Michelle Bae-Dimitriadis, assistant professor of art education, will share her research on Friday, March 21, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210.

Public pedagogy offers an alternative for understanding ethnic youth communities and cultures in relation to media and identity politics. In this presentation, Bae-Dimitriadis will explore the digital media play of contemporary diasporic Korean teens living in a Midwest campus town in the United States. Drawing on postcolonial notions of “hybridity,” this study highlights the ways these youths engage in ambivalent practices of both identification and dis-identification with their seemingly “authentic” Koreanness, allowing them to plan and rearticulate the (in)authenticity of the “Other” (Bhabha, 1994; Min-ha, 1989). The liminal tactics of difference opens up possibilities for rethinking alternative (de)pedagogical sites and understanding of public pedagogy, which go beyond the conventional notion of community and identity politics.

Andrea Nikischer, assistant professor of adult education, will share her research on Friday, February 7, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210 as part of the Emerging Scholar Speaker Series.

Nikischer will discuss her research investigating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) high school "opportunity structures," specifically related to STEM fields and career and college choices for top-performing math and science students. The research examines differences in these structures as they play out in two representative high schools that vary by social class (one high-poverty urban and one affluent suburban). Nikischer will explore the themes that emerged from her research as well as recommendations for changes in policy and practice.

You must be enrolled full time (at least 12 new credit hours) to receive a New York State TAP grant. If you are repeating a course for which you previously received a passing grade (D, D+, C-), it will not count toward full-time status for TAP eligibility purposes.

Further information regarding Course Repeats is available on the Financial Aid website.

If you are not sure if you will be considered full time for TAP purposes, please check with the Student Accounts Office at stuaccts@buffalostate.edu. Do not delay. Sunday, February 2, is the deadline to complete spring 2014 registration.

Buffalo State will host the fourth annual Great Lakes Mock Trial regional tournament on Saturday and Sunday, February 8 and 9. We will host 24 teams from a variety of colleges and universities and about 200 undergraduate students who are seeking to qualify for a spot in the national American Mock Trial tournament in March. We need tournament evaluators for all four sessions held that weekend (two on Saturday and two on Sunday); faculty members may volunteer for one or more sessions. A legal background is not necessary. Evaluators without legal training will sit as "jurors" and be paired with an attorney who will preside over the trial. Faculty and administrative staff members from all disciplines are welcome. If you can help, please contact Jon Lines, lecturer in the Political Science Department, or Kelly Boos, assistant to the dean of natural and social sciences, for more information or a sign-up sheet.

The standard mileage reimbursement rate for employee travel is 56 cents per mile, effective January 1, 2014. The Office of the State Comptroller's Guide to Financial Operations contains additional mileage information. Please call Travel Services at ext. 4117 with questions.

The spring 2014 Conversations in and out of the Disciplines series kicks off Friday, February 7, as Camille Holmgren, associate professor of geography and planning, presents "Sonoran Desert Biogeography: Past, Present, and Future" 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.

Please also mark your calendars for the second and third talks of the semester: Anthony Chase, assistant dean of Arts and Humanities on March 7, and James Cercone, assistant professor of English and coordinator of the English education program, on April 25. Details to follow. All talks will be held in Ketchum Hall 320 at 3:00 p.m.

To be sure you are prepared to teach in Blackboard this semester, please review these steps on the Instructional Design website. Please be advised that additional trainings will be added to the CyberQuad site and will commence during the first week of February.

Please join the Blackboard Users Open Forum in Blackboard to interact with other faculty members using Blackboard, ask questions, and browse resources. It is a self-enrolling organization. Follow the steps in this video to self-enroll.

Thank you.

The Art Education Department has moved. We are now located in Upton Hall 315. Individual faculty offices have also been moved to various locations in Upton; all phone numbers have been kept the same. Please contact Tara Deane, ext. 4106, if you need any further information.

The student marketing club at Buffalo State seeks new members. The club will hold a recruitment meeting today, February 6, at 12:15 p.m. in Chase Hall 341. Refreshments will be served. The club is open to students of all majors at Buffalo State. Get hands-on experience in marketing by helping with our fun and exciting project this semester. For more information, contact the club president, Colby Parks.

The student marketing club at Buffalo State will hold a recruiting meeting on Thursday, February 6, at 12:15 p.m. in Chase Hall 341. Refreshments will be served. The club is open to students of all majors at Buffalo State. Get hands-on experience in marketing by helping with our fun and exciting project this semester. For more information, contact the club president, Colby Parks.