Join artist Kateri Ewing to explore a unique palette and techniques for creating beautiful layered backgrounds and skies on Sunday, February 22, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State. Participants will begin with exercises to create various skies for landscapes and then explore how to build textured backgrounds for still lifes using tea washes of opaque and transparent pigments.

Ewing says her work isn’t so much about creating art or making a statement as it is an avenue to convey how thoroughly in awe she is of the natural world around her. She expresses that awe in richly detailed paintings of songbirds and treasures of the plant kingdom. She is largely self-taught and committed to her continuing development as a painter, and her technique evolves with each painting as she imagines ways to share the beauty and uniqueness of her winged and botanical subjects. Ewing has taught at MUSEjar and the Buffalo Audubon Society, and she holds private lessons in East Aurora. She received the Mary and Gil Stott Award at Roycroft for writing and the arts in 2012. Ewing is represented in Western New York by Meibohm Fine Arts. Her first solo exhibition will be at Meibohm in April.

To register for this workshop, please contact Kathy Gaye Shiroki, curator of museum learning and community engagement, ext. 3549, or download the registration form (PDF) from the Burchfield's International Center for Watercolor website.

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Upcoming Workshops and Presentations

What's That Behind Your Painting? / Watercolor Workshop with Fritz Raiser
Sunday, March 8

Dialogues in Gouache / Presentation with Watercolorist Thomas Paquette
Friday, March 13; Free with M&T Second Friday

Beyond Watercolor / Workshop with Artist Caitlin Cass
Sunday, March 22

Travel Sketching: Pen, Ink, and a Splash of Watercolor / Workshop with Bill Elkins
Sunday, April 19

Pencils in Your Palette / Workshop with Watercolorist Norine Spurling
Sunday, April 26

Coming Full Circle / Presentation with Artist Lloyd Marsh
Friday, May 8

With a Broad Brush / Workshop with Artist Lloyd Marsh
Saturday, May 9

The Volunteer and Service-Learning Center's Alternative Break program will host two information sessions for the upcoming Alternative Spring Break: Exploring Urban Poverty in Niagara Falls, New York, experience March 22–28. Student participants will learn about urban poverty in the city of Niagara Falls through hands-on service projects such as serving meals in the soup kitchen, sorting clothing in the donation room, and organizing canned goods in the food pantry with Community Missions, Mission House, and the Magdalene Project.

Information sessions will be held Thursday, February 5, and Tuesday, February 10, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 306.

Applications and a $30 deposit are due by Friday, February 13. The total cost to participate is $75, which includes transportation, housing, meals, and supplies. 

Questions can be directed to the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center, Cleveland Hall 306, ext. 5811 or vslc@buffalostate.edu.

From the Diversity Program Coordinator
The Equity and Campus Diversity Office is pleased to announce two events featuring Jerryl T. Christmas, defense attorney and former prosecutor for the city of St. Louis, on Thursday, January 29. These events will be held in cooperation with Buffalo State’s Campbell Student Union, Student Life Office, Political Science Department, and Educational Opportunity Program. Christmas will be the featured speaker at both events.

"Are You Making Your Mark?" a Martin Luther King celebration, will be held from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. This event will also feature music from the S.P.i.R.i.T. Gospel Choir and poetry by Anthony Neal, associate professor of political science.

A Discussion on Ferguson, Missouri, will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center North. This event will also be held in cooperation with AAMEN (African American Males Empowering Network).

Please e-mail or call the Equity and Campus Diversity Office at ext. 6210 with questions.

Members of the Students of Concern Care Team are available to attend meetings or gatherings of faculty and staff members to provide information and share strategies and techniques for working with students of concern on campus. Upon request, we will attend chairs' meetings, departmental meetings, office gatherings, or other group meetings.

The Care Team seeks to identify and provide support for students in distress who may threaten harm to themselves or others. Your help in providing notice of any students of concern is essential to keeping our campus community safe. Notify the Care Team whenever a student’s behavior gives reason for uncertainty about possible harm so that we can investigate the situation, develop a plan for action, and follow up with appropriate intervention.

To contact the Care Team, please complete an online report, e-mail the team, or call the Dean of Students Office at ext. 4618.

Questions about the operation of the team should be addressed to Charles B. Kenyon, associate vice president and dean of students, ext. 4618.

If you wish to invite members of the team to meet with your department or office to discuss “red flag” warning signs, ways to report a concern, legal or FERPA issues, or how to respond when confronted by a student in distress, please contact Amy Rosen-Brand, associate director of disability services, ext. 4500.

Please verify that your Record of Authorized Signatures forms are up to date in order to avoid delays in the processing of your department's request for purchase orders.

You must complete a new Record of Authorized Signatures form (docx) form if your department has new employees who will be authorized to sign Request for Purchase Order forms. You must also submit a new form if an authorized signatory is on sabbatical and an interim will be in charge while the authorized signatory is away for a semester or longer. You must complete a new Record of Authorized Signatures form for each department account if there are changes.

The form can be found on the Procurement Services website. Please complete the form and send the original to Procurement Services, Cleveland Hall 406. We must have original signatures on the forms.

Butler Library is currently seeking publications or creative works for display in the faculty-staff scholarly exhibits case in our lower lobby. Faculty and staff members with recent publications who would like to be included should complete the Faculty-Staff Scholarly Exhibits application. Please encourage your colleagues to submit applications as well. We want to feature your accomplishments.

Please contact Leah Galka, Library Exhibits Committee member, with questions.

The Judicial Affairs Office needs additional faculty members to serve on the College Judicial Board. Judicial Board members review serious cases of alleged violations of the Code of Student Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities. Hearing Board members must commit to being available during Bengal Pause on either Tuesday or Thursday throughout the year; however, hearings are held only when required. Judicial boards hear and evaluate charges and evidence, question participants on matters related to each case, make judgments on responsibility, and determine sanctions once responsibility is assigned. Training will be provided on provisions of the code, how judicial boards operate, and how to conduct effective questioning during a board hearing.

Faculty members who are interested in serving on the board must complete an application and return it to the Judicial Affairs Office, Campbell Student Union 311. Download the application from the Dean of Students Office website or e-mail Jennifer Marzolf. Please visit or call the Judicial Affairs Office at ext. 3051 with questions.

Jeffrey Otterstein from VALIC Financial Advisors will be on campus for individual consultations with Buffalo State faculty and staff members on Tuesday, February 3. Sessions are by appointment only between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. in Butler Library 210B.

Gain a greater level of confidence in your retirement portfolio. To schedule an appointment, please register online.

Effective immediately, photos will be displayed on class rosters in Banner for students who have ID card photos on file. To access the photo rosters, log in to Banner and click on the "Faculty/Staff Services" tab. Select "Detail Class List" to view the roster. Please note that not all students will have photos. If a student did not submit an ID card photo (or have one taken on campus), no photo will be displayed.

Please report any issues with the class roster in Banner to the Help Desk at ext. 4357 or chd@buffalostate.edu. 

Students who need new or replacement ID cards should be referred to the Circulation Desk in Butler Library or to library.buffalostate.edu/bengalcard.

Buffalo State will welcome eight guests from Universidad Mayor in Santiago, Chile, for three weeks this month as part of an ongoing Professional Development Schools (PDS) partnership and student exchange program. 

Please join us in welcoming our guests and learning about education in their country during a presentation on Thursday, February 19, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. (Bengal Pause) in Bacon Hall 115. All faculty, staff, students, and interested parties are welcome to attend. Please direct any questions to Angela Patti, assistant professor of exceptional education, or Pixita del Prado Hill, associate professor of elementary education and reading.