Commencement is a few short weeks away, and rental orders for academic regalia for marchers are due today, April 15, for guaranteed hood colors and standard shipping charges. Please visit the Commencement website to register to march in Commencement and for regalia order instructions. Your participation as faculty and staff marchers is appreciated, and your coordinated efforts to ensure that all departments are represented at all ceremonies demonstrates your commitment and pride in Buffalo State.

Volunteer ushers may register to assist with Commencement by registering online as well. Ushers do not wear academic regalia, and your assistance with greeting guests, the graduate lineup, and distributing booklets is also greatly needed and deeply appreciated.

Thank you very much for your support in honoring our Class of 2016.

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 19, from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the Burchfield Penney Art Center (second floor). Specific topics 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 and 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.

Please join the Biology Department for the seminar "GRP170 Chaperone Gene Family in Caenorhabditis elegans," presented by Gregory Wadsworth, associate professor of biology at Buffalo State, on Friday, April 22, at 2:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center East.

All faculty, staff, and students are welcome.

Seminar Abstract
GRP170 is a large and abundant chaperone found in the ER of all eukaryotes. Recent studies have identified several potential molecular activities related to protein folding for GRP170. However, the relative importance of these activities in the physiology of animals has not been determined. In the nematode order Rhabditida, which includes Caenorhabiditis elegans, a gene duplication has generated a small but stable GRP170 gene family. The structure of the gene family combined with the genetics of C. elegans provides a unique opportunity to study the physiological role of GRP170. Students in my lab have analyzed the evolution of the GRP170 within Rhabditida by comparing DNA and protein sequences. They have used deletion alleles to differentiate the physiological roles of the two loci. I will describe our current model for how the two isoforms of GRP170 function in C. elegans and future experimental strategies to further characterize the system.

Please join us for the Buffalo State Student Photography Extravaganza on Saturday, April 23, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. in the Hi-Temp Gallery, 79 Perry Street, in Buffalo, with live music by the Naturalists. The event is free and open to the public.

The exhibit will feature photos by Senior Studio students Anushruti Bhatnagar, Vee Knox, Caitlin Kolkmann, Gerard McIntyre, Tiffany Rohrback, Sabrene Salem, and Elizabeth Schucht; and advanced students Sandra Bodami, Jessica Carl, Joshua Koester, Gabriela Melendez-Reyes, Bridget Shaw, and Jasmine Wright.

The Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program will celebrate the exemplary academic performance of its outstanding students at the 49th annual Honors Convocation on Thursday, May 5, at 3:30 p.m. in Rockwell Hall Auditorium. This year's theme is "Imagine, Believe, Achieve: #BecauseofBuffaloStateEOP, My Dreams Are Now a Reality.”

The program will begin with a tribute to Bradley Doyley and Eddie Hernandez, who passed away this semester, and an inspirational performance by local well-known and loved musician Drea D’Nur. Highlights of the program will include the presentation of special awards to students, staff, and faculty. A Distinguished Alumnus Award will be presented to Gregory Mott, Class of ’95, ’97, and ’01 (elementary education). Recognition will be given to students who have obtained a 3.0 semester or cumulative GPA during the 2015 calendar year. In addition, the Hope for Haiti Study-Abroad Team will be selling $20 “Ayiti Cherie” T-shirts to help fund their trip to Haiti May 15–24. The campus community is invited to attend the program, with a catered reception to follow. RSVP to Cathy McCoy, office assistant 2, 878-4426.

Please contact Jude Jayatilleke, senior EOP counselor, 878-6028, with questions.

Buffalo State has released a new video that speaks to the experience some students from New York City have living and learning at Buffalo State. View and hear how students studying communication, speech-language pathology, criminal justice, theater, health and wellness, and forensic chemistry answer the question, why Buffalo State?

Fully produced in-house to assist with Admissions recruitment, the video was developed and directed by College Relations and videotaped and edited by Instructional Resources. This video is part of an ongoing series of authentic representations of our students and campus.

Buffalo State students love Buffalo State! View their real stories about areas of study, connections made across campus, and life outside the classroom in this new video.

Fully produced in-house to assist with Admissions recruitment, the video was developed and directed by College Relations and videotaped and edited by Instructional Resources. This video is part of an ongoing series of authentic representations of students and our campus.

Buffalo State has released a brand-new campus snapshot video that provides an upbeat, vivid overview of Buffalo State’s commitment to engagement, excellence, and social responsibility. You just may see yourself in the video! Please feel free to share the link above with your personal social network.

Fully produced in-house to assist with Admissions recruitment, the video was developed and directed by College Relations and videotaped and edited by Instructional Resources. This video is part of an ongoing series of authentic representations of our students and campus.

As part of the ongoing renovation of the B Wing of Buckham Hall, contractors were provided a staging area adjacent to the building last fall that eliminated nine student parking spaces in Lot R-13. To accommodate the next phase of work, this area will be expanded on Friday, April 15, to assume a total of 15 student parking spaces and block the west entrance to Lot R-13. The south entrance to Lot R-13 will remain open. This impact is expected to last through summer 2017.

Questions about this project may be e-mailed to vpfm@buffalostate.edu. For more information about construction projects on campus, please visit the Facilities Planning website.

Bhakti Sharma, chair and associate professor of interior design, will present "I Collect Boarding Passes: Ten Trips, Ten Lessons" today, April 14, at 12:15 p.m. in Upton Hall 230. (Please note the date change from previously printed materials.) This is the last lecture in this academic year’s Artists on the Road: Travel As a Source of Inspiration series and is free and open to the public.

Sharma grew up in Northern India. After receiving her bachelor's of architecture from Punjab Technical University, she went on to earn a master of science in design from Arizona State University. The first time she got on an airplane was when she traveled to Arizona to attend Arizona State. Before that, she had traveled extensively in India. Now, she has added Sri Lanka, Spain, Portugal, China, Japan, and North America to her list, but “Lisbon is where my heart is," she says.

Asked how travel has affected her life, she says: "Travel has given me new eyes to appreciate the world, to learn more, and to grow each day. Art and travel go hand in hand. I see art through the lens of travel. I love white walls, but there is a wall in my house that has one special artifact (mostly masks) that is dedicated to a moment in time in my travels. I see things differently than most people, and so can you if you travel and open your eyes."

And yes, some boarding passes will be included in her slideshow.

Sharma's research is centered on corporate branding, experiential factors, high-end retail, and flagship stores. She serves as president of the Buffalo Architecture Foundation and as vice president and emerging professionals chair of the Buffalo section of the Illuminating Engineering Society. Her most recent research resulted in a chapter in the book Reframing Quality Assurance in Creative Disciplines: From Evidence to Practice (Common Ground, 2015).

The Artists on the Road series is co-sponsored by the Design Department and the International and Exchange Programs Office. For more information on the series, please contact Carol Townsend, associate professor of design, 878-4986.