Join a team of broadcasters from Buffalo's WGRZ-TV for "Reporting on Hurricanes Harvey and Irma: Buffalo Broadcasters in Texas and Florida" on Thursday, October 5, at 12:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center East.

What can a television station do when a hurricane hits the city? The show goes on—with help from reporters and technical crews from other stations in the broadcast group. WGRZ-TV reporters Michael Wooten, Jeff Preval, and Danny Spewak and photojournalist Ben Read will discuss their experiences reporting on Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, along with director Sarah Zamer and audio engineer Ed Silverman, who were based in Dallas at WFAA-TV, where the broadcasts for KHOU-TV Houston have been controlled since Hurricane Harvey. KHOU's on-air talent is based in temporary quarters in Houston.

The panel discussion, presented by Buffalo State's Communication Department, is free and open to the public. For details, please contact associate professor Deborah Silverman or assistant professor Joseph Kasko.

Buffalo State will host CS4ALL in WNY, a free computer science conference sponsored by Google for in-service secondary school teachers in Western New York, on Friday, October 13, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. With the goal of broadening participation in computing, the conference will introduce secondary school teachers to computer science in the areas of big data and data analytics, including a talk and demonstration of data analysis using drones. Participants will have the opportunity to attend a hands-on workshop on robotics or video game design. The state of computer science in secondary schools in the country and in Western New York in particular will be addressed. If you know of any high school mathematics, science, or technology teachers who might be interested in attending, please encourage them to visit the  cs4hs.buffalostate.edu/ website and register for conference.

The following Blackboard professional development workshops are upcoming:

• Utilizing Rubrics to Simplify Grading 
• Student Performance and Retention Center
• Utilizing Achievement Badges to Gamify Your Course
• Collaborate Ultra: Real-Time Web Conferencing Tool to Interact with Students
• Learn 9.1: Introduction

Detailed descriptions of each workshop session (PDF, 66 KB) are available on the RITE website. All sessions will be held in Bulger Communication Center 122. Workshops can be taken independently or as a part of the Blackboard Specialization Certificate Series.

All workshops are suitable for instructors teaching face-to-face, hybrid, or online courses. All workshop presentations will be one hour and are limited to 10 participants. The instructor will be available for an additional 30 minutes after each workshop for questions and discussions (optional).

Please register online through the Workshop Registration system.

Did you receive an e-mail from the IT support desk? Did you receive an e-mail from the IT help desk? If you did, delete it immediately. It's phishing. The entity that assists you with technology problems on campus is the RITE Support Desk. Remember:

• The RITE Support Desk will never, under any circumstance, ask a user for his or her password, or to enter his or her password into a form. Never share your password in any way. Your password has one use, and that is to allow you access to Buffalo State resources.
• Do not click on links in an e-mail unless you are absolutely sure you know who the e-mail is from and can verify that the e-mail is from that person or group.
• Just because an e-mail originates from an address on campus does not mean it is legitimate. You must always stop, read, and think, and if you're still not sure, call the individual and ask that person if he or she sent you an e-mail with a link.

Introducing the convenience of Qwickly Multi-Course Tools. Qwickly allows you to set your course availability, post the same announcement to more than one Blackboard course, and view the Needs Grading status for all your courses from one central location.

The Qwickly Multi-Course Tool can be located on the Faculty Resources tab within Blackboard. Please note that the "Send Email" option is not enabled. Learn more on the Qwickly website.

Qwickly Jot Assignment allows you to create assignments with diagrams, charts, maps, and more for students to write on directly in Blackboard. Learn more on the Qwickly Jot website.

Please request service through the RITE Portal (> Request a Service > Teaching and Learning > Educational Technology) if you have questions or need support.

Fine arts major Kendra Martin will present “Reimagining: Three Months in Mauritius,” the first lecture in the fall 2017 “Artists on the Road: Travel As a Source of Inspiration” series, today from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Math Complex 170. This lecture is free and open to the public.

Ms. Martin worked with the African Leadership University in Mauritius on the student life team and the marketing and design team. She was responsible for planning and hosting student events as well as handling personal student issues. With the guidance of the marketing team, she was able to produce advertisement materials for the school. She also started and coached the school’s first basketball team. 

Hailing from Brooklyn, Ms. Martin said Mauritius was truly the most amazing experience she has ever had. She feels that every young adult should have the chance to travel before attending university. It was not an easy transition from student to teacher, but along the way it became a learning experience for all involved. She said, “The work I was doing in Africa gave me the tools I needed to develop both personally and professionally. It allowed me to ask questions, share my opinion, and feel it was valued by those around me. My time with the students gave me a chance to experience new cultures that I have only read about. Each individual student was a window allowing me an opportunity to learn more about the places they came from. Travel allows you to get out of your comfort zone. I like to credit my time in Mauritius for my newfound curiosity about the world. The three months I spent there gave me a chance to take a break from traditional learning while at the same time taught me invaluable world knowledge. I started to reimagine time and how I spent it. I want to make everything that I do, whether it is artistic or not, count, and that’s why I chose to pursue an education in fine arts.”

In addition to her studies at Buffalo State, Ms. Martin continues to serve as a peer mentor for the Institute for Collaborative Education at School 226, a youth artist volunteer at the Hetrick-Martin Institute, and a peer counselor at the Hispanic AIDS Forum Inc., all in New York City.

Ms. Martin’s sister has always been her biggest role model. She “pushed me to do my best, and I'm very grateful for her,” she said.

The first lecture in this semester’s “Artists on the Road: Travel as a Source of Inspiration” series kicks off tomorrow, September 28, when fine arts major Kendra Martin presents “Reimagining: Three Months in Mauritius” from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Math Complex 170. This lecture is free and open to the public.

Ms. Martin worked with the African Leadership University in Mauritius on the student life team and the marketing and design team. She was responsible for planning and hosting student events as well as handling personal student issues. With the guidance of the marketing team, she was able to produce advertisement materials for the school. She also started and coached the school’s first basketball team. 

Hailing from Brooklyn, Ms. Martin said Mauritius was truly the most amazing experience she has ever had. She feels that every young adult should have the chance to travel before attending university. It was not an easy transition from student to teacher, but along the way it became a learning experience for all involved. She said, “The work I was doing in Africa gave me the tools I needed to develop both personally and professionally. It allowed me to ask questions, share my opinion, and feel it was valued by those around me. My time with the students gave me a chance to experience new cultures that I have only read about. Each individual student was a window allowing me an opportunity to learn more about the places they came from. Travel allows you to get out of your comfort zone. I like to credit my time in Mauritius for my newfound curiosity about the world. The three months I spent there gave me a chance to take a break from traditional learning while at the same time taught me invaluable world knowledge. I started to reimagine time and how I spent it. I want to make everything that I do, whether it is artistic or not, count, and that’s why I chose to pursue an education in fine arts.”

In addition to her studies at Buffalo State, Ms. Martin continues to serve as a peer mentor for the Institute for Collaborative Education at School 226, a youth artist volunteer at the Hetrick-Martin Institute, and a peer counselor at the Hispanic AIDS Forum Inc., all in New York City.

Ms. Martin’s sister has always been her biggest role model. She “pushed me to do my best, and I'm very grateful for her,” she said.

The first lecture in this semester’s “Artists on the Road: Travel as a Source of Inspiration” series kicks off Thursday, September 28, when fine arts major Kendra Martin presents “Reimagining: Three Months in Mauritius” from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Math Complex 170. This lecture is free and open to the public.

Ms. Martin worked with the African Leadership University in Mauritius on the student life team and the marketing and design team. She was responsible for planning and hosting student events as well as handling personal student issues. With the guidance of the marketing team, she was able to produce advertisement materials for the school. She also started and coached the school’s first basketball team. 

Hailing from Brooklyn, Ms. Martin said Mauritius was truly the most amazing experience she has ever had. She feels that every young adult should have the chance to travel before attending university. It was not an easy transition from student to teacher, but along the way it became a learning experience for all involved. She said, “The work I was doing in Africa gave me the tools I needed to develop both personally and professionally. It allowed me to ask questions, share my opinion, and feel it was valued by those around me. My time with the students gave me a chance to experience new cultures that I have only read about. Each individual student was a window allowing me an opportunity to learn more about the places they came from. Travel allows you to get out of your comfort zone. I like to credit my time in Mauritius for my newfound curiosity about the world. The three months I spent there gave me a chance to take a break from traditional learning while at the same time taught me invaluable world knowledge. I started to reimagine time and how I spent it. I want to make everything that I do, whether it is artistic or not, count, and that’s why I chose to pursue an education in fine arts.”

In addition to her studies at Buffalo State, Ms. Martin continues to serve as a peer mentor for the Institute for Collaborative Education at School 226, a youth artist volunteer at the Hetrick-Martin Institute, and a peer counselor at the Hispanic AIDS Forum Inc., all in New York City.

Ms. Martin’s sister has always been her biggest role model. She “pushed me to do my best, and I'm very grateful for her,” she said.

The campus community is invited to join the International Center for Studies in Creativity at its annual conference, Creativity Expert Exchange (CEE), October 13–15 on the Buffalo State campus. The theme "Celebrating Creativity" marks the 50th anniversary of the first creativity graduate program in the world right here at Buffalo State. The first two days of the conference are primarily targeted at creativity educators and professionals, but Sunday, October 15, is a general session that might be of interest to members of the campus community. The day is dedicated to presentations on creativity topics using the Ted Talks format. Sunday runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Rockwell Hall. Registration fees are $50 for educators and $30 for students (includes lunch). Conference information and registration information can be found on the conference website.

The Buffalo State Theater Department and Casting Hall Productions proudly present Blood at the Root, a play written by Dominique Morisseau and directed by assistant professor of theater Aaron Moss, in the Donald Savage Building's Flexible Theatre.

When Raylynn, a young African American high school student, dares to do something no one at her school has seen before—sit under a tree unofficially designated for white students—the shocking discovery that follows uproots this community's feelings on race, sexuality, identity, and the miscarriage of justice. Based on real events surrounding the 2007 Jena Six case in Louisiana, this ensemble drama examines how a community's roots influence how they commune.

Tickets are available online, by phone at 878-3005, or in person at the Rockwell Hall Box Office.

Special pricing for preview night, Tuesday, September 26, at 8:00 p.m.
Performances September 27, 28, 29 and October 4, 5, and 6 at 8:00 p.m.; and September 30 and October 7 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.