The Mask You Live In, a documentary directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, will kick off the fall 2015 semester of the Beyond Boundaries: Dare to Be Diverse screening and discussion series on Thursday, September 10, at 7:00 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Jennifer Hunt, associate professor of psychology; Seth Arico, lecturer in the women and gender studies program, and Richard Strahan, lecturer in the Sociology Department. The event is free and open to the public.

The Mask You Live In premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and explores how America’s narrow definition of masculinity is harming our boys, men, and society at large, while urging viewers to take action. Newsom's first film, Miss Representation, exposed the ways in which mainstream media contributes to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence.

This event is sponsored by the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, the Communication Department, the women and gender studies interdisciplinary minor, and the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

The Open SUNY Center for Online Teaching Excellence (COTE) is pleased to announce the September issue of the Online Teaching Gazette.

Did you know that eight Open SUNY textbooks are now available and 20 are forthcoming? View upcoming titles and find out how to get involved. Did you know you can join COTE as a fellow? Visit the Open SUNY website for more information.

As your FACT² representative, I encourage you to subscribe to the Online Teaching Gazette to stay informed on topics of interest to the community of online practitioners. You can receive updates and future issues in your inbox by subscribing to the publication; enter your e-mail address in the "Subscribe to updates" field.

Open SUNY COTE celebrates, connects, and fosters effective online practitioners across the SUNY system while furthering our knowledge of the most effective teaching and learning practices in online education. The SUNY Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching and Technology (FACT²) is an advisory body to the SUNY provost, acting as an advocate and resource for university stakeholders at the nexus of technology, pedagogy, and research.

Are you interested in teaching online? Perhaps you’re already teaching online but are interested in developing new strategies to help your students succeed. Maybe you would like to incorporate online activities into your face-to-face course. Please join us this fall for the new Online Course Design Specialization Workshop Series. Attend all of the one-hour workshops in the series and earn a certificate, or attend just the workshops that interest you.

Workshops titles:

• Introduction to Online Learning
• Backward Design Step 1: Developing Course Objectives and Priorities
• Backward Design Step 2: Developing Course Assessments
• Backward Design Step 3: Developing the Learning Plan
• Designing and Organizing your Course in Blackboard
• Interaction: Communication and Collaboration

Additional Course Development Workshops

• Authentic Assessment
• Locating and Using Electronic Resources in Your Course
• Interaction: Using Online Discussions to Facilitate Interaction
• Open SUNY COTE Quality Rubric (OSCQR)

For more information about the Online Course Development Certificate, please visit the Instructional Design website.

Visit the CyberQuad Workshop Registration site to view workshop times and to register.

The SUNY Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching and Technology (FACT²) is pleased to announce that the call for nominations for the second annual FACT² Excellence in Instruction and Excellence in Instructional Support Awards is now open. Nominations will be accepted through Saturday, December 5. These awards were designed to recognize exceptional instructors, instructional support staff members, and teams who are using and facilitating the use of technology in teaching.

The FACT² Excellence in Instruction and Excellence in Instructional Support Awards are system-level honors conferred to acknowledge and provide systemwide recognition for consistently professional achievement and to encourage the ongoing pursuit of excellence. These awards underscore SUNY's commitment to the use of technology to support access to superior education, to advance the boundaries of knowledge, and to serve the public good. Through these awards, SUNY publicly proclaims its pride in the accomplishment and personal dedication of its instructional faculty and technology support professionals.

There are four awards:

FACT² Excellence in Instruction: Community Colleges
FACT² Excellence in Instruction: State-Operated and Statutory Campuses
FACT² Excellence in Instructional Support: Community Colleges
FACT² Excellence in Instructional Support: State-Operated and Statutory Campuses

FACT² Excellence in Instruction Awards
These awards recognize SUNY full- or part-time teaching faculty, working individually or in collaboration with others, engaging innovative uses of technology in the teaching and learning process. Recipients of this award have incorporated new or existing technology in ways that enhance the curriculum and engage students using methods and strategies that are scalable and transportable to other settings.

FACT² Excellence in Instructional Support Awards
These awards recognize full- or part-time instructional support staff involved in supporting innovative uses of educational technologies to meaningfully improve teaching and learning by working individually or in collaboration with teaching faculty in the strategic application of curriculum within SUNY. Recipients or teams receiving this award have demonstrated excellence through instructional support practice, and the ability to recognize pedagogical opportunities and to devise strategies for infusing the curriculum with innovative use of technology that aligns with learning outcomes.

You are encouraged to read through the award criteria and rubric (PDF) and nominate a deserving colleague for the Excellence in Instruction or the Excellence in Instructional Support award. Self-nominations are also welcome.

Begin your nomination process.

1. New users click on "Create New Account."
2. Enter the required information and click "Next Step."
3. Create a password and click "Finish."
4. Select "I have received an email" and click "Continue."
5. Click on the "FACT² Awards Nomination" link.
6. Complete the submission form.
7. Attach the required documents.
8. Click "Submit Application" when complete.

The Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching and Technology (FACT²) was established in 1986 to give SUNY faculty and staff access to professional development to sustain educational leadership in service to the citizens and institutions of the State of New York. FACT² is an advisory body to the SUNY provost, advocating and acting as a resource for university stakeholders in the use of technology for effective pedagogy and research.

Faculty and staff members who received awards between September 1, 2014, and August 31, 2015, are invited to submit their award information for inclusion in the upcoming Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony.

The categories are (1) Significant Awards and Honors (received from academic, professional, or service organizations at the international, national, or state levels -- beyond Buffalo State and WNY); (2) Significant Grants (awards of $50,000 and above); and (3) Previous SUNY Awards, for new faculty and staff members who received SUNY awards, such as the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence, while previously serving at another SUNY institution any time during their careers.

Awards meeting these criteria will be included in the program booklet distributed at the recognition ceremony. In addition, the names of faculty and staff members hired during the past year will be included as a warm welcome.

Online forms for submitting award information are posted on the Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony web page and must be completed by Tuesday, September 8.

The ceremony takes place on Thursday, October 8, at 12:15 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall. The campus community is invited to attend, and a reception immediately follows.

Please e-mail Patricia Alessandra, senior staff associate in the Academic Affairs Office, with any questions.

Waitlists for fall 2015 will be turned off at the end of the second day of classes (11:59 p.m. today, September 1); however, students already on waitlists will continue to have the opportunity to register for these classes if a seat becomes available before the end of drop/add (11:59 p.m. Monday, September 7).

Detailed information on waitlisting can be found on the Registrar's Office Registration web page.

By popular demand, the Buffalo State Alumni Association has again teamed up with Liberty Mutual Insurance Company to offer a defensive driving course to Buffalo State faculty, staff, alumni, and students on Saturday, September 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 113.

Save money on your auto insurance by taking this class offered through Liberty Mutual. Friends and relatives are also welcome if accompanied by a faculty or staff member, alumnus, or student. Completion of the course entitles you to 10 percent off liability insurance in New York State, regardless of your auto insurance provider, and also removes points from your driver’s license. The cost of the class is $22 a person.

Please park in Lot R-2 or along Rockwell Road and enter Ketchum Hall through the door on the west side of the building (across from Moot Hall).

To enroll, call Mike DiCioccio, Buffalo State’s local representative, at 997-5312. The registration deadline is Monday, September 7.

Through National Student Exchange, students have the opportunity to study for a semester or an academic year at one of 200 participating colleges or universities at affordable tuition rates. Please contact the director of special programs, Christine Frezza, 878-4328, to schedule a class visit. Provide your students with this possibility for enriching their college experience and let them know about the upcoming information sessions on Tuesday, September 8, and Thursday, September 10, during Bengal Pause (12:15–1:30 p.m.) in Classroom Building C313. Thank you.

Aloha! The Career Development Center's Part-Time-Job Luau is today, Thursday, September 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Quad (rain location: Student Union Social Hall).

More than 30 on-campus departments and local businesses and organizations will be in attendance, looking to hire Buffalo State students to fill their part-time job openings. A list of the organizations attending is available on the CDC website.

Please remind students about the luau and feel free to join us for the festivities. For more information, contact the Career Development Center, Cleveland Hall 306, 878-5811, or askcdc@buffalostate.edu.

Aloha! The campus community is invited to attend the Career Development Center's 10th annual Part-Time-Job Luau on Thursday, September 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Quad (rain location: Student Union Social Hall).

This fun and casual event will allow Buffalo State College students to learn about part-time-job opportunities by meeting with employers in an informal, relaxed setting.

The Part-Time-Job Luau will feature over 30 representatives from on-campus departments and local businesses and organizations. A list of the organizations attending is available on the CDC website.  

Please provide students with information about this exciting opportunity. Faculty and staff are also welcome to join in the festivities and enjoy some refreshments.

For more information, please contact the Career Development Center Cleveland Hall 306 or visit the CDC website.