Faculty members who are interested in discussing ideas for SUNY Innovative Instructional Technology Grant (IITG) applications are invited to attend an information session on Tuesday, January 10, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Carmine Grande Conference Room, Cleveland Hall 418. The session will be facilitated by RITE's Meghan Pereira, senior instructional designer, and Melissa Miszkiewicz, director of academic and research technology planning; John Draeger, interim director of faculty development; and Lauren Turner, professional development assistant. Please contact Melissa Miszkiewicz, 878-4611, if you plan to attend.

We will discuss new information about Round 6 IITG funding, including funding tiers ($10,000, $20,000, and $60,000), as well as what SUNY and Buffalo State are looking to support in this round. Previous Buffalo State IITG awardees will be on hand to answer questions and discuss their projects. Please join us.

Online training for Office 365, as well as new live workshops in OneNote, Delve, Yammer, and Groups, is now available. For more information on Instructional Design and Training workshops, links to online training materials, or to register for in-person sessions, please visit our Office 365 Training website or contact Todd Benzin, educational technology specialist, 878-4538.

The next Emerging College Leaders program, a six-day leadership development opportunity for faculty and professional staff who are interested in becoming more effective leaders, will be held in May. The program will run from from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, to Friday, May 26; Tuesday, May 30; and Wednesday, May 31, with an individual coaching session (by appointment) and two follow-up cohort meetings.

The program will include leadership style assessments, workshops, and ongoing development planning. Participants will accomplish the following: 

•  Increase their self-awareness as leaders
•  Reflect on leadership skills needed and those they possess
•  Enhance skills in problem solving and communication
•  Create a development program for leadership
•  Set up systems to support this development

The Professional Development Center will notify the campus community and begin accepting nominations and applications for the Emerging College Leaders program on Tuesday, January 31. Please contact Jonathan Hulbert, director of leadership and organizational development, or Lauren Turner, staff assistant, 878-3841, with questions.

Degree Works will be off-line for routine maintenance from Monday, January 2, until noon Tuesday, January 3.

Degree Works will be off-line on Thursday, December 22, to allow for the end-of-term grading process in Banner.

SUNY Fredonia will host the Western SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference (SURC West) on Saturday, April 22. SURC is a multidisciplinary event, hosted each spring semester by different SUNY institutions, that brings together undergraduate student researchers and faculty mentors from across the SUNY system for activities, including sessions devoted to student presentations—oral, performance, artistic displays, and posters. Detailed information about the SURC West conference can be found on the SURC website.

The Buffalo State Undergraduate Research Office will support conference participation for SURC West. Please contact Jill Singer, director of undergraduate research, if you plan to have one or more of your students participate in SURC West.

The following Blackboard training sessions and workshops will be held in January:

Blackboard Learn 9.1: Introduction
Blackboard Learn 9.1: Assessments
Blackboard Learn 9.1: Grade Center
Blackboard Learn 9.1: Collaboration Tools

Detailed descriptions of each training session (PDF,193 KB) are available on the RITE website. All sessions will be held in Bulger Communication Center 122 or in a virtual webinar format.

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 additional questions and discussion.

Please register online through the Workshop Registration System.

RITE Instructional Design and Training is now offering a four-workshop Blackboard Specialization Certificate.
A new cohort begins in January.

Blackboard Learn is the official learning management system (LMS) at Buffalo State College that allows for dynamic learning to occur in the online environment. Earning a Blackboard Specialization Certificate will demonstrate your ability to enhance student learning and foster better engagement, interaction, and quality learning. This certificate is suitable for instructors teaching face-to-face, hybrid or blended, or online courses.

You may also earn an Advanced Blackboard Specialization Certificate by attending an additional four workshops.

Please download the Blackboard Training Workshops page (PDF, 193 KB) to learn more about these courses.

For more information, please contact Michael DiFonzo, Blackboard trainer.

Buffalo State’s 2017 Faculty and Staff Directory is now available on the college's Directories page. Click on the "Faculty and Staff Internal Directory" link, and then log in to access the PDF. As an environmentally friendly and cost-conscious measure, bound copies of the directory will not be supplied to employees this year, but the PDF version is available for those who would like to print individual copies. In addition, the online Faculty and Staff Directory provides users with a digital directory that is searchable by first name, last name, or department.

State employees may update their individual digital directory information via SUNY HR Self-Service. Non-state employees may add or update their individual digital directory information via Directory Add/Update.

Human Resource Management maintains the department database for the campus. Please contact Human Resource Management by phone at 878-4822 or by e-mail with any requests for changes to your department's name, campus address, phone, fax, or e-mail.

Adjunct and contingent faculty and staff members are encouraged to provide their opinions by completing two important surveys by Thursday, December 15. Please take a few minutes to complete the college website satisfaction survey and the survey on applied learning. Thank you for your participation.