The public administration program will host Susan Wood, associate professor at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, for the lecture "The Controversy over Contraception: Women's Health, FDA, and Emergency Contraception," on Monday, May 5, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. in Classroom Building C122.

Wood served as FDA assistant commissioner for women’s health for five years. When she concluded in 2005 that Bush administration politics were tying up the approval of Plan-B, not the safety or efficacy of the “morning-after pill,” she resigned and spoke our forcefully that FDA science was being held captive by the “pro-life movement.” Following her resignation, Wood traveled around the country, sharing her story and voicing her concerns over the state of public health policy.

Her talk is funded by the Grant Allocation Committee.

Jerry Mead, lecturer in the Design Department, will present "Travelages: Travel-Influenced Collages," the next lecture in the series "Artists on the Road: Travel as a Source of Inspiration," on Thursday, April 24, at 12:15 p.m. in Upton Hall 230.

Postcards, collected ephemera, and tiny artifacts from decades of global travel have influenced and served as source material for several bodies of Mead's artwork over the years. Viewed in succession, they are a visual diary of his many sojourns.

ING Financial Partners will conduct the workshop "Financial Life Planning: Merging Your Money and Your Life," led by Gary Witten, George Dougherty, and Matthew Witten, on Wednesday, April 23, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 418.

If you wish to attend, RSVP to molly@teamifs.com or (716) 626-3928. Lunch will be provided.

This week’s FACTS article features pertinent information to help at-risk students and students with disabilities persist to graduation.

With regard to financial aid, an at-risk student is a student who, by virtue of his or her circumstances, is more likely than others to lose eligibility for federal, state, or institutional aid. In addition, federal aid regulations do not provide additional accommodations for students with disabilities; said students must perform at the same level as all other students.

Listed below are three common roadblocks to establishing and maintaining aid eligibility for at-risk students:

1. Legal Parent(s) for FAFSA – Dependent students must provide parental information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The student’s parent is defined as the biological and/or adoptive parent(s). Grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, older brothers or sisters, and aunts and uncles are not considered parents unless they have legally adopted the student. For students who experience extreme unusual circumstances, such as an abusive family environment or abandonment by parent(s), a Dependency Appeal may be approved if credible documentation that merits a dependency override is submitted to the Financial Aid Office.

2. Textbook Deferments – Many students are ineligible for a textbook deferment because of their failure to complete all financial aid requirements in a timely manner. As a result, these students attend classes without the required textbooks, and this may result in poor academic performance, thereby jeopardizing their future aid eligibility.

3. Class Attendance /Course Registration – Federal financial aid is processed for a student under the assumption that the student will attend courses for the entire semester for which the financial assistance is provided. Students who withdraw from all classes (regardless of reason: approved LOA; medical or any other legitimate reason) may be required to repay aid they received. Additionally, a student’s failure to complete the semester may affect future aid eligibility.

Additionally, it is very important that all students (especially at-risk students) register for required courses each term to diminish the possibility of losing their aid.

For more information and ways you can help these student groups, please refer to the Financial Aid for At-Risk Students Guide and Financial Aid for Disability Services Guide.

If you have questions regarding this article, please contact us at finaid@buffalostate.edu or ext. 4902. All questions and answers will be posted in the “You Asked for It” section of the FAO website. Click on the “Faculty and Staff” link (bottom left).

Learn to jot down the important stuff (and stay awake in class!) by applying these time-tested note-taking tips. A better grade may be just a few tips away.

Monday, April 21
2:00–3:00 p.m.
Bacon Hall 217
Presenter: Lauren Copeland

If you'd like to come but have a conflict in your schedule, call the Academic Skills Center at 878-4041 to set up a free personal session.

The Admissions Office will host its annual spring break edition of the Class Visit Program April 16–18. The initiative is a follow-up to the very successful February Class Visit hosted during Presidents Week. The three-day program is an invitation-only event for high school seniors who have been accepted to Buffalo State. Visiting students will observe classes alongside currently enrolled students in a cross-section of academic disciplines. They will attend classes at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday and Friday and 9:25 a.m. Thursday. While students are in class, their parents will participate in a Q&A panel discussion, where they will pose questions to representatives from Financial Aid, Residence Life, University College, University Police, and the Career Development Center. Afterward, students and parents will tour Buffalo State.

Friday morning’s program will feature distinguished alumnus Kevin Manne, assistant director of communications at the University at Buffalo, who will address the theme “Because of Buffalo State.” Manne is scheduled to be introduced by Hal D. Payne, vice president for student affairs.

In addition to its traditional morning programs, the Admissions Office will host two afternoon sessions: the Class Visit Honors Colloquium 400 on Wednesday and a Friday program at 12:30 p.m.

Special thanks for the support provided by the Barnes & Noble at Buffalo State Bookstore, Campus Dining Services, the Intercollegiate Athletics Department, the Alumni Association, the Enrollment Management Office, and the academic departments across campus.

For more information on the Class Visit Program, please visit the Admissions website.

Cilas Kemedjio, director of the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African American Studies and associate professor of Francophone and French studies at the University of Rochester, will present "Africa in the Ethical World Order: Notes on the Humanitarian Misunderstanding" today, April 17, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center West. His talk is free and open to all. This event is sponsored by the African and African American studies program and the Grant Allocation Committee.

The NYS/UUP Joint Labor-Management Committee has announced application deadlines for the Dr. Nuala McGann Drescher Leave Program. This affirmative action/diversity leave program enhances employment opportunities for UUP-represented employees who are preparing for permanent or continuing appointments with preference given to minorities, women, employees with disabilities, and employees with military status. Types of support available include payment of employee’s regular salary by the campus, salary for a replacement, and other related expenses for research or study with a justification. Further information, guidelines, and application forms can be found online.     

In order to meet the program application deadlines, nomination packets should be submitted to the provost or vice president/CIO/CDO a month before the program deadline to allow time for requesting campus endorsement, financial commitment, and any required financial statements. Decisions regarding campus funding will be based on available institutional resources.

The deadlines are as follows:

For leaves in spring semester 2015: submit application package to provost/VP/CIO/CDO by September 8, 2014 (program application deadline is October 8, 2014).
For leaves in fall semester 2015: submit application package to provost/VP/CIO/CDO by February 4, 2015 (program application deadline is March 4, 2015).
For leaves in spring semester 2016: submit application package to provost/VP/CIO/CDO by September 7, 2015 (program application deadline is October 7, 2015).

E. H. Butler Library's Book Spine Poetry Contest is coming to a close. Please make sure to submit all entries by Monday, April 21. 

How it works:

1. Use any book available to you and line up the words on the spine to create your poem. Use any element of the spine you like (title, author, color, etc.). The format, length, and theme are entirely up to you (bonus points for poems about books or libraries).
2. Take a picture of your poem.
3. E-mail your poem to Katie Bertel, outreach and engagement librarian, or tag your poem with #butlerbookspine on Facebook or Twitter. To be eligible for a prize, you must include your name and title of the poem.
4. Submit as many poems as you like by Monday, April 21.
5. Submissions will be posted anonymously to E. H. Butler Library’s Pinterest page.
6. Three winners will be announced at the end of the month. Winners will receive a prize from Argo Tea and will be featured on the E. H. Butler Library blog.

The contest is open to all Buffalo State students, faculty, and staff.

Questions? Ask Katie Bertel.

The campus Beautification Committee is seeking volunteers to spend some free time outdoors, cleaning up unsightly debris around buildings where they work, exercise, study, or reside. Trash bags and gloves are available from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekdays at the Clinton Center, Customer Service, where individuals can sign up for the program. Collected litter can be placed in any outdoor trash receptacle.

This effort directly supports all-college events, including Open House, Commencement, and fundraising events such as the annual Foundation Scholarship Gala. A litter-free campus helps showcase and market our institution to the visiting public and inspires everyone to help preserve our cherished green spaces.

Your efforts also help preserve an endangered waterway—the Scajaquada Creek. Litter, debris, and decomposition byproducts can be carried by storm runoff into the campus storm drainage system and Scajaquada Creek, hampering other noble efforts to reestablish the creek as a freshwater habitat for migratory birds and other native wildlife.

Studies by the U.S. EPA have found that storm runoff from urbanized areas can adversely affect water quality and aquatic and wildlife in our waterways. As required by the U.S. Clean Water Act, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issues storm sewer system permits to entities within urbanized areas, including SUNY Buffalo State, with requirements to reduce storm water pollution. Buffalo State maintains a litter prevention and control policy in accordance with the conditions of this storm sewer system permit and storm water pollution control regulations. This policy, which includes expectations and measures for preventing and controlling litter, encourages “good samaritan” volunteer efforts to clean up litter and debris.