Please attend the Professional Development School (PDS) meeting on Friday, November 15, at 7:45 a.m. at Tapestry Charter School, 111 Great Arrow Avenue, Buffalo. Presenters from K–12 schools will share best practices. For more information, please contact Keli Garas-York, associate professor of elementary education, literacy, and educational leadership.

Please join us for a scholarly conversation about how to become a student-ready campus on Friday, November 15, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. in Caudell Hall 233. (Please note the room change). We will discuss chapter 5 of the book Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success, by Tia Brown McNair, Susan Albertine, Michelle Asha Cooper, Nicole McDonald, and Thomas Major Jr. (2016). The book can be retrieved from Butler Library's collection.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

The Buffalo State Research and Creativity Council (RCC) will conduct the workshop "Preparing an Incentive Grant Proposal" on Tuesday, November 19, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Buckham Hall B145. Feel free to bring a brown-bag lunch.

Do you need base funding for your research project? Do you want to launch your creative ideas into bigger projects? The Research and Creativity Incentive Program (RCIP), sponsored by the RCC, funds a variety of research, scholarly, and creative projects with the intention of enhancing future proposal submissions to outside agencies. Jessica Berg, director of pre-award and contract services, will provide an overview of the program and offer tips for proposal preparation.

A successful research incentive grant proposal is one that is well-prepared, thoughtfully planned, and concisely packaged. The RCC wants to help make your research incentive grant proposal a success. The maximum request for an incentive proposal is $5,000. The funds support activities that lead to the preparation of a competitive proposal to an external agency. For example, these funds could be used to perform preliminary survey research, gather pilot data, hire a graduate assistant to perform literature reviews, or cover travel expenses to meet with experts in the field. Salary for the faculty or staff member developing the grant is not supported. The next deadline date is Friday, February 28, 2020.

RSVP to Gina Game, Research and Creativity Council administrator, by Monday, November 18.

Please join us for "Thinking Spring 2020: Reusing, Revising, Remixing OER," a webinar offering a rapid review of open educational resources (OER), demonstrations of editing OER courses in Blackboard, and an overview of student success data and continuous improvement with OER, on Tuesday, November 12, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Watch with colleagues in Butler Library 314 or participate online via Zoom.

OER can deliver immediate benefits to you and your students in terms of cost savings, immediate access, and innovative pedagogy. If you are using or test-driving OER courses, this could be a great time to dig deeper into the following:

• Customizing your open courses and taking back control of your curriculum
• Filling in gaps in your learning content
• Learning more about how OER and combined learning technology fosters student success

Please register through the Workshop Registration System by noon Tuesday, November 12.

The webinar is sponsored through a collaboration between the Teaching and Learning Center, Instructional Design and Training, and Butler Library as well as SUNY OER Services and Lumen Learning.

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar "Using Physical Ecology to Understand the Complexity of Freshwater Mussels: Mass Transfer Relationships," presented by Josef Ackerman, professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, on Monday, November 18, from 3:00 to 3:50 p.m. in Technology Building 160. All are welcome.

Abstract
Unionid mussels are relatively sedentary on the bottoms of lakes and rivers except for their early-life history that involves the broadcasting of sperm and parasitic glochidia larvae, large-scale dispersal via a host fish, and local dispersal in the water column of juvenile mussels after excystment from their hosts. The fluid environment is responsible for essential biological processes including the delivery of food resources and juveniles to the benthos as well as the removal of sperm and wastes. Consequently, an understanding of the hydrodynamics of mass transfer in aquatic habitats should provide insight into the physical ecology of unionid mussels. I will highlight several examples of key transport processes that facilitate the physical ecology of important life history functions (e.g., larval and juvenile dispersal, and the suspension feeding of benthic mussels under flowing conditions). In many cases, hydrodynamics provide important insights into these processes, but biology may modify the outcome because of behavior. Regardless, our current theoretical predictions are often limited in value because they fail to capture behavior and the important role of hydrodynamic mass transfer in mussel biology—i.e., the valuable insights into the understand the complexity of freshwater mussels provided by a physical ecology approach.

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar "Using Physical Ecology to Understand the Complexity of Freshwater Mussels: Mass Transfer Relationships," presented by Josef Ackerman, professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, on Monday, November 18, from 3:00 to 3:50 p.m. in Technology Building 160. All are welcome.

Abstract
Unionid mussels are relatively sedentary on the bottoms of lakes and rivers except for their early-life history that involves the broadcasting of sperm and parasitic glochidia larvae, large-scale dispersal via a host fish, and local dispersal in the water column of juvenile mussels after excystment from their hosts. The fluid environment is responsible for essential biological processes including the delivery of food resources and juveniles to the benthos as well as the removal of sperm and wastes. Consequently, an understanding of the hydrodynamics of mass transfer in aquatic habitats should provide insight into the physical ecology of unionid mussels. I will highlight several examples of key transport processes that facilitate the physical ecology of important life history functions (e.g., larval and juvenile dispersal, and the suspension feeding of benthic mussels under flowing conditions). In many cases, hydrodynamics provide important insights into these processes, but biology may modify the outcome because of behavior. Regardless, our current theoretical predictions are often limited in value because they fail to capture behavior and the important role of hydrodynamic mass transfer in mussel biology—i.e., the valuable insights into the understand the complexity of freshwater mussels provided by a physical ecology approach.

The Dean of Students Office is hosting a donation drive for Crisis Services of Buffalo as part of its sexual violence prevention initiatives. Crisis Services of Erie County is the most comprehensive crisis center in upstate New York. Services include a 24-hour hotline, trauma response, and an advocate program for those affected by rape, domestic violence, family violence, or elder abuse.

We will collect travel-size toiletries (shampoo, body wash, deodorant, toothbrushes), as well as brand-new (in the packaging) T-shirts, sweatpants, and underwear. Those who need Crisis Services use the toiletries following a forensic examination at the hospital, and the new clothing is provided for them to wear if their clothing is taken for evidence.

Please deliver donations to Campbell Student Union 311 before 2:00 p.m. Friday, November 15. For more information, please visit the Crisis Services website or contact sexual violence prevention coordinator Nina Pierino.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has directed that flags on state government buildings be flown at half-staff on Tuesday, November 5, in honor of former Getzville Fire Company Chief and President Irving Isenberg, who died from an illness resulting from his work at the World Trade Center site following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. 

"Chief Isenberg dedicated his life to serving his community and fellow New Yorkers and put his own well-being at risk in the wake of one of the darkest tragedies in our nation's history," Governor Cuomo said. "His passing is a reminder of the great heroism of our first responders on that day and every day that followed. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend our deepest gratitude to Chief Isenberg and direct flags be flown at half-staff to honor his memory."

More information is available on the governor's website.

Come one, come all to Buffalo State's Group Communication Trivia Night. The event is the culmination of a service-learning project completed by the SPC 307: Group Communication class. Trivia is the main event of the evening's festivities, which also include a raffle for gift certificates to local restaurants and themed gift baskets, featuring a Buffalo Bills basket door prize. Pizza and dessert will be provided. General admission is $5; $3 for students with valid ID. Proceeds to benefit the Kidney Foundation of Western New York.

The Admissions Office will host a second Fall Open House for prospective students and their families on Saturday, November 16. The event will begin with a welcome address from the president in the Performing Arts Center (9:15–9:45 a.m.). Guests will have the opportunity to tour the campus, meet with faculty and student support services, discuss financial aid options, explore career opportunities, and tour the surrounding cultural corridor. For more information, please visit the Open House web page, view the event program (PDF, 10.6 MB), and check out the Open House video. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help greet our guests, please contact Tom Karanas, assistant director of undergraduate admissions, 878-4408.