The Graduate School office will be closed Wednesday, August 10, from noon to 5:00 p.m. The office will reopen on Thursday, August 11, for regular business hours.

The third annual Western New York Blackboard User Group (WNYBUG) eLearning Day will be held on Friday, September 30, at Hilbert College in Hamburg, New York. Take advantage of this free opportunity to learn from your peers and interact and collaborate with one another while gaining new ideas and perspectives about online teaching, OER, gamification, and teaching with Blackboard. Register online.

If you are interested in presenting at the event, please complete the abstract proposal form.

More than 30 ash trees located in the Bengal Walk area, near the Classroom Building and Sports Arena, are being removed over the next few weeks because of blight caused by the emerald ash borer. Over the next few planting seasons, the trees will be replaced with a more diverse and hardy selection to complement and enhance the Maude Gordon Holmes Arboretum. Additional information about the arboretum can be found online.

Members of the campus community are invited to participate in a research study on stress reduction conducted by adjunct faculty members Diane Marra and Shannon Hockwater in the Health, Nutrition, and Dietetics Department. Participation in the study consists of a stress reduction class that involves either a guided session in mindful meditation or “rolling out” areas of your body known to respond to stress using rubber therapy balls. Measurements will be recorded at the beginning and end of the session (questionnaires, heart rate, blood pressure, shoulder position). The total session time is 75 minutes.

All participants will receive free admission to a self-myofascial release class (held in mid-September) and a set of Yoga Tune-Up therapy balls to take home.

To be eligible, participants must complete and return the PAR-Q form by August 10 or August 19. Please e-mail hockwasl@buffalostate.edu to obtain the PAR-Q. The 75-minute research session will be held on Tuesday, August 16, or Thursday, August 25, in either the morning or the afternoon in the Physiology Lab in Houston Gym 104. 

Study participants MUST NOT

• be pregnant,
• be allergic to latex,
• have had surgery in the past 12 months,
• be taking any drugs that alter heart rate (pseudoephedrine, blood pressure drugs, etc.),
• use massage therapy technique regularly or in the past three months,
• have participated in a self-myofascial release class or yoga class for the last three months,
• have been engaged in regular musculoskeletal treatment for the last three months.

Study participants MUST

• be between 18 and 35 years of age,
• be apparently healthy (qualified by a health screening questionnaire).

Please contact Shannon Hockwater with questions or for more information.

Applications for the Robert J. Elmes Jr. Memorial Scholarship are now available for the fall 2016 semester. All CSEA Local 640 members and their dependent children registered at Buffalo State College for at least 3 credit hours for the fall 2016 semester may apply for the $250 scholarship. Applications were mailed to all CSEA members and must be completed and returned to Mary Codick, secretary 1 in the Teacher Certification Office, Chase Hall 222, by Friday, August 12. If you did not receive an application or need a new one, please contact Mary Codick, 878 6121. Thank you and good luck.

First-Year Convocation 2016 will be held on Wednesday, August 24, at 9:00 a.m. in the Sports Arena. This event requires the enthusiastic participation of our campus community to succeed. All departments and offices are encouraged to allow their staff members to support this event as a work assignment for that morning by allowing personnel to march, volunteer, or simply attend the event as an audience member. Faculty and staff members are urged to process in regalia to demonstrate Buffalo State's commitment to incoming students.

Those interested in marching in regalia or volunteering to staff the event can register online.

The Buffalo State Registrar's Office will go live with Credentials Solutions on October 1, providing online transcript ordering and payment as well as electronic delivery services (where available). For more information about how this process will expedite transcript requests, please visit our website.

The Residence Life Office needs volunteers from the campus community (current, retired, or alumni) to assist with First-Year Opening (Move-In Day) on Tuesday, August 23. If you are interested in volunteering or need additional information, please e-mail Janelle Brooks, assistant director of residence life. Thank you.

From the Diversity Program Coordinator
The Equity and Campus Diversity Office is pleased to announce the continuation of the campus’s Equity and Campus Diversity Minigrants program for 2016–2017.

Consistent with the college’s mission, minigrants provide financial assistance for projects, workshops, and activities that have institutional impact—strengthening Buffalo State’s inclusive excellence toward diversity as described by our mission statement, core values, and strategic plan.

Applications must be submitted at least six weeks in advance of proposed events. The next project review date is Friday, September 16. The deadline for spring semester minigrants is Friday, February 17, 2017.

For additional information, please visit the Equity and Campus Diversity website.

Please join the Small Business Development Center for Social Enterprise 201, a free workshop for small businesses and entrepreneurs on how to measure and improve social and environmental impacts and begin to “measure what matters,” on Friday, August 26, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 205. We will assess how your business performs against best practices on employee, community, and environmental impact; see how your company stacks up against thousands of other businesses; and create a plan to improve your company’s practices and help your staff implement them easily with best practice guides.

Optional: Bring your laptop to participate in a Quick Impact Assessment. You are also welcome to attend without one, and follow along with the presenter.?

Social Enterprise 201 is free and open to students, staff, and the public. Please register by phone at (716) 878-4030 or by e-mail at delmonas@buffalostate.edu.