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 Christine Frezza, ext. 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 Thursday, October 9, from 12:15 to 1:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 219. Thank you.

The Small Business Development Center provides assistance for entrepreneurs seeking to directly address social and environmental problems through their businesses. The workshop Social Enterprise 101 will be held from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Friday, October 24, in Cleveland Hall 205 to introduce you to the SBDC's social enterprise counseling services. The workshop will cover the following four areas of training: social business planning; legal form for social entrepreneurs; social impact measurement and reporting; and financing your social enterprise. This event is free and open to the public. To register, please e-mail delmonas@buffalostate.edu or call ext. 4030.

Please note the Intramurals and Fitness Classes schedules (PDFs).

The Burchfield Penney Art Center is offering exclusive buy one, get one free tickets to The Liaisons Project, a landmark commissioning and concert project, for Buffalo State faculty, staff, and students with ID.

Conceived by concert pianist Anthony de Mare, Liaisons has invited 36 of the world's foremost contemporary composers to "re-imagine" a song by legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim. The center will host two performances: Friday, October 10, and Saturday, October 11, at 8:00 p.m. Faculty, staff, and students are invited to buy one $15 ticket and get the second one free.

This project is a brand-new world-class piano repertory (Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano) that reveals Sondheim’s influence across multiple genres and generations. Composers hail from seven countries, range in age from 32 to 76, and span the worlds of classical, pop, jazz, opera, musical theater, and film.

Since 2011, de Mare has been touring iterations of Liaisons across the country to widespread critical and popular acclaim. The first 32 pieces received their New York City premieres over the span of two sold-out concerts at Symphony Space in April 2012 and March 2013, receiving rave reviews from Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times and others. Sondheim also gave a live interview at each concert.

At its essence, Liaisons is an homage, but unlike any other Sondheim tribute to date, its focus is exclusively on the music. The project leaves no doubt that, aside from his genius as a lyricist, Stephen Sondheim is one of the century's greatest and most influential composers.

Over the past two years, Liaisons programs have played to sold-out crowds at concert halls and universities in major cities from Chicago and San Francisco to Portland, Kansas City, Fort Saskatchwan, and Fort Worth. Performed exclusively by de Mare through 2016, individual pieces can be combined to form an infinite variety of concert, recital, and residency programs. Liaisons will ultimately be released as a 3-CD recording, currently in process, as well as a published collection.

For those new to Sondheim’s work, Liaisons offers a delightful introduction; for those already familiar, the context of a concert hall inspires new insights and appreciations.

The program at the Burchfield Penney is as follows (all works based on material by Stephen Sondheim):

Nico Muhly: "Color and Light" (2012) (Sunday in the Park with George)

Fred Hersch: "No One Is Alone" (2010) (Into the Woods)

Nils Vigeland: "Merrily We Roll Along" (2011) ("Merrily We Roll Along")

Duncan Sheik: "Johanna in Space" (2014) ("Johanna," Sweeney Todd)

Wynton Marsalis: "That Old Piano Roll" (2014) (Follies)

Eric Rockwell: "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" (2010/2014) (Company)

Bernadette Speach: "In and Out of Love" ("Liaisons" and "Send in the Clowns," A Little Night Music)

Steve Reich: "Finishing the Hat: Two Pianos" (2010) (Sunday in the Park with George)

INTERMISSION

Film Interlude: On-stage interview with Stephen Sondheim, conducted by Mark Eden Horowitz at Liaisons’ NYC premiere (Symphony Space April 2012)

Andy Akiho: "Into the Woods" (2013) (Into the Woods)

Thomas Newman: "Not While I’m Around" (2012) ("Not While I’m Around," Sweeney Todd)

Ricardo Lorenz: "The Worst [Empanadas] in London" (2011, rev. 2014) ("The Worst Pies in London" and "A Little Priest," Sweeney Todd)

Paul Moravec: "I Think about You" (2010) ("Losing My Mind," Follies)

Jake Heggie: "I’m Excited. No You’re Not" (2010) ("A Weekend in the Country," A Little Night Music)

Call ext. 6011 or visit www.burchfieldpenney.org for tickets and information.

Weigel Health Promotions will provide educational workshops about the tobacco-free policy on the following dates:

• Friday, October 10, 9:00–10:00 a.m., Ketchum Hall 219
• Friday, October 24, 11:00–12:30 p.m., Bacon Hall 211
• Friday, November 21, 9:00–10:00 a.m., Ketchum Hall 219
• Monday, November 24, 11:00–12:30 p.m., Bacon Hall 211

This workshop and training is offered to all students, faculty, and staff members who would like more information about the tobacco-free policy and how to approach and educate others.

Please RSVP, indicating which workshop you would like to attend (workshops will be canceled if there are no registrants).

Those who complete the training will learn how to talk about the policy, its history, and its purpose. After completing the training, attendees will have the knowledge and skills to approach others (including those in violation of the policy, should they so choose) and have a respectful and appropriate conversation with them about the policy. Any student, staff, or faculty member may sign up for this training.

Tobacco-free ambassadors will help promote the tobacco-free policy by taking an active role in informing people that a tobacco-free policy is in effect. A large majority of Buffalo State students and employees support a tobacco-free environment, so we are inviting volunteers to be trained in effective ways to speak up when they see tobacco being used. To volunteer, please fill out this online form. If you have questions, please call the Health Promotions Office at ext. 4719.

All those who complete the training, especially ambassadors, are encouraged to return to future trainings to discuss their experiences when addressing this topic with others and to provide advice and insight to new ambassadors and others. The first 15 minutes of each session will be reserved for conversation and updates, so you will not need to stay for the whole workshop each time. Your experience and input is critical to making this as effective as possible.

After completion of the training, people will have the knowledge and skills to approach others (including those in violation of the policy, should they so choose) and have a respectful and appropriate conversation with them about the policy.

Trainings are about 90 minutes long and are held monthly. To request this training for a class or group, please complete and submit this form: Tobacco-Free Workshop Request.

Please note: The policy is not up for discussion or debate in these trainings. This is an educational opportunity where information, skills, and resources will be reviewed and questions answered. If you have any questions, please contact Paula A. Madrigal.

The Admissions Office will host its fall Open House for prospective students and their families on Saturday, November 1, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in the Sports Arena. Guests will have the opportunity to tour the campus, meet with faculty and student support services, discuss financial aid options, explore career opportunities, and tour the surrounding cultural corridor. For more information, please visit our Open House web page. If you have any questions, please contact Bernadette Clark, admissions adviser, ext. 3649.

Bipolarized, a 2013 documentary following Ross McKenzie, a young man seeking alternative treatments for his diagnosed mental illness, will be shown Thursday, October 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the Burchfield Penney Art Center as part of the "Beyond Boundaries: Dare to Be Diverse" screening and discussion film series. The film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring moderator Lisa T. Morrison-Fronckowiak, director of Buffalo State's Disability Services Office; Karl Shallowhorn, '87, director of community advocacy for the Mental Health Association of Erie County and Compeer of Greater Buffalo; Leslie Saunders, systems advocate with the WNY Independent Living-Mental Health Peer Connection; and a representative from the Museum of DisABILITY History.

Bipolarized, directed by Rita Kotzia, reveals how society is labeling more and more people with mental illnesses and how, in tandem, doctors are prescribing more and more psychotropic drugs to treat these conditions. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 21 after a manic episode, Ross McKenzie managed his symptoms with lithium. After being on the drug for half his life, he sets off on a journey to treat his condition through alternative treatments and delve into the root cause of his mental breakdown. As McKenzie peels away the layers, his personal experiences tell a larger story about medication. Many people put the blame for the spike in diagnoses on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the dictionary of mental disorders, which is currently in its fifth edition (DSM-5). Questioning his bipolar label, McKenzie seeks out activists, psychiatrists, and psychiatric survivors who have challenged the status quo in psychiatry, and recounts some of the alternative therapies he explores to maintain his mental, emotional, and physical health.

This screening in the "Beyond Boundaries: Dare to Be Diverse" film series is cosponsored by the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, the Communication Department, the Burchfield Penney Art Center, and the Museum of DisABILITY History.

The Great Lakes Center invites you to its open house on Friday, November 7, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. in Science Building 250. 
  
We will present the center’s annual report for 2013–2014, report on the progress of our ecosystem science graduate programs, and discuss current and potential projects and ideas for the future. The discussion will be informal, and presentations will be spoken and visual. Refreshments will be served. Faculty, staff, and students are welcome. Please mark your calendars to join us.

Winterim 2015 is scheduled for Monday, January 5, through Friday, January 16. Plenty of open dates remain for workshops. If you are passionate about a particular topic, share it with your colleagues in a Winterim workshop. These sessions are meant to be informative and fun.

Submit your ideas or suggestions to Paul Reynolds.

The Western New York Blackboard Users Group (WNYBUG) will host a free E-learning Day on Friday, October 17, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Hilbert College. Join your fellow Blackboard colleagues for networking and presentations such as "Motivating Students with Achievement Badges" and "How to Communicate with Students," along with hearing from Blackboard representatives on the future of Blackboard. To register and view other presentation topics, please visit the WNYBUG website. October 10 is the last day to register.