If you are interested in serving on one or more of the eight College Senate standing committees for 2016–2017, the Committee Interest Form will be available on the College Senate website beginning July 1. The deadline for submissions will be Friday, August 5, in keeping with the Senate bylaws, which mandate that committee chairs must establish committee membership by the start of the fall semester. The forms will allow a collective list of interested individuals to be sent to Senate committee chairs for review before the first Senate meeting.

Standing committee chairs reserve the right to determine committee membership and make all membership decisions. Not all standing committees may need members. Please submit completed forms to Vincent Masci, assistant to the Senate, in the College Senate Office, Cleveland Hall 211. Please contact the Senate Office at 878-5139 or mascivt@buffalostate.edu with questions.

The Buffalo State community is saddened by the death of Sidney Cohen, professor emeritus of chemistry, who died June 10, 2016. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Services will be held today, June 14, in Amherst Memorial Chapel. Additional information is available online.

The Buffalo State community is saddened by the death of liane McKee, professor emerita of modern and classical languages, who died June 2, 2016. Dr. McKee received the SUNY Chancellors Award for Excellence in Teaching. She established the Dr. liane McKee French Education Scholarship Fund after she retired. She continued to teach part time and used that income to build the endowment, which has benefited seven students to date. Donations may be made by specifying the fund through the Buffalo State College Foundation.

Dr. McKee is survived by her spouse, Darrell McKee, and two children. A celebration of life service will be held at the Jamestown Church of Christ at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 7. The family will receive friends for one hour prior to the service.

The chief diversity officer and the provost are pleased to announce that John Draeger, associate professor of philosophy and humanities and director of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), has been appointed interim director of faculty development, effective July 1, 2016.

Since 2009, Draeger has given workshops, mentored SoTL scholars, and led campuswide conversations on student learning. He has published SoTL articles on a variety of topics, including metacognition, general education, higher-order thinking, and academic rigor. His most recent work includes an international collaboration with scholars from the UK, Australia, Belgium, and the United States, as well as a separate five-institution research study with scholars from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Kent State University, the University of Auburn at Montgomery, and the University of Colorado School of Nursing. He is a regular contributor to regional, national, and international SoTL conferences. In addition to his work on the scholarship of teaching and learning, Draeger continues to publish in philosophy on topics such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. He also teaches courses on the history of moral philosophy, contemporary ethical issues, and the philosophy of law.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Draeger as he takes on this new role.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The Senate Meeting Summary of May 6, 2016 (PDF, 177 KB), is now posted on the College Senate website. The College Senate Office wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable summer.

From the Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities invites applications for 2017 Summer Stipends to support individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both. Summer Stipends support continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months. Eligible projects usually result in articles, monographs, books, digital materials, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources. Summer Stipends support projects at any stage of development.

Summer Stipends are awarded to individual scholars. Organizations are not eligible to apply.

The NEH encourages the submission of applications from independent scholars and faculty members at Hispanic-serving institutions, historically black colleges and universities, and tribal colleges and universities.

Nominating Procedures and Timetable
Faculty members teaching full time at colleges or universities must be nominated by their institution’s nominating official to apply for a Summer Stipend. Each college and university in the United States and its jurisdictions may nominate two faculty members. Any faculty member is eligible for nomination. Ben Christy, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, will serve as Buffalo State’s nominating official. The academic deans will appoint a faculty committee to review proposals and recommend two nominees.

Please submit your proposal draft via e-mail to Dean Christy by Wednesday, August 17, 2016. Buffalo State applicants will be informed of their nomination status by Tuesday, August 30. Nominees will submit their applications via Grants.gov. The NEA submission deadline is Thursday, September 29.

Please direct questions to Ben Christy, 878-6326. More information is available on the NEH website.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The minutes of the April 8, 2016, College Senate meeting were approved at the May 6 meeting and are now posted on the Senate website. The Senate Meeting Summary for May 6 is also posted. The College Senate Office wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable summer.

From the Chair of the Bylaws and Elections Committee
Congratulations to the following individuals, who were elected as the official officers and committee chairs of the College Senate for the 2016-2017 academic year at the Senate caucus on May 6:

College Senate Chair
Amy McMillan, Associate Professor of Biology

College Senate Vice Chair
David Ben-Merre, Associate Professor of English

Academic Plan Committee Chair
Jason Grinnell, Chair and Associate Professor of Philosophy and Humanities

Budget and Staff Allocations Committee Chair
Frederick Floss, Chair and Professor of Economics and Finance

Bylaws and Elections Committee Chair
Lynn Boorady, Chair and Associate Professor of Fashion and Textile Technology

Curriculum Committee Chair
Karen Sands-O’Connor, Professor of English

Faculty and Staff Welfare Committee Chair
Maria Brickhouse, Coordinator of the Academic Center of Excellence, Educational Opportunity Program

Instruction and Research Committee Chair
Scott Goodman, Chair and Professor of Chemistry

Standards for Students Committee Chair
Heather Maldonado, Assistant Dean of University College

Student Welfare Committee Vice Chair*
Amy Rosen-Brand, Associate Director of Disability Services

*The Student Welfare Committee chair is a student senator who will be elected at the fall Senate meeting. This individual will work along with the vice chair of the Student Welfare Committee.

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Congratulations to the following individuals, who have been elected to serve on the College Senate representing the four schools, the Professional Staff Caucus, and at large, as well as on the University Faculty Senate. Unless otherwise noted, their terms begin Monday, August 29, 2016, and run through academic year 2019:

School of Arts and Humanities
David Ben-Merre, Associate Professor of English (2)
Bhakti Sharma, Chair and Associate Professor of Interior Design (1)

School of Education
Andrea Nikischer, Assistant Professor of Adult Education (1)
Christopher Shively, Assistant Professor of Elementary Education and Reading (1)

School of Natural and Social Sciences
Martin Ederer, Associate Professor of History and Social Studies Education (1)
David Ettestad, Associate Professor of Physics (1)

School of the Professions
Constance Qualls, Professor of Speech-Language Pathology (1)
Ramona Santa Maria, Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems (1)

Professional Staff Caucus
Melaine Kenyon, Director of Instructional Technology, Instructional Resources (1)
Lisa Morrison-Fronckowiak, Director of Disability Services (1)

At-Large College Senators
Ho Eui H. “Holly” Bewlay, Associate Professor of Music, School of Arts and Humanities (1)
Amy Wilson, Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration, School of the Professions (1)

University Faculty Senator
Amitra Wall, Assistant Dean of Intellectual Foundations, University College; Interim Chair, Political Science Department (2)

Alternative University Faculty Senator (2015–2018)
Heather Maldonado, Assistant Dean, University College (2)

(1) = first term; (2) = second term

From the Chair of the College Senate
The minutes of the April 8, 2016, College Senate meeting were approved at the May 6 meeting and are now posted on the Senate website. The Senate Meeting Summary for May 6 will also be posted on the website. The College Senate Office wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable summer.

The campus community is welcome to attend the following campus presentation by a candidate for the position of student retention specialist at Buffalo State. For a complete description of the duties of the position, please visit the Human Resource Management website.

Brian Dubenion
Wednesday, May 11
11:00 a.m.
Bacon Hall 115