The Graduate Advisory Council announces a call for nominations for Outstanding Master’s Theses and Outstanding Master’s Projects. The purpose of the awards is to recognize outstanding student research and applied work at the graduate level. Up to three thesis awards and three project awards will be made. Applications will be accepted for students who have graduated (or will graduate) in J-Term 2015, May 2015, August 2015, or December 2015.

Nominations may be made by thesis or project advisers, or by students themselves. Additional reviews are required from the department chair and one external evaluator. Guidelines and forms are available on the Graduate School website.

The deadline for submission of nominations and evaluation forms to the Graduate School, Cleveland Hall 204, is Friday, February 12, 2016. Please direct questions to Marnie Letzelter, assistant to the dean of the Graduate School, 878-5609.

The Professional Development Center is still accepting nominations for its 2016 Creative Leadership program, an individualized program of self-awareness, personal growth, and professional development designed to enhance individual leadership potential. The Creative Leadership program (formerly known as Achieving Success through Leadership, or ASTL) is designed for individuals who currently hold leadership positions at Buffalo State and are interested in enhancing their leadership effectiveness, including directors, department chairs, associate vice presidents, and others who have significant leadership roles on campus.

The Creative Leadership program has been offered for the past 10 years with very high levels of participant satisfaction. The program has been revised this year in response to evaluation outcomes and suggestions from program alumni.

Highlights of changes:

• The program will be five months long and will include eight half-day workshops along with monthly coaching sessions.
• Several 90-minute cohort meetings will be held during the final weeks of the program.
• Participants will form several Action Teams designed to formulate creative solutions to a current campus challenge.

Nominations must be endorsed and submitted by the applicant’s respective vice president or chief officer. In addition to the commitment required of participants, supervisors must commit to completing a multi-rater assessment to provide feedback.

Download the flier (PDF) for an overview of this year’s program. Please contact Timothy Switalski, director of leadership development, 878-4432, to nominate a participant for the program or if you have questions or comments. Nominations close Tuesday, December 15.

Thank you for your support of leadership development at Buffalo State.

The campus community is invited to the 19th annual Student Art Sale, a fabulous School of Arts and Humanities event held in Upton Hall's Czurles-Nelson Gallery, on Wednesday, December 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, December 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A wide range of student work in various media from the Art Education, Design, and Fine Arts departments will be for sale at reasonable prices. Last year's highly successful sale offered nearly 1,000 works to choose from. Decorate your home or office, or find the perfect holiday gift—either way, you will be supporting our students. A 25 percent commission from each sale goes directly to the Student Sale Fund to help defray the cost of next year's event and to benefit the student's home department or program.

For more information, please contact Carol Townsend, associate professor of design, 878-4986.

Fashion and Textile Technology student Jamtex Rodriguez will exhibit his senior project collection, "Pulverized Eclecthicism," in the Technology Building's third-floor showcases through Tuesday, December 8. Rodgiguez constructs colorful layered organic prints with shapes derived from the juicing process mixed with digital technology. Using the pulverized fibers, juice, and foam, he creates innovative surface design patterns that have a playful, intricate aesthetic with a touch of opulence. Please join us for the closing reception on Tuesday, December 8, between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. to meet the artist and learn more about his unique design techniques.

The ceramics program will host visiting artist Brian Giniewski, Senior Windgate Fellow at IUPUI-Herron School of Art and Design, on Monday, December 7, at 4:30 p.m. in Upton Hall 132. Giniewski received his B.F.A. from Millersville University of Pennsylvania in 2006 and his M.F.A. from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in 2009.

Artist's Statement
Taking formal cues from modernism, the history of art, ceramic, and design, I seek context for objects that question the ideas of supplementality, use value and craftspersonship. By engaging with an expanded library of materials and processes, I explore the artistic and societal implications of re-skilling and de-skilling. I am particularly interested in the use of digital fabrication technology and its ability to facilitate mass customization. Although I employ the use of digital design and fabrication in my work, I don't see this technology as a replacement for traditional hand processes, but rather an incredible opportunity to create hybrid objects that embrace both the precision of mechanization and the vulnerability of the hand.

Do you want an easy way to share your video and audio files with your students? Ensemble is the media server solution that allows the Buffalo State community to manage and publish audio and video files in a learning management system such as Blackboard and on other websites.

If you would like to learn more about Ensemble, please join us for an Ensemble - Campus Video Solution - Introduction and Demo on Thursday, December 10, at 12:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 104.

Please register through the CyberQuad Workshop Registration System.

The Visual Arts Board and the communication design program will sponsor a lecture by Kay Youn, assistant professor of graphic design at Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania, on Friday, December 4, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. in Upton Hall 211. A related workshop will run from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Upton Hall 306. ??Youn is an interactive designer who has worked for many corporations in Korea, as well as small businesses and organizations in the United States. His workshop will explore the basics of pop-up fold construction techniques for artists' books, children's books, and cards.

Please bring an X-Acto knife, #11 blades, a metal ruler, Elmer's glue (clear preferred), Magic Tape, a bone folder, and a cutting board. The workshop is limited to 15 participants.

The English Department's “Conversations in and out of the Disciplines” lecture series for fall 2015 concludes today, December 4, when Chuck Mancuso, professor of music, presents “The Last Great Days of the Buffalo Jazz Scene” from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 320. A short, informal wine-and-cheese reception will be held after the talk. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Weigel Health Promotions invites you to substitute one of our educational workshops when you would otherwise cancel class for an out-of-town trip, conference, appointment, or anything that might interfere with your scheduled class times. We prefer workshops to be scheduled at least two weeks ahead of time, but you may contact our office on shorter notice and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Our workshops focus on lifestyle issues affecting students, including these and many more:

Stress and Time Management
Sexual Health
Consent and Sexual Assault
Domestic Violence
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention (Risky Behaviors)
Tobacco-Free Policy
Bystander Intervention

We will work with you to design a workshop to enhance your syllabus. Please note: Some workshop topics depend on the availability of specific staff members or peer educators. If no one is available for a specific topic, we will be happy to work with you to provide the best workshop possible for your class needs.

To schedule a workshop, please submit the workshop request form. For more information on Weigel Health Promotions and the services we offer, please visit our website, check out our newsletter, follow us on social media, and watch us in action on our Youtube channel!

Please contact Paula Madrigal, wellness and prevention coordinator, 878-4719, for more information.

The Great Lakes Center is pleased to release its fall 2015 newsletter (PDF). This issue has a special focus on the Emerald Shiner project and WNY PRISM's summer activities, and features a few articles by our graduate students.