The Faculty-Student Association board of directors thanks all those who applied for grants from the Founders' Fund for educational and cultural programs on the Buffalo State campus. We are pleased to announce that approximately $44,000 has been awarded for calendar year 2015. A list of award recipients and a contact number for information about each program can be found on our website.

The board encourages members of the campus community to consider attending programs that are of interest to them.

Feeling the stress of finals? Take a study break with Barkley and Seamus, two canine good citizens, who will be in the library lobby today from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to relieve your stress in exchange for head rubs.

An electrical shutdown affecting Chase, Upton, and Cassety halls will take place from 10:00 p.m. Tuesday December 16, to approximately 4:00 a.m. Wednesday December 17. This planned service interruption will accommodate the relocation of an electrical and communications duct bank as part of the Caudell Hall renovation project.

Chase, Upton, and Cassety halls will be without most electrical power and lighting during this overnight period. Emergency generators will provide for emergency lighting and fire alarm systems, but the buildings should be vacated during this time. Building occupants are asked to shut down computers before the interruption.

University Police operations will remain active in Chase Hall throughout the shutdown period.

For more information about this and other campus construction projects, please visit the Buffalo State Construction website. Questions about this interruption may be e-mailed to vpfm@buffalostate.edu.

Buffalo State Dining is paying it forward with a special faculty and staff discount lunch on Thursday, December 11, in the Campbell Student Union Resident Dining Hall from 11:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Enjoy a delicious all-you-care-to-eat lunch buffet for only $6.

For a full list of winter break dining locations and hours of operation, please visit our website.

The SUNY Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching and Technology (FACT²) is pleased to announce a call for nominations for the inaugural FACT² Excellence in Instruction and Excellence in Instructional Support awards.

FACT² is an advisory body to the SUNY provost, advocating and acting as a resource for university stakeholders at the nexus of technology, pedagogy, and research. Buffalo State campus representatives are Carlos Jones, department chair and associate professor of theater, and Melaine Kenyon, director of instructional technology in Instructional Resources.

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 will 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 will 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. The deadline for nominations is Friday, February 13, 2015.

Click here to 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.

For more information about FACT² and the FACT² awards, please see the FACT² website.

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.

Faculty members are invited to attend the following upcoming Blackboard training workshops:

Blackboard Learn 9.1: Open Lab
This lab is an open forum devoted to answering questions and addressing concerns that faculty may have about navigating Blackboard Learn 9.1.

Tuesday, December 9, 12:30–1:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 11, 3:00–4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 17, 11:00 a.m.–noon
Thursday, December 18, 10:00–11:00 a.m.

Blackboard Learn 9.1: Introduction
This workshop is designed for instructors new to Blackboard Learn 9.1 or anyone that would like a refresher course. We will address the basics of navigation, course tools, and procedures necessary to create new content items. By the end of this workshop, learners will be able to navigate the new LMS, upload files, create content items, add text, add multimedia, and organize content in a meaningful way.

Wednesday, December 10, 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, December 16, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Please sign up through the CyberQuad Workshop Registration System.

New Graduate Student Orientation for students accepted for the spring semester will be held Tuesday, January 20, 2015, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. Registration begins at 4:00 p.m.

More information is available on the Graduate School website.

The summer 2015 online master schedule is now available on the Registrar's Office website.

Computing and Technology Services will update all campus PCs, both faculty-staff computers and labs, to Microsoft Office 2013 during the winter break (the week of December 29). If you don't want to wait, you can upgrade your PC today by following the steps in this FAQ article: How do I upgrade my campus PC to Office 2013?

Please note: If you use any applications that may not be compatible with the new version of Office, please notify the Help Desk by Friday, December 19, and request that your device be excluded. When you contact the Help Desk, please include the name and version of the incompatible application and the device name of your computer.

There are some differences between the old and new versions of Office. If you'd like to learn about some of the new features before the upgrade, we will offer "Office 2013: What’s New?" demos in CyberQuad throughout the month of December. Please visit the workshop registration site for dates and times.

The 2014–2015 "Conversations in and out of the Disciplines" series for the fall semester concludes today, December 5, as Jennifer Hunt, associate professor of psychology and coordinator of the women and gender studies program, presents "On Princesses, (Super)power, and Patriarchy: How 'Princess Culture' Influences Gender Ideologies, Relationship Beliefs, and Career Choices—and Why Superheroes Just Might Be Able to Save the Day" 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.

We are also pleased to announce that Amy McMillan, associate professor of biology; M. Scott Goodman, department chair and associate professor of chemistry; Carolyn Guzski, assistant professor of music; and Timothy Bryant, assistant professor of English, will share their work in the spring (dates TBA).