The 2015-2016 "Conversations in and out of the Disciplines" series for the fall semester begins tomorrow, October 2, as Michael Niman, professor of communication, presents “Acephalus Movements: Studying Utopia, Understanding Terror” at 3:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 320. A short, informal wine-and-cheese reception will be held after the talk. Everyone is welcome.

The Beyond Boundaries: Dare to Be Diverse screening and discussion series presents
Documented, a film by Jose Antonio Vargas, on Thursday, October 8, at 7:00 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion that includes Sophie Feal, head immigration attorney at the Volunteer Lawyers Project.

From the film's website:
"In 2011, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas outed himself as an undocumented immigrant in the New York Times Magazine. Documented chronicles his journey to America from the Philippines as a child; his public struggle as an immigration reform activist and provocateur; and his journey inward as he reconnects with his mother, whom he hasn't seen in 20 years. A broken immigration system leads to broken families and broken lives."

This event is sponsored by the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, the Communication Department, the Burchfield Penney Art Center, and Just Buffalo Literary Center. The film is free and open to the public.

You spend a lot of time and effort preparing mail to be sent, but sometimes, in spite of your efforts, you might have a bad address, and a piece of mail is returned to the college.

When the mailroom staff looks at the return address of undeliverable mail, we often see the familiar Buffalo State College information but with no department listed. We have to open the piece of mail in order to figure out who it belongs to, and sometimes even after looking at the contents, we still cannot accurately identify where it belongs.

Please double-check the return address fields on envelopes and labels before mailing to make sure they include up-to-date department information in addition to the college name and address. Thank you.

The McNair Scholars Program will host an information and recruitment session on Tuesday, October 27, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science Building 250.

The McNair Scholars Program helps prepare first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented Buffalo State students for graduate study. Students who participate in this program are provided with research opportunities and faculty mentors. Please inform any student you feel qualifies for this program. For more information, please call the McNair office at 878-3411 or e-mail Jennifer Johnson, program coordinator.

Applying for graduate programs in history? Interested in going to graduate school for history? Unsure if graduate school is for you? The History and Social Studies Education Department will conduct a workshop on the graduate school experience on Thursday, October 8, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Classroom Building B209.

Topics include how to find a graduate program, the application process, what to expect in graduate level classes, coping strategies, and potential pitfalls. All are welcome.

Students are invited to attend a self-defense session with Ann Emo, department chair and associate professor of theater, on Sunday, October 11, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. in the Neumann Hall lounge. Students will learn the ABCs of personal safety: Avoidance and Awareness, Boundaries, and Contact. Professor Emo will introduce participants to simple and highly effective self-defense techniques. Sponsored by the Bengal Community of Scholars program and Residence Life. For more information, please contact Amitra Wall, assistant dean of University College.

The Burchfield Penney Art Center, in partnership with the Artists/Veterans Art Collaborative, will offer a series of classes for veterans and their families to gather and explore how visual images can be used as a means of expression. Sessions will be held at the Burchfield Penney from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. every third Thursday from October 15, 2015, through March 17, 2016.

Evenings begin with a tour of a related exhibition led by docent Gina Derrico, followed by art making in the studio classroom. The program is free and open to all veterans.

The partnership offers military veterans a safe, productive, healthful environment where they can network and forge new friendships while working with artists and creating original works of art. Workshops will be facilitated by artists and projects completed during the visit.

October 15
Artist: Barbara Murak – Creating an Eclectic Quilt
Working with fiber
Related exhibition: Art in Craft Media 2015

November 19
Artist: Deb Stewart - Creating in Clay
Working in clay
Related exhibition: Fluidity in Form: Selections from the Dean Spong Collection

December 17
Artist: Karen Lesinski – Seeing in Black and White
Designing with limited color for a big impact
Related exhibition: Art in Craft Media 2015

January 21
Artist: John Montague – Drawing in Perspective
Using one- and two-point perspective to create space
Related exhibition: Finding Aid

February 18
Artist: Wendy King - Shadow Puppets
Making a shadow puppet and exploring its movement in light
Related exhibition: Through These Gates: Buffalo’s First African American Architect, John E. Brent

March 17
Artist: Anita Johnson - From Real to Abstract
Turning an image into an abstract painting
Related exhibition: Finding Aid

April 21
Artist: Russell Ram – Collected Memories
Creating a paper collage using personal collage memories
Related exhibition: Collected Memories

Details are available on the Burchfield Penney website. For more information, contact Mary Kozub, education and tour manager at the Burchfield Penney, 878-3156.

Please join SEFA/United Way Campaign honorary chair Susanne Bair, vice president for institutional advancement, and the campaign committee on Friday, October 2, at 12:15 p.m. in Butler Library 210, when Buffalo State President Katherine Conway-Turner will launch the official State Employees Federated Appeal Campaign with assistance from special guests from the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County. Mark your calendars and enjoy refreshments while learning about the needs in our community and the ways that your SEFA contribution can help. Solicitors will gather before the kickoff at 11:15 a.m. to receive their packets, discuss changes to the campaign, and hear words of advice on how to conduct a successful campaign.

The Women and Gender Book Club invites you to join us in reading and discussing historian Jill Lepore's The Secret History of Wonder Woman. Copies of the book will be available to students for $5. To sign up, please contact Lindsey Freeman, assistant professor of sociology; Susan Maguire, associate professor of anthropology; or Ruth Goldman, assistant professor of communication, or attend the first meeting on October 2.

Meetings will be held in Classroom Building A400 on Fridays at 2:00 p.m.: October 2, November 6, November 20, and December 4.

About the book:
Wonder Woman, created in 1941, on the brink of World War II, is the most popular female superhero of all time. Aside from Superman and Batman, she has lasted the longest and commanded a vast and wildly passionate following. Like every other superhero, Wonder Woman has a secret identity. Unlike others, she also has a secret history.

In Jill Lepore’s riveting work of historical detection, Wonder Woman’s story provides the missing link in the history of the struggle for women’s rights—a chain of events that begins with the women’s suffrage campaigns of the early 1900s and ends with the troubled place of feminism a century later.

The 16th annual Faculty and Staff Research and Creativity Fall Forum will be held on Thursday, October 29, from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm  in the beautifully renovated Houston Gym.

To participate, please complete the online form on the Call for Submissions tab of the Fall Forum website. Titles and abstracts or descriptions are to be submitted electronically by the extended deadline of Friday, October 2.

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. All faculty and staff members are invited to organize an exhibit to present current research, creative activity, or other scholarship. Individual, departmental, or group exhibits are welcome. This is an excellent opportunity to network with other Buffalo State faculty and staff members and to identify common scholarly and creative interests you may have.

Please note: The Houston Gym is a smaller venue, with a limited number of electrical outlets, tables, and chairs. Display space is limited to one five-foot table or one or two easels per individual submission.