All elementary education majors, including undergraduate CED, CEN, CIT, CMT, CRF, CSH, CSS, ECC, ECE, and EXE, as well as graduate MIITC, are required to attend a mandatory student teacher orientation meeting on Monday, March 2, or Wednesday, March 4, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. in Bacon Hall 117 if they plan to student teach in fall 2015.

Midterm grades will be available on Degree Works starting Monday, March 16, for students whose instructors have chosen this option. The midterm grade will have an M next to it and will disappear when final grades are posted.

Buffalo State Students will join nearly 100 educational institutions worldwide to participate in National Student Engagement and Philanthropy Month. In celebration, the Buffalo State College Student Philanthropy Council (SPC) is hosting a weeklong initiative called "TAG" (Thanking Alumni, Faculty, Staff, and Friends for Giving).

As an institution that benefits in many ways from the generosity and support of others, Buffalo State recognizes that it’s important to take time not only to thank these important people but also to educate our community about their contributions. It’s vital that students start taking steps to become the next group of philanthropic leaders.

With this spirit of giving in mind, SPC HAS planned events that help spread their mission, including writing donors thank-you cards, filming videos expressing their appreciation, and posting their gratitude on social media. Big orange tags with bows are displayed around campus in an effort to inform students about the many buildings, venues, and equipment funded by donors. In addition, student development ambassadors personally distributed thank-you letters and “I GIVE” pins to all the faculty and staff members, including President Conway-Turner, who have contributed to the college.

To learn more about the spirited culture of giving at Buffalo State, please visit the Giving website and the SPC website. For more information about SPC, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, or follow them on Instagram.

Thank you.

Colleen Young
SPC Vice President
 

The campus community is welcome to attend the following campus presentations by candidates for the position of director of student life at Buffalo State. For a complete description of the duties of the position, please visit the Human Resource Management website.

Tara Jabbaar-Gyambrah
Friday, February 27
2:00 p.m.
Cleveland Hall 418

Fatima Rodriguez Johnson
Monday, March 2
2:00 p.m.
Butler Library 210

The Elementary Education and Reading Department has a new URL for its website that connects faculty, students, and the broader community to programs, resources, consortia, and news. Please visit us at http://elementaryeducation.buffalostate.edu.

The Career Development Center will host the Job and Internship Fair 2015 on Tuesday, April 7, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. This event is open to students from all majors and levels as well as alumni. Employers from local, regional, and national organizations will be in attendance to recruit for full-time jobs and internships.

Please remind students to dress in professional attire, bring multiple copies of their résumé, and research attending employers before the fair. Students can hone their skills at Professional Image Boot Camp on Thursday, April 2, and view the CDC’s guide “How to Make the Most of a Job Fair” and workshops. For more information, please contact the Career Development Center.

Celebrate the joy of Lent by starting your Fridays with the Liturgy of the Eucharist at 8:00 a.m. in the Newman Center Chapel, 1219 Elmwood Avenue, on February 27, March, 6, March 13, March 20, and March 27. Stay for a cup of coffee afterward or take one to go. All are invited.

Please join the Buffalo State chapters of Best Buddies and the Student Council for Exceptional Children (SCEC) to support the national campaign to “Spread the Word to End the Word.” The R-word, retard or retarded, is slang for the term mental retardation. The purpose of the campaign is to raise peoples’ awareness of the derogatory use of these words and their negative effects on people with intellectual disabilities, as well as on their families and friends.

The campaign also aims to change attitudes of segregation and hate to attitudes of acceptance and respect. Buffalo State's Best Buddies and SCEC prefer to focus on people and their gifts and accomplishments, and to dispel negative attitudes and stereotypes. We hope you do, too. Come and sign the pledge. Banners and computers will be available in the Campbell Student Union lobby on March 3, 4, and 5 from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. for the Buffalo State community to sign the pledge to end the R-word.

Also, please join us for a film presentation by Starlight Gallery and musical entertainment on Wednesday, March 4, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Butler Library 210.

Universities and colleges are prime targets for scams because of their decentralized budgets, ordering practices, and changing personnel. Buffalo State's Procurement Department has been made aware of several recent potential scam attempts.

The most common commodities that are scammed are advertising, copier toner, light bulbs, ice-melting products, office supplies, printer cartridges, and chemicals, but scams can involve any commodity or service that exists.

The best way to avoid a scam is to stay informed, remain alert, and question when something doesn't sound right or seems too good to be true.

Common techniques:

• Telephone or e-mail solicitations offering a "special sale"
• Callers asking what kind of copy machine you have in your office
• Companies offering to send you free samples
• Companies offering to ship a product without a purchase order and bill you later
• Companies sending in an actual tear sheet of a real classified employment advertisement with a phony invoice
• Unknown solicitors calling to ask for your shipping address
• Companies shipping goods that were never ordered and then sending an inflated invoice for payment
• Companies using a name similar to a company you deal with, but not exactly the same
• Companies selling items at greatly discounted prices but claiming you need to order now to take advantage of the savings
• Callers who state that the "college's president referred me to you"
• Companies who say they are selling discontinued items at closeout prices
• Callers who ask for your account number or credit card number

If you suspect that you have been contacted by a possible scammer, advise the caller that it would be best to let Procurement Services speak to them and give them the Procurement phone number: (716) 878-4113. Chances are they will not call. If the caller is persistent, please collect as much company information as you can and contact Steve Olsen in Procurement Services, ext. 4113.

Buffalo State students who are planning to start a business or who currently have a small business are invited to a Student Entrepreneurship Dialogue on Friday, February 27, at 3:00 p.m. in Bishop Hall 107, home of the student INC.ubator.

Students will learn how to be part of the INC.ubator, meet other student entrepreneurs, and learn how the Small Business Development Center can help.

For more information, please contact Simone Dawson, INC.ubator manager, ext. 4030.