A healthy population of a rare species of mollusk,Truncilla macrodon, was discovered in the Colorado River in Texas by Lyubov Burlakova, principal investigator and research scientist with Buffalo State’s Great Lakes Center, and Alexander Karatayev, director of the Great Lakes Center, in May.

Since the native species—commonly known as Texas Fawnsfoot—was first described in 1859, only about 200 live specimens have been found, and only 12 in the last two decades. However, the Buffalo State team discovered a population of Texas Fawnsfoot consisting of about 3,000 individual specimens.

Burlakova, whose research focuses on biodiversity and conservation of freshwater ecosystems, was excited by the discovery but remains cautious. “We were very fortunate to discover a healthy population of this rare endemic species considered almost lost,” she said. “However, the status of other endemic species remains disturbing.” The colony of the Texas Fawnsfoot is the only colony that has been found. The team is returning to Texas to continue its research later this summer.

Since 2004, Burlakova, along with Karatayev and researchers from other institutions, has been conducting Texas-wide surveys of unionids, the family to which 300 North American mollusk species belong. The work has been funded through the State Wildlife Grant Program provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Their surveys helped to update the current status of several other populations of rare and endemic species in Texas.

A petition to include Texas Fawnsfoot and five other species that scientists consider to be at risk of extinction under the protection of the Endangered Species Act is being reviewed by the secretary of the interior.

The following grants were awarded through the Research Foundation at Buffalo State College in June. For more information, contact the principal investigator or theResearch Foundation at Buffalo State College.

June 2009

Gary Jones, Associate Professor, Speech-Language Pathology
$339,000 (Continuation)
New York State Education Department
“Speech Language Pathology Consortium”

Susan McMillen, Associate Professor, Mathematics
$87,740 (Continuation)
Buffalo Public Schools
“Tuition for MSP Partnership: Math Focus 2008–2009”

Sheldon Tetewsky, Senior Research Analyst, Center for Health and Social Research
$1,800
Community Charter School
“Evaluation Services for the Community Charter School 2008–2009 Academic Year”

William Wieczorek, Director, Center for Health and Social Research
$619,967 (Continuation)
National Institutes of Health
“Initiation and Continuation of Drinking and Driving Behavior”

Kathy Wood, Director, Center for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education
$66,347 (Continuation)
Lackawanna City School District
“21st-Century Project: Year 2”

New Buffalo Artists, an invitational exhibition of artwork by selected students and faculty of the Buffalo State College visual arts programs, opens tonight with a special reception at 7:00 p.m. in the Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst. On view through October 1, the show includes works by faculty members Jozef Bajus, Lin Xia Jiang, Kenneth Payne, Stephen Saracino, and Robert L. Wood. Music and complimentary hors d’oeuvres are included. For more information, contact CFI’s Corey Neil, 636-4869, ext. 409.

“Learn What Journal Editors Value,” the latest workshop in the series “The Donut Shop of the Mind,” was presented for campus scholars on June 19. The event featured four current and past editors of national journals who shared their expertise with campus members who have been, or plan to be, published authors.

Publishing one’s scholarly work is a critical activity for faculty members, both to secure tenure and to share findings with colleagues around the world. However, publication is difficult and demanding. The panel was designed to help Buffalo State researchers understand the process of scholarly publication from the journal editor’s perspective.

Sharon Cramer, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor of exceptional education and creator of the Donut Shop series, facilitated the workshop. She shared some of her own publication experiences: “Write from an important place within yourself,” she urged, “and make writing a ‘front-burner’ commitment throughout your career—before and after tenure.”

The editorial panel comprised Jim D. Atwood, professor of chemistry at the University at Buffalo and editor of theJournal of Coordination Chemistry; Carolyn M. Hilarski, professor of social work at Buffalo State and past editor of Residential Treatment for Children and Youth; Louise M. Lonabocker, executive director of student services at Boston College and editor of College and University: Educating the Modern Higher Education Administration Professional; and Paul Theobald, Woods-Beals Endowed Chair and professor with Buffalo State’s Center for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education at Buffalo State and founding editor of the Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education. Although each journal is highly specialized, the editors have common experiences in soliciting articles and communicating with authors.

Atwood’s journal is an international peer-reviewed journal about inorganic chemistry that has doubled its circulation since 2006. Its acceptance rate is about 55 percent.

Hilarski said that Residential Treatment, which has been in existence since 1986, has a circulation of about 1,000. Its audience consists of people who work in residential treatment settings. “We often solicit experts to write for us,” said Hilarski. The journal’s acceptance rate is about 75 percent.

Lonabocker emphasized that College and University is targeted for enrollment management professionals. “We reject articles about teaching,” she said. The journal’s feature articles are peer-reviewed; the acceptance rate is about 55 percent.

Theobald edits the relatively new online publicationJournal of Inquiry and Action in Education. “Its subject is what we do when we’re in the schools,” he said. The most recent issue includes articles about educating homeless children, a case study of the impact of No Child Left Behind on urban school teachers, and an argument to eliminate sports in schools. Inquiry and Action accepts about 65 percent of the articles submitted for publication.

According to the panelists, the most common errors authors make are failing to follow submission guidelines and using the wrong format and/or style guide. The most important thing authors can do to get their work published is to become familiar with the journal to which they are submitting their work. To demonstrate familiarity, authors can refer to articles that have been published in the journal.

If an author has a question about a journal’s interest in an article, he or she should e-mail an inquiry to the editor. By asking first, the author may be able to shape an article to meet an editor’s need. Authors should indicate that they have conducted research into their topic before contacting an editor.

“It is important to make sure that your e-mail is error-free,” said Hilarski.

If an editor suggests revisions, it indicates an interest in publishing the piece. “Make the suggested revisions,” advised Lonabocker, “and do so in a timely way.”

For articles that are peer-reviewed, authors should e-mail the revised version to the relevant reviewers with detailed information about where the revisions were made.

Blind peer-review, in which reviewers are anonymous to authors, can be discouraging if the comments are disparaging. “Don’t take it personally,” said Hilarski. “Look for the truth; look for the positive. And don’t be deterred in your efforts to publish, no matter what anybody says.”

For many faculty members, the summer offers time to catch up on continuing projects or begin new ones. Many Buffalo State faculty recently took advantage of new programs offered through the Faculty Development Center to hone their work and stay productive during the warmer months.

Sue McMillen, associate professor of mathematics and director of faculty development, spearheaded a series throughout May called “Start Your Summer Scholarship.” Nearly 50 faculty members participated in a variety of activities, including an introduction to Endnote citation-management software, two workshops as part of theSummer Pedagogical Institute, and a writing event that paired participants with mentors.

“The main idea was to energize faculty as they begin the summer for their own research and writing and also for their teaching,” McMillen said.

Theresa Harris-Tigg, assistant professor of English and coordinator of the English education program, participated in the writing event. She hopes to complete three publishable articles and outline her first book before the fall semester begins.

“The summer months offer a great time for productivity, but you have to be good at prioritizing,” Harris-Tigg said.

She is grateful for the advice she received from her writing mentor, Paul Theobald, professor and Woods-Beals Endowed Chair with the Center for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education. During the full-day writing event on May 29, Theobald offered Harris-Tigg suggestions to add more depth to her article and also referred her to Bill Wieczorek, professor and director of the Center for Health and Social Research, for advice on incorporating surveys into her work.

To encourage continued productivity during the summer, McMillen is making the conference area outside her office—Bulger Communication Center 104—available every Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for those seeking quiet time for writing or a place to share ideas with colleagues.

“The space offers little distraction and can energize a faculty member by being in the presence of others who want to write,” she said. “It’s like having a workout buddy.”

KeunYoung “Vicky” Oh, assistant professor of technology, registered for all the activities. She found the Summer Pedagogical Institute workshops—Strategies for Teaching Large Classes and Dealing with Disruptive Students—to be helpful.

“The workshops were very informative and inspirational,” Oh said. “As a novice in higher education, my whole perspective to classroom teaching has changed to more student-learning and thinking skills.”

Oh, who is currently working on a manuscript about the design attributes of online shopping sites, compares the summer months to farming.

“The summer is like a seeding time for me to be an active scholar,” she said. “In this profession, ‘publication’ is considered products or crop. During this summer, if I can produce manuscripts to be sent to journals, if I can develop questionnaires to be sent out to respondents, or if I can do some reading and be able to come up with new research ideas or proposals, my seeding mission would lead me to a successful growing season throughout the next year.”

McMillen is compiling a calendar of new activities for the fall. She hopes to repeat a similar series during Winterim and future summers.

The United States is en route to the moon again—and this time, Buffalo State is represented on the science team by Kevin Williams, assistant professor of earth sciences and science education and a planetary geologist.

The purpose of the trip, according to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Web site, is to lay the groundwork for establishing a lunar outpost.

Williams is an expert in using radar to investigate the surface of planets and other bodies in space, such as the moon. “I always wanted to be an astronaut,” he said. “I’m interested in astronomy, but what I really like is exploring planets.”

Strictly speaking, the moon is not a planet, but it is part of the Earth system. Most scientists agree that the moon was formed when a meteorite the size of Mars crashed into Earth and the debris formed the moon in orbit around the planet.

Earth’s companion has been waxing and waning for about 4.5 billion years, but researchers still don’t know if it has water. That’s one of the things that Williams hopes to learn.

The LRO will be circling the moon and deploying many devices to study its surface. Among them is the mini-RF (miniature radio frequency), a new technology that uses a form of radar to explore the surface of the moon and the first few feet beneath it.

“Radar can tell you something about the texture of the surface,” Williams explained. “You can gather some information about its roughness and craters, which can help identify possible landing sites. Combined with other instruments, you can gather information about the composition of the material.” Analyzing data obtained through this technology is one of Williams’s areas of expertise.

Williams has also been involved in mapping the surface of Mars and exploring Earth’s high arctic regions with the McGill University research team at the McGill Arctic Research Station not far from the North Pole.

The lunar mission will orbit the moon’s poles about 50 kilometers (31 miles) above the surface. The polar regions are significant because they are possible locations for the next manned visit to the moon. These regions are relatively unexplored and may contain ice in craters that are always in shadow.

Among the mini-RF’s capabilities is the ability to detect ice deposits. If ice exists on the moon, it could be a source of water for a lunar outpost for researchers.

“It’s pretty exciting stuff to be doing,” said Williams. “I can’t wait for the data to start coming in. I fully expect that by 2020, we’ll be stepping on the moon again.”

Economists, activists, think-tank leaders, and public officials will gather in the Bulger Communication Center on campus today and Friday to discuss how the federal government’s stimulus spending will shape the economic future of the Rust Belt.

Buffalo State’s Center for Economic and Policy Studies is hosting the Great Lakes Metros and the New Opportunity Summit: Remaking Policy and Practice in a Time of Transformation. Conference organizers include the Great Lakes Urban Exchange (GLUE); the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Northeast Midwest Institute; and Buffalo’s Partnership for the Public Good. Registration for both days is $25; there is no charge for students or representatives of not-for-profit groups.

The conference was organized as a response to the federal stimulus package, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“To maximize the opportunity of the new [Obama] administration’s commitment to cities, we must do our part locally,” said Bruce Fisher, director of the Center for Economic and Policy Studies. “Regional governance at the metropolitan level is the most effective way to ensure that local fragmentation doesn’t prevent us from utilizing federal support to its fullest potential. We have organized this summit to reflect our agreement that regional cooperation is a necessary component to addressing all of the issues facing our cities.”

The keynote speech will be given by Jennifer Bradley, senior research associate with the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. An impressive list of speakers has been scheduled, including William Hudnut, former mayor of Indianapolis, and William Johnson, former mayor of Rochester. Stephen Banko, Buffalo Field Office director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Kathryn Foster, director of the University at Buffalo’s Regional Institute, are also schedule to speak. Many community groups, including Neighborhood Housing Services of South Buffalo, the Coalition for Economic Justice, the Cleveland East Side Organizing Project, and PUSH Buffalo, will also be represented.

“The new administration has made cities a priority,” said GLUE director Sarah Szurpicki. “Unless policymakers, activists, and other stakeholders seize this moment to advance new strategies for regional collaboration and to rethink the role of federal policy in urban vitality, we may have to wait decades for another opportunity like this. Cities like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Detroit don’t have that kind of time.”

The GLUE coalition was founded to promote the power, aide in the positive transformation, and address the shared challenges of similarly storied older industrial cities situated in the Great Lakes watershed.

The following grants were awarded through the Research Foundation at Buffalo State College in May. For more information, contact the principal investigator or theResearch Foundation at Buffalo State College.

May 2009

Susan McMillen, Associate Professor, Mathematics
$105,300 (Continuation)
Buffalo Public Schools
“Tuition for MSP Partnership: Math Focus 2008–2009”

Christopher Pennuto, Associate Professor, Biology
$149,999
Environmental Protection Agency
“Nearshore and Offshore Lake Erie Nutrient Study (NOLENS)”

Robert Skutnik, Senior Program Coordinator, Center for Health and Social Research
$27,000
NYS Coalition Against Domestic Violence
“2009 State Victims Assistance Academy”

The Buffalo State community is invited to attend “Learn What Journal Editors Value,” a panel discussion featuring representatives from four national journals, on Friday, June 19, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 418.

Audience members will discover the publication of scholarly writing from the perspectives of editors. The panel will comprise the following guests:

• Jim D. Atwood, editor, Journal of Coordination Chemistry (University at Buffalo)
• Carolyn Hilarski, past editor, Residential Treatment for Children and Youth (Buffalo State)
• Louise Lonabocker, editor, College and University: Educating the Modern Higher Education Administration Professional(Boston College)
• Paul Theobald, founding editor, Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education (Buffalo State)

The session will include ample opportunities to ask questions and to improve author-journal contacts. Wine and cheese will be served.

This is the fourth event in a series created by Sharon Cramer, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor of exceptional education, called “The Donut Shop of the Mind.” The event is co-sponsored by the Academic and Student Affairs Office, the Enrollment Management Office, the Faculty Development Center, the Graduate School, E. H. Butler Library’s Information Commons, and the Research Foundation at Buffalo State College.

“Aftermath and Renewal: Reclaiming the Critical Ideal,” the 2009 Union for Democratic Communications (UDC) international conference at Buffalo State College May 28–31, will include a roster of high-profile communication experts, including Emmy Award–winning producer Danny Schechter.

The UDC is an organization of communication researchers, journalists, media producers, policy analysts, academics, and activists that encourages critical perspectives in communication theory, media production, and the study of popular culture.

The conference, under the direction of Michael Niman, associate professor of journalism, will feature about 40 panel discussions and four plenary addresses, and will focus on successful stories of media activism, praxis, and radical pedagogy.

Schechter, who will address conference attendees at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 29, in Bulger Communication Center North, is an investigative reporter, author, filmmaker, and one of the nation’s most prominent media critics. He is the founder and executive editor of MediaChannel.org, the world’s largest online media issues network.

Schechter joined the staff at CNN as a producer based in Atlanta before moving to ABC to work as a producer for20/20, where during his eight years he won two national news Emmys. He has reported from 47 countries and lectured at many schools and universities. He was an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. His writing has appeared in leading newspapers and magazines including the Nation,Newsday, the Boston Globe, and the Columbia Journalism Review.

Schechter holds a bachelor’s degree in labor history from Cornell University, a master’s in political sociology from the London School of Economics, and a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism from Harvard University. His work has been honored with Emmy awards, the IRIS Award, the George Polk Award, the Major Armstrong Award, and honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. His books include Embedded—Weapons of Mass Deception: How the Media Failed to Cover the War in Iraq; Media Wars: News at a Time of Terror; and The More You Watch the Less You Know. His recent films include Weapons of Mass Deception and In Debt We Trust.

Schechter’s talk is free for members of the Buffalo State community. Buffalo State’s Communication Department is cohosting the conference with Niagara University’s Communication Studies Department. E-mailUDC2009@gmail.com for more information.