The annual Fine Arts Student Exhibition will be on display in Upton Hall's Czurles-Nelson Gallery from Wednesday, April 12, though Sunday, April 30. A reception for the exhibition will be held Thursday, April 20, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in Upton Hall's Czurles-Nelson Gallery, with a student award ceremony at 6:00 p.m. Please join us to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of our talented students. For additional information, please call the Fine Arts Department at 878-6014 or the School of Arts and Humanities Dean's Office at 878-6326.

Please join the Chemistry and Physics departments for the seminar "Development of Transition Metal Complexes as MRI Contrast Agents," presented by Eric Snyder, Ph.D. candidate in chemistry at the University at Buffalo, on Thursday, May 4, at 12:30 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 173. All students, staff, and faculty are welcome. This seminar is partially funded by Faculty-Student Association.

Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a molecular imaging modality that uses a magnetic field and a radiofrequency (RF) pulse to create images of the internal structure and soft tissues of the body. The signal in MRI is dependent on the relaxation of proton nuclear spins, predominately from bulk water in the body. While MRI produces high spatial resolution and soft tissue contrast, this modality lacks sensitivity, and thus contrast agents are administered to increase contrast on the MR image. Transition metal based contrast agents are of particular interest to provide patients with compromised kidney function alternatives to Gd(III) MRI contrast agents that are currently used in clinically approved contrast agent formulations today. Advantages of transition metal complexes include diverse coordination chemistry that permits tuning of the magnetic properties in response to changes in biological environment.

In the Morrow lab, we have developed MRI contrast agents based on two classes of MRI agents: chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) and T1 relaxivity agents. Our CEST agents use HS Co(II) and HS Fe(II) transition metal ions that produce sharp, highly shifted water proton resonances. T1 relaxivity agents require complexes that possess high magnetic susceptibility, fast water exchange rates, and slow electronic relaxation times, and thus we chose to use the HS Fe(III) ion. Our complexes use macrocyclic ligands for control of spin state and oxidation state with both the macrocycle backbone and pendent groups being important for controlling the coordination chemistry. In vitro and in vivo imaging data is obtained on a 4.7T MRI scanner through collaboration with Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

The Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program will celebrate the academic performance of its exemplary students at the 50th Anniversary Honors Convocation on Thursday, May 4, at 3:30 p.m. in Rockwell Hall Auditorium. This year's theme is Imagine, Believe, Achieve: #BecauseofBuffaloStateEOP, the Legacy Continues….

The program will begin with a celebratory performance by theater and dance students, choreographed by Naila Ansari, lecturer of theater. Highlights include the presentation of special awards to students, staff, and faculty. A Distinguished Alumnus Award will be presented to Miguel Calderon, '75, managing director with J. P. Morgan. Recognition is given to students who have obtained a 3.0 semester or cumulative GPA during the 2016 calendar year. In addition, we will be selling T- shirts to raise funds for the EOP Jaelah Yannis Jenkins fund. The campus community is invited to attend and stay for a wonderfully catered reception.

RSVP to Cathy McCoy, 878-4426.

Special thanks to program sponsors University College, the School of Natural and Social Sciences, the School of the Professions, the School of Arts and Humanities, the School of Education, the Graduate School, Student Affairs, UUP, PSC, FSA, and Chartwells.

The spring 2017 Conversations in and Out of the Disciplines series concludes Friday, April 21, when Cynthia Conides, associate professor of history and social studies education, presents “Building the Narrative of an Ancient City” at 3:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 320. A Q&A and short wine-and-cheese reception will follow the talk. Everyone is welcome.

The Anne Frank Project invites proposals for AFP 2017: Sharing Stories/Connecting Communities, the ninth annual social justice festival, on October 3 and 4. AFP’s annual festival is an experiential exchange of ideas with a focus on processing theory into practice. We seek performances, workshops, and exhibits that actively engage participants in kinesthetic learning opportunities that

• explore the AFP 2017 theme;
• teach tools and vocabulary for community-building, conflict resolution, and identity exploration;
• embrace the life and writing of Anne Frank;
• explore a diverse array of disciplines, cultures, and viewpoints.

Proposals are due Thursday, June 15. All applicants will be contacted by early July. Please submit proposals using the AFP 2017 proposal form.

About Our Theme
Our increasingly divisive world is actually the product of a small number of powerful communities rather than the multiple diverse groups of people whose stories are often silenced by oppression, or simply unknown. AFP 2017 encourages presenters and participants to surface these marginalized communities, navigate their difficulties, address conflicts, disassemble assumptions, and practice sharing stories to connect communities and improve the world.

For more information about the proposal process and the Anne Frank Project, please visit the AFP Social Justice Festival website.

Questions? Ideas? Please contact Eve Everette, assistant director of AFP.

Please join us for the Economics and Finance seminar "Trade Policy Uncertainty and Innovation: Firm-Level Evidence from China's WTO Accession?" presented by Hong Ma, associate professor of economics at Tsinghua University, on Friday, April 21, at 3:00 p.m. in Classroom Building A 400.

Dr. Ma has published extensively on trade and trade-related issues, including articles in the Journal of International Economics, the Economic Journal, Macroeconomic Dynamics, and the World Economy. He will discuss how the WTO reduces trade policy uncertainty and promotes innovation. Questions about U.S. trade policy and its implications are welcome.

Abstract
A surge of innovation often follows major episodes of trade liberalization. This paper proposes a novel channel that trade liberalization may encourage firm innovations by largely removing policy uncertainties in the destination market. To verify this linkage, we adopt a difference-in-differences approach to examine the impact of a reduction in trade policy uncertainty, due to China's WTO accession in 2001, on firm innovation activities. We find that uncertainty reduction significantly encourages firms' patent applications: sectors with larger reduction in uncertainty led more patent applications after WTO accession. They also invest more in capital assets and import more foreign intermediate inputs.

Please join master's students from the higher education and student affairs administration program (HESAA) on Monday, April 17, at 7:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall as they discuss and reflect on their three-week study-abroad course in Germany in January 2017.

HESAA students toured German universities in five cities as well as several resettlement agencies and communities. Their base was Dortmund—Sister City of Buffalo, New York. North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), which includes Dortmund, received nearly 150,000 refugees in 2015. Dortmund, approximately the same size as Buffalo, has one of the largest refugee concentrations in the world. Please join us at this event as we discuss promising practices and exchange ideas from individuals involved in resettlement efforts in Western New York.

Join the Burchfield Penney Art Center for a meet-and-greet with Academy Award– and Golden Globe–nominated actress Ali MacGraw and director-screenwriter Mark J. Gordon before a screening of the award-winning documentary film Awakening in Taos, on Wednesday, May 3, at 6:00 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney auditorium. The screening is at 7:00 p.m. A Q&A with Ms. McGraw, Mr. Gordon, and Burchfield Penney head of collections Nancy Weekly will follow the film.

Tickets are free for the first 40 students, thanks to the support of Ilene and Peter Fleischmann. Tickets are $30 for not-yet members and $20 for Burchfield Penney members. Call 878-6011 for reservations. Space is limited.

Awakening in Taos is an award-winning documentary about the extraordinary life of Mabel Dodge Luhan, influential writer, solon hostess, patroness of the arts, and catalyst for cultural change. In 1917, she moved from Greenwich Village to Taos, New Mexico. Inspired by the native culture and distinctive landscape of Taos, she promoted a vision of social transformation. She broadcast this ideal by inviting to Taos many famous and iconoclastic artists, writers, and social activists—in her words, “the movers and shakers” of the early twentieth century—including D. H Lawrence, Georgia O’Keeffe, Willa Cather, John Collier, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, and Carl Jung.

For more information, please visit the Burchfield Penney website or Facebook page.

The Small Business Development Center will present "Survive and Thrive: Essentials for Starting Your Own Business," a workshop covering all the essential information needed to start a business, on Tuesday, April 18, from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the Burchfield Penney Art Center (second floor). Specific topics will include creating a business plan; competition analysis; and tax, legal, and insurance issues. The workshop is free for Buffalo State College faculty, staff, students, and alumni, as well as U.S. military veterans, and $20 for all others.

Registration will take place immediately before the workshop, from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. To register in advance, please call the SBDC at 878-4030.

Tickets are on sale now for the 10th annual Runway fashion show, produced the Fashion and Textile Technology Department, on Saturday, April 22, with one show only at 8:00 p.m. in the Sports Arena. Specially priced tickets this year: general admission and student tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door; VIP remains at $100 and includes a pre-show party with reserved seating and fabulous swag bag.

There will be a huge basket raffle at the event, so come prepared to have fun! You can also now purchase tickets online to our big New York City trip give-away, valued at over $1,500 (the winner does not need to be present to win).

This is the biggest Runway event ever, featuring our largest class of senior designers, as well as alumni and students from the Teachers College of Beijing Union University. Special guest judge and Buffalo State alumna Ade Samuel will be in from California to support the event. A New York City native, Ms. Samuel has been part of the high-fashion world since 2007, starting her career in publications such as W Magazine, Teen Vogue, and CR Fashion Book. Her most recent success was her transition from fashion editorial in NYC to becoming one of LA’s most recognized celebrity stylist. Using her keen eye for art and fashion as well as her knowledge and background within the fashion industry, Ms. Samuel launched her self-titled luxury shoe collection in 2016.

Tickets for the Runway fashion show and NYC raffle are available on the Runway website, and at a table in the Campbell Student Union on Tuesdays and Thursdays between noon and 1:30 p.m. All proceeds from the Runway fashion show benefit the students of the Fashion and Textile Technology Department. Thank you for your support.