Learn how to strengthen your online and hybrid skills to enhance your course design and increase student engagement with the Online Course Development Series. This series prepares instructors to design, teach, and enhance online or hybrid courses using best practices of online teaching and learning. 

Workshop Information
Both the basic and advanced Online Course Development Series will be offered in an online asynchronous format during the fall 2019 semester. All activities will occur in Blackboard for the duration of the series.

The basic Online Course Development Series is composed of the following six modules:

1. Introduction to Online Teaching and Learning
2. Backward Design Step 1: Developing Course Objectives and Priorities
3. Backward Design Step 2: Developing Course Assessments
4. Backward Design Step 3: Developing the Learning Plan
5. Interaction: Communication and Collaboration
6. Designing and Organizing Your Online Course

The Advanced Online Course Development Series is composed of the following four modules:

1. Creating Interactive Content for Your Course
2. Authentic Assessment
3. Universal Design for Learning
4. Open SUNY Course Quality Review (OSCQR) Rubric

Registration Details
Both of these asynchronous courses will begin Monday, October 7, and end Friday, November 1. There is no cost to participate in this series. Instructional Design and Training recommends taking the Online Course Development series at least one year prior to teaching online.

For more information about the Online Course Development Series, please visit the Instructional Design and Training website. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Brooke Winckelmann, instructional designer.

Register for the online asynchronous Online Course Development Series.

The campus community is invited to join the Newman Center to formally open the academic year and celebrate the 17th annual Convocation and Mass of the Holy Spirit on Sunday, September 8, at 10:00 a.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. This year we will honor and present to the staff members of Campus House the John Henry Cardinal Newman Award in recognition of their support of Catholic Campus Ministry. A light reception will follow the Mass. Please call 882-1080 or e-mail the Newman Center to RSVP.

We invite all faculty and staff members to march in the academic procession. Please meet in the Fireside Lounge of the Student Union no later than 9:45 a.m.

Come and celebrate the First Friday of each month at 8:00 a.m. in the Newman Center Chapel. We will gather for Mass and start the month with a renewed perspective. Stay for a cup of coffee afterward or take a cup to go. Our next celebration will take place this Friday, September 6.

The Newman Center is located at 1219 Elmwood Avenue, across from the Burchfield Penney Art Center. For more information, please contact us at 882-1080 or newmancenter@buffalostate.edu.

Please join the Chemistry and Physics departments for the seminar "From Murals to Minds: Finding the Spark within a Scientific Career," presented by alumna Jamie A. Abbott, B.A., B.S. '08, postdoctoral fellow in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, on Thursday, September 5, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 176.

Abstract
My interest in chemistry—particularly for research—began as an undergraduate at Buffalo State College, working with Drs. Zeki Al-Saigh and Gregory Smith on the biophysical properties of polymers in biodegradable films and acrylic paints. I began to appreciate how physical properties and forces shape the behavior of these biomolecules. During my subsequent graduate training in the laboratory of Dr. Christopher Francklyn at the University of Vermont (UVM), this emerging research passion was focused toward understanding how physical forces guide biochemical and physiological processes. My thesis work at UVM focused on mechanisms of enzyme-RNA interactions and how mutations in the gene encoding histidyl-tRNA synthetase (HARS) contributed to two neurological diseases, Usher Syndrome IIIB (USH3B) and Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT). I used protein biochemistry, enzyme kinetics, and molecular biology approaches to characterize the human HARS enzyme and examine how perturbations in localized protein synthesis affected neuronal homeostasis. My results suggested that USH3B is unlikely to be a consequence of a simple loss of function, while HARS-linked CMT variants all share common catalytic defects. My research uncovered a clear link between functional dynamics of HARS proteins and human neuropathology, a notable example in which two different and complex human diseases arise from distinct mutations in the same parent gene.

Upon completion of my graduate work, my interest in the biophysical principles that guide brain function and dysfunction was fully realized, and I aimed to pursue postdoctoral work in synaptic physiology and ion channel function. In joining Dr. Gabriela Popescu’s lab at Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, I now leverage the power of single-molecule electrophysiological approaches to understand activation mechanisms of neurotransmitter-gated channels, specifically the N-methyl-d- aspartate (NMDA) receptors. The critical importance of NMDA receptors in excitatory synapse homeostasis has driven the development of novel therapeutics to modulate their activity. My current research goal is to understand how the utility of ketamine specifically targeting NMDA receptors may lead to new treatments for mental health and neurological diseases, such as depression. This presentation is a synopsis of my research work since my undergraduate education at Buffalo State College.

Please be sure to bookmark the Fall 2019 Courses web page, which contains all the semester deadlines students need to be aware of.

The Anne Frank Project is pleased to announce the program for AFP 2019: Engage for Change, the 11th annual Social Justice Festival at SUNY Buffalo State. Sessions are scheduled Tuesday, October 1, through Wednesday, October 3; art exhibits run Monday, September 30, through Friday, October 11.

About the Festival
AFP’s annual festival is an experiential exchange of ideas with a focus on processing theory into practice. We share diverse performances, workshops, and exhibits that actively engage participants in kinesthetic learning opportunities and connect to the festival's theme, AFP's mission, and the life and work of Anne Frank. ?AFP's festival is free and open to the community.

About AFP 2019: Engage for Change
Communities across the world grapple with conflicts, challenging discussions, and injustices that often remain ignored. When these important stories fall silent, communities break apart and individuals are left alone. There is an opportunity within this struggle to unite and rebuild. AFP 2019 will examine unique ways in which people solve problems through the art of collaboration. In the Anne Frank Project, there is a specific philosophy that relates to this year’s theme: we agree we cannot do it alone. Whether we work across disciplines, neighborhoods, or countries, we need each other to manage conflicts, embrace challenges, and stand strong in the face of injustice. In honor of Anne Frank’s would-be 90th birthday this June, we encourage activists, artists, performers, and community leaders to share methods, practices, and experiences that ask people to come together to engage for change.

Get involved!

View the schedule (PDF, 2.7 MB) | Register | Volunteer 
Questions? Please contact Eve Everette, AFP assistant director and festival curator.

Buff State Alert is the campus emergency notification system. Students, faculty, and staff members who wish to enroll in Buff State Alert or modify their contact preferences (e.g., update a cell phone number) may do so by visiting the Buff State Alert website and logging in with their Buffalo State user name and password. Anyone who does not have a Buffalo State user name or password can still sign up for text messages only from Buff State Alert by texting the word “buffalostate” to 79516.

Buff State Alert is used only to convey messages regarding serious safety issues, utility failures, or weather-related campuswide closures and cancellations. Buff State Alert is capable of sending text messages, recorded voice messages, and e-mail messages to multiple addresses and phone numbers. In addition, the system is capable of immediately posting messages to the Buffalo State home page, social media sites, the campus cable system, and select video message boards.

Personal data provided to Buff State Alert will not be used for any other purpose or for campus information broadcast. If you have questions about Buff State Alert, please call (716) 878-4357 or e-mail the IT Help Desk.

Please join us for the data analytics lecture "Analytics on Existing Health Data: Making an Impact," presented by Rachel Hoopsick, NRSA postdoctoral fellow in the University at Buffalo's Department of Family Medicine, on Wednesday, October 9, from 5:00 to 5:45 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 216.

Learn more about the data analytics programs at Buffalo State and about Dr. Hoopsick's research. She will discuss the analysis of existing data that was used to prevent suicide and overdoses, the “story” behind it, the work processes and sources of raw data, and the overall importance of recognizing the alignment of data with practical issues.

For more information, please contact Joaquin Carbonara, professor of mathematics and director of the SUNY PSM Consortium, 878-6423.

The Buffalo State Performing Arts Center proudly announces its fall 2019 Great Performers Series, presented by M&T Bank. Performances at the newly renovated Performing Arts Center include smooth jazz keyboardist Keiko Matsui; saxophonist Kim Waters along with his daughter Kayla Waters; Emmy Award–winning actor and comedian Jeremy Piven; and Peter White Christmas with Euge Groove, Vincent Ingala, and Lindsey Webster. 

Tickets for the Great Performers Series are on sale now; all shows are priced between $35 and $45. Tickets may be purchased at the Buffalo State Performing Arts Center Box Office in Rockwell Hall, by phone at 878-3005, or online at www.buffalostatepac.org. Box Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Opening the series on Friday, November 8, is the critically acclaimed chart-topping smooth jazz keyboardist Keiko Matsui. Matsui has worked alongside such musical icons as Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, Hugh Masekela, and Bob James. Her 1998 album Full Moon and the Shrine was accompanied by the award-winning PBS special Keiko Matsui: Light Above the Trees, which earned her a National Smooth Jazz Award for Best Long-Form Video Achievement and Best Female Artist. Matsui's 2001 CD Deep Blue topped Billboard's Contemporary Jazz charts for three consecutive weeks. More recently, her 2016 release of Journey to the Heart debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts, and this year's 2019 chart-topping album Echo further cements Matsui's place as one of the most dynamic voices in instrumental music.

For complete details on this and other shows in the fall 2019 Great Performers Series, please visit the Performing Arts Center website.

Peter Yacobucci, associate professor of political science and public law scholar, will present the Constitution Day celebration and discussion "U.S. Supreme Court 2019–2020 Term Preview: Will the Conservative Revolution Be Fulfilled?" on Tuesday, September 17, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 214. All are welcome to attend. Voter registration and updates will be available at the event. Come and join in celebration of the U.S. Constitution!