Every three years, Butler Library asks the Buffalo State community to complete the LibQUAL+ service quality survey. The 2015 survey runs from Monday, October 19, through Friday, November 20. Please spend just 10 minutes completing the survey. That's all it takes for your voice to be heard. Please encourage your students to participate in the survey, too.

Your contribution will make a difference to the library, so please tell us what you like and what you think needs changing—but please tell us. Your feedback will guide our strategic planning initiatives and help us determine what changes and improvements to make in how we serve you. If you include your e-mail address, you will be eligible to win one of 30 prizes valued at roughly $15 each.

Thank you for your participation.

Please contact Eugene J. Harvey, assessment librarian, 878-3138, with questions.

The SUNY HR Portal provides employees with access to the time and attendance system, self-service options to update their demographic data, and the ability to view their paychecks. To access the SUNY HR Portal, please use the URL www.suny.edu/hrportal. Before you log in to the portal, you may want to bookmark the page so you can easily return to it when needed. Please contact the Human Resource Management Office at 878-4822 with questions.

Tererai Trent, activist, author, and international champion of education and women’s rights, will speak at Buffalo State on Friday, November 13, from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall. She will repeat the presentation from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m.

Founder and president of the Tererai Trent International Foundation (TTI), Trent rose from a life of poverty and oppression in northern Zimbabwe to achieve a Ph.D. from Western Michigan University. Her recently published book for young readers, The Girl Who Buried Her Dreams in a Can, is based on her story of perseverance. Trent will sign copies of her book between sessions.

Short videos and more information are available on YouTube and on the TTI website.

Adena Potok, wife of author Chaim Potok, will join students, faculty, and staff participants of the fall 2015 Bengal Community of Scholars Program to discuss how the coming of age novel My Name Is Asher Lev is relevant for today’s culture and how the book was adapted for a stage play on Thursday, October 22, during Bengal Pause in Bulger Communication Center South 2. All are welcome. A limited number of free copies of the book will be distributed. Sponsored by the Bengal Community of Scholars Program and Residence Life. For more information, please contact Amitra Wall, assistant dean of University College.

Join fellow teacher education faculty members as they discuss their roads to continuing appointment (tenure) and promotion during this panel discussion on Thursday, November 5, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Butler Library 181B. The panel will offer valuable insights into the renewal and tenure process that are unique to teacher education faculty members. Ample opportunity for questions and answers will follow short introductory comments.

Facilitated by Jill Gradwell, professor of history and social studies education, and Bill White, professor of social and psychological foundations of education and director of faculty development.

Light snacks will be provided. Please register through the CyberQuad Workshop Registration System.

A workshop for faculty members who teach graduate research methods courses will be held on Thursday, November 5, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 418. The workshop will cover protocol submission guidelines, levels of review, and tips for making sure the review process is a smooth one. If you plan to attend, please e-mail Gina Game, research compliance manager, by Tuesday, November 3.

The Small Business Development Center, in conjunction with Google and Dex Media, will host a free Internet marketing seminar with Google experts titled “Get Your Business Found on Google” on Tuesday, October 20, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center South 2. Check-in starts at 5:00 p.m. Register online or by phone at (716) 932-8037.

Please join the Biology Department for the seminar "From Specification to Neurogenesis: The Case of the Drosophila Eye-Antennal Disc," presented by Francesca Pignoni, associate professor in the departments of Ophthalmology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Neuroscience and Physiology at SUNY Upstate Medical University, on Monday, October 19, at 3:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center West.

All faculty, staff, and students are welcome.

Seminar Abstract
The eye-antennal disc of Drosophila (the progenitor epithelium for the fly head) is an ideal model to investigate how the rich diversity of tissues and organs of complex multicellular organisms arises during development. In this epithelium, distinct genetic networks drive the formation of unique sensory organs, such as the compound eye, and cross-network interactions play a critical role in overall head formation. Interestingly, the development of the retina field and its adjacent peripodial epithelium utilize genetic pathways that are evolutionarily conserved from fly to mammals. This talk will include a short background on Drosophila as a developmental biology model and a research report on the genetic control of tissue identity and organ formation.

Instructional Resources will offer a three-course specialization certificate in universal design for learning (UDL) for Buffalo State faculty and staff members.

Recognizing that diversity is the norm and not the exception, UDL considers the needs of the broadest possible range of users from the initial phases of course development through the implementation and assessment of learning goals. UDL strives to minimize barriers and maximize learning for all students. UDL principles build in support to eliminate barriers caused by the curriculum, technology, and misconceptions, keeping the challenges where they belong: on mastery of course goals.

This specialization includes three workshops:

1. Introduction to Universal Design for Learning and the Affective Learning Network
2. Universal Design for Learning: The Recognition Learning Network
3. Universal Design for Learning: The Strategic Learning Network

To learn more about the specialization, please visit the Instructional Resources website.

Register for the workshops through the CyberQuad Workshop Registration System.

The 16th annual Faculty and Staff Research and Creativity Fall Forum will be held Thursday, October 29, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Houston Gym. Provost Perreault will offer welcoming remarks at 12:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided for all participants and attendees. The event is open to the campus community.

Preview the presentations on the website. Please share this information with your classes. All students are welcome and encouraged to attend.

The goal of the forum is to develop, encourage, and support Buffalo State faculty and staff research and creativity and to make collaborative research endeavors and grantsmanship more accessible. This is an excellent opportunity to network with other Buffalo State faculty and staff members and identify common scholarly and creative interests that you may have.

Please note: setup time for poster displays is 8:30–10:45 a.m.