Please join the Weigel Wellness Center and the Counseling  Center for a drumming circle on Thursday, October 18, from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union lower lobby. This is a fun, relaxing entry-level music-making and learning experience. Drums will be provided. Please call Weigel Health Promotions at 878-4719 or 878-3786 with questions.

Aldon Nielsen, George and Barbara Kelly Professor of American Literature at Penn State, will read from his latest book of poetry, Tray (Make Now Press, 2018), at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, October 12, in Bacon Hall 115. These poems were inspired by the murder of Trayvon Martin in February 2012 and the activism in response to ongoing acts of violence against people of color in America. The reading and the Q&A session to follow will offer an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and even community members to learn more about the origins of the Black Lives Matter movement, its continuing influence over present-day political movements, and its transformation through creative forums like poetry. Dr. Nielsen will discuss his motivations for writing Tray, the history of racial violence and struggles to establish activist movements that inform the American political climate, and the real social work that art can do. Open to students, faculty, staff, and the community. Sponsored by the Grant Allocation Committee, the President's Council on Equity and Campus Diversity, the English Department, and the School of Arts and Humanities Dean's Office.

Flu vaccines will be available for faculty and staff members today, October 11, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. in Campbell Student Union 415.

Influenza (flu) is a contagious disease that can lead to serious illness, including pneumonia. The flu can make even healthy people sick enough to miss work or school for a significant amount of time or even be hospitalized.

Appointments for the flu vaccine clinic are not necessary, but please bring your health insurance card with you. Most insurance plans will be accepted, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of WNY, Independent Health, Blue Choice, MVP, and Medicare Part B. Employees without a participating insurance plan will be charged $30 for the flu shot. Empire Plan enrollees may obtain their flu shot from an Empire Plan participating pharmacy without a copay or at their doctor’s office (participating provider) for their usual copay should they wish to do so.

Participation and acceptance of any insurance is not a guarantee of benefits or payment in full. Copayments or a deductible may apply. Please call Employee Benefits at 878-4821 or the member services department of your insurance company with questions regarding your health insurance coverage. The phone number should be on your insurance card.

Are you mentoring a student conducting undergraduate research? If you are, consider taking advantage of two programs offered by the Undergraduate Research Office: the Small Grants Program and the Undergraduate Travel Program. Applications for both programs are currently being accepted.

The deadline for the fall round of the Small Grants Program is Wednesday, October 17, for student input; faculty members have until Friday, October 19, to complete the mentor portion of the online application. This program provides support for students to conduct a project exploring something within or outside their major. The money can cover travel or supplies needed to carry out the project but is not intended for student salary or for students to present their research at a conference. You can read more about this program and review the application on the Undergraduate Research Office website.

Applications for the Undergraduate Travel Program are also being accepted. If you have a student accepted to present at a meeting or conference, display artwork at a juried exhibit, or other similar activity, funding is available to help cover students' expenses to attend meetings, conferences, and art shows. There is no deadline for this program, and applications are reviewed within two weeks of submission. You can access an online travel application on the Undergraduate Research Office website.

A flier with information and deadlines for all 2018–2019 undergraduate research programs is available on the Undergraduate Research website on the lower right side under “What's New.” More information about undergraduate research funding opportunities can be found on the Programs tab at the top of the UR website.

Please join health and wellness majors for a Fall Health Fair on Wednesday, October 24, from noon to 2:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union lobby. The event is designed to enhance college students’ health and well-being. Visit exhibits created by health and wellness majors that are engaging and interactive. Participants will learn ways to stay healthy throughout the semester.

Mexican Cinema and Culture: Bending Borders
October 10–12
Free admission made possible this year by riverrun.

Friday, October 12
October M&T Second Friday
10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.
On the second Friday of every month, the Burchfield Penney hosts something great, thanks to the support of M&T Bank. With openings and happy hours, programs, concerts, screenings, and other special events, visitors experience the best of the Burchfield Penney every second Friday. The galleries are open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and are free all day. Visit the Burchfield Penney website for the full schedule of activities. RSVP on Facebook and invite your friends.

Starting at 2:00 p.m.
The riverrun Film Festival: Mexican Cinema and Culture: Bending Borders continues on M&T Second Friday

5:30–7:30 p.m.
Opening celebration: Display: The Sculpture of Anne Currier and Charles Cary Rumsey: In Motion

Live music by La Marimba

Drop-in art-making workshop and book reading

Saturday, October 13
8:00 p.m.
Rhapsody by Bobby Previte
Commissioned by the 2015 Greenfield Prize in Music, Rhapsody is an acoustic, evening-length song cycle on the subject of travel and migration. This star-studded band features John Medeski on piano, Nels Cline on acoustic guitars, Zeena Parkins on harp, Jen Shyu on vocals and erhu, Fabian Rucker on saxophone, and Bobby Previte on trap drums, autoharp, and harmonica.

In 2015, Previte received the Greenfield Prize in music at the Hermitage Artist Retreat to create a new work. Terminals Part II: In Transit (or Rhapsody) is the result. Rhapsody is the second in a three-part series exploring the experience of travel. Terminals Part I: Departures is a set of five concertos written for the visionary percussion group SO Percussion and five improvisers. This piece premiered at Merkin Hall in New York City in 2011, and the recording was released on Cantaloupe Music in 2014. In Rhapsody, the improvisers from Departures, all of whom had been selected based on their ability to separately carry 15-minute concertos, were thrown together into one ensemble.

Beginning from the point of view of a passenger sitting comfortably in an airplane, Rhapsody twists and turns until the traveler finally arrives on an unfamiliar shore. What is the experience of being in transit? Separated from your home but not yet at your destination, you are neither here nor there, confined with strangers in an intimate environment for a predetermined amount of time. Uncomfortable, yet somehow free. To travel is to be bound with these strangers by faith—faith in the vessel that carries you, faith in the people who operate it, and ultimately, faith in the strangers waiting at your destination.

Tickets: $15 members; $30 not-yet members

$30 tickets available online or by phone at 878-6011.
Members must call the Burchfield Penney to purchase tickets at the member price.

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Sunday, October 14
11:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Celebrating Trees: Spend the Afternoon at the Burchfield Penney
Join us for a celebration of trees. Drop in to the studio classroom for a fall-themed art-making project. Stay for a tour of Burchfield's Arboretum: A Celebration of Trees with exhibition curator Tullis Johnson. 

Come and celebrate fall with us by creating a work of art using beautifully preserved leaves. Using Burchfield’s Constant Leaf, 1960 as inspiration, design an oak leaf assemblage with autumn colors and embellishments to take home and enjoy.

Balsam fir tree saplings generously donated by the Saratoga Tree Nursery will be given away to the first 100 guests participating in these programs. 

All free with gallery admission.

The student skillshop "Note-Taking in College" will be offered on Friday, October 12, from 1:00 to 1:50 p.m. in Butler Library 314. Did you know that we forget 80 percent of what we hear within 24 hours if we don't write it down and review it? Do you ever wonder what to write down and how to write it down? Turn your notes into a powerful study guide by using the tools presented in this workshop, presented by Lauren Copeland, coordinator of tutoring services.

Please register through the Skillshops series in Butler Library.

Students interested in communication careers are invited to "Meet the Communication Professionals Night" on Wednesday, October 17, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 214.

The free event will feature speed networking with local public relations professionals, journalists, and radio and TV professionals. Students can talk to the pros to learn how they launched their communication careers and, in turn, get advice on how to start their own careers. Students should dress business casual and bring their résumés. Refreshments will be served.

This annual event is hosted by Buffalo State's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, the Record, WBNY-FM, and BSC-TV.

For details, please contact Deborah Silverman, associate professor and chair of the Communication Department.

The Anne Frank Project is accepting applications for its sixth student delegation to Rwanda in June 2019. General information meetings will be held from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Caudell Hall 127 on Thursday, October 11; Tuesday, October 16; and Tuesday, October 23. Please encourage interested students to attend one of these sessions.

Each year, AFP brings students to Rwanda to teach story-based education and learn about the peace and reconciliation practices that have repaired Rwanda since the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. AFP encourages students from all disciplines to apply for the study-abroad program. For more information about the program, or to read student blogs, please visit AFP's Global Connections website.

Each year, AFP brings students to Rwanda to teach story-based education and learn about the peace and reconciliation practices that have repaired Rwanda since the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. AFP encourages students from all disciplines to apply for the study-abroad program. For more information or to read student blogs, please visit AFP's Global Connections website.

Applications are due Thursday, November 1.

Questions? Please e-mail Drew Kahn, director of AFP, or Eve Everette, assistant director of AFP.

RITE offers the electronic course evaluation platform EvaluationKIT for the creation of department-level course surveys as an alternative to the use of Scantrons and Blackboard Enterprise Surveys.

EvaluationKIT offers a fully hosted online course evaluation and survey system designed to streamline the entire student feedback process for our campus. 

All departmental service requests to use EvaluationKIT for fall course evaluations must be made by Monday, October 15, to guarantee successful deployment. Request a departmental course evaluation deployment through the RITE Self-Service Portal.

Register for a training session through the Workshop Registration System to learn more about EvaluationKIT.