes will be presented with suggestions for needed future refinements. The implications of these new capabilities to support spatially targeted management of Great Lakes habitats and biological resources will be discussed.

Please join the Biology Department and Great Lakes Center for their next seminar, "Development and Application of a Robot-Assisted Computer Vision System to Support Ecological Monitoring in the Great Lakes," presented by Peter Esselman, Ph.D., research fisheries biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center, on Monday, December 2, from 3:00 to 3:50 p.m. in Technology Building 160. All are welcome.

Abstract
The benthification of Great Lakes food webs, facilitated by dreissenid mussel population expansion, places new emphasis on the need to quantify benthic ecosystem attributes including habitats, mussels, round goby, Cladophora, and other attributes. The U.S. Geological Survey has been working collaboratively with partner institutions to develop a robot-assisted computer vision system that includes mobile technologies to deploy camera systems close to the lake bed, as well as algorithms to receive and condition acquired imagery and automatically quantify features of interest. Data collected during the 2018 and 2019 field campaigns with autonomous underwater vehicles and a scuba-assisted camera system were used to support algorithm development for substrate classification, 3-D reconstruction and structural characterization of the lake bed, analysis of multi-scale structural characteristics of bottom habitats, round goby presence, Cladophora presence and volume, and dreissenid mussel presence. Initial findings from these algorithm development processes will be presented with suggestions for needed future refinements. The implications of these new capabilities to support spatially targeted management of Great Lakes habitats and biological resources will be discussed.

To learn more about J-Term, please reference the J-Term 2020 flier (PDF, 179 KB). This is a good reference to have available when working with students.

Open training sessions for Slate, the college’s new enterprise customer relationship management (CRM) system, will be offered for graduate faculty members and department representatives involved in the Slate application review process on Monday, November 18, at 11:00 a.m. and Thursday, November 21, at 9:00 a.m. in Bulger Communication Center 122. Space is limited to 10 attendees; therefore, please register in advance. To set up Slate training for a department, or if you have other Slate-related questions, please contact Lee Coletti, interim admissions coordinator. Please register for either training session through the Workshop Registration System or use the links below.

Register for the November 18 workshop.
Register for the November 21 workshop.

The Student Civic Leadership Board will hold a holiday card making event on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 19 and 20, during Bengal Pause (12:15–1:30 p.m.) in Twin Rise. The goal is to create 110 cards to be donated to a local hospital for the upcoming holidays. Stop by the breezeway to find us and help us reach our goal.

Letters from President Conway-Turner notifying UUP employees who have received a discretionary award were sent to campus e-mail addresses on Tuesday, November 12.  

Some employees who were nominated have not been added to the award list because they have not completed the mandatory Sexual Harassment Prevention Training. These employees will receive a separate letter from the assistant to the president and chief diversity officer notifying them of such, and advising them of available options.

UUP employees who did not receive an award letter are reminded that they may appeal the decision by Wednesday, November 20, as follows:

Appeal Process
Any eligible faculty or professional staff member who is not notified by the president of an award by the designated date should assume that his or her name is not on the preliminary list. Employees not scheduled for an award and employees dissatisfied with the amount of their award may file an appeal with the Appeals Board. 

The Appeals Board includes the president, provost, vice presidents, CIO, deans, and other administrative staff selected by the president. The board will consider written appeals of no more than 600 words. The board meets in closed session, and testimony or personal appeals will be by invitation only.

Written appeals, addressed to the president, must be delivered to the President’s Office by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 20, 2019. All appeals should be sent electronically to uupdiscretionary@buffalostate.edu. Only appeals sent to that address will be considered.

Appeal candidates will be notified of the outcome of the appeal by Tuesday, December 3. Discretionary awards will be reflected in the paychecks dated December 24, 2019.

Please join us for the professional development workshop “Meeting Students Where They Are: Creating Inclusive Learning Environments for Students,” presented by Herman Diaz III, assistant professor of higher education administration, on Wednesday, November 20, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. in Chase Hall 109.

Environments matter: Students are constantly navigating the physical and sociocultural environments of a college campus. To help participants better understand the transactional relationship between students and the campus environment, this session will explore the human and physical aggregates of campus environments through a lens of inclusion. This interactive session will provide concrete practices in creating social and physical environments that facilitate sense of belonging and student learning.

Light snacks will be provided. Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

Frances Toni Draper, publisher of the Baltimore Afro-American?, a weekly newspaper owned and published by the same family since 1892, will present "The Future of the Black Press" on Friday, November 15, at 1:00 p.m. in Buckham Hall A223. Rev. Dr. Draper will be in Buffalo to witness the induction of her late mother, former Buffalo State associate professor of journalism Frances Murphy, into the Buffalo State Communication Department Hall of Fame. Professor Murphy taught at Buffalo State from 1975 to 1985 before returning to Baltimore to become publisher of the Baltimore Afro-American.? She died in 2007. The Hall of Fame ceremony will be held during the Communication Department's induction of students into the Lambda Pi Eta Communication Honor Society at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the college's LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center.