The State University of New York Board of Trustees met on Tuesday to adopt several proposals including a 2010–2011 State Budget Request and a systemwide transfer agreement for students.

The budget proposes an annual tuition increase of 2 percent—or $100—effective in fall 2010, reflecting therational tuition policy endorsed by the board last year. The budget request also asks for $2.17 billion in state funding, as enrollment at the state’s 64 campusescontinues to climb. The budget proposal now goes to Gov. David Paterson.

The board also approved a student-mobility policy that would allow students to transfer full credit for any successfully completed first- or second-year undergraduate course from any SUNY institution to another. The policy will be implemented in fall 2010.

Trustees also promoted eight SUNY faculty members to the rank of Distinguished Professor, including Buffalo State’s Ann C. Colley.

Don DePerro, a 1981 journalism graduate of Buffalo State College’s Communication Department, will be inducted into the Communication Hall of Fame on Friday, November 20. The ceremony will be held at 5:00 p.m. in the television studio of the Donald Savage Theater Arts Building and will include the induction of new students to the Rho Psi Chapter of the Lambda Pi Eta national communication honor society.

DePerro, president and publisher of Columbus Business First in Columbus, Ohio, joins 14 other alumni who compose the department’s Hall of Fame. A former editor of Buffalo State’s student newspaper, the Record,DePerro began his career at the Niagara Falls Gazettebefore joining American City Business Journals in 1984. He was part of a start-up team for the company’sBusiness First of Buffalo. Two years later, DePerro was promoted to managing editor of the company’s Charlotte, North Carolina, paper, and two years after that to editor.

In 1991, he was named president and publisher of theJacksonville Business Journal, where he served for nearly five years, assembling and leading a team that took a failing paper and developed it into one of American City’s most profitable small-city business newspapers. DePerro was named president and publisher of Business First in Columbus in 1996, a post he has held since then.

Named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Media Advocate of the Year for the state of Florida, DePerro has received five American City Eagle Awards for Excellence as both an editor and publisher—the highest honor awarded to American City associates.

DePerro has served on the boards of Action for Children; the former Business Technology Center at the Ohio State University, now TechColumbus; the Capital Club; the Columbus Foundation’s Information and Marketing Committee; the Columbus Chamber of Commerce’s Marketing Steering Committee; and Leadership Columbus’ Board and Executive Committee.

In 2005, he served as general chairman of the American Heart Association’s Columbus Heart Walk. He also is the standing chairman of the Mid-Ohio Food Bank’s annual fundraiser.

Friday’s ceremony will also recognize the Communication Department’s scholarship winners and new students in Buffalo State’s Rho Psi Chapter of the Lambda Pi Eta national communication honor society. Inductees must carry an overall GPA of 3.0 with at least 60 credits completed. They also must have a major GPA of 3.25 and must have completed at least 12 credits in their major at Buffalo State. They represent the top 10 percent of the department’s students.

Students, faculty, and staff from the Hospitality and Tourism Department’s catering management course, HTR 400, will provide event planning, food preparation, and hospitality management services for Advancing Arts and Culture Buffalo Niagara’s (AAC) Arts & Culturals’ Resources Showcase from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. tonight at Kleinhans Music Hall.

The showcase will provide an opportunity for two distinct groups—members of the region’s arts and cultural sector and the region’s technical service and resource-provider organizations—to come together in one setting. TheCommunity Foundation for Greater Buffalo is funding the event.

The mission of AAC is to expand the region’s arts and cultural sector. AAC’s vision is that the Buffalo Niagara region will build on the strengths of its arts and cultural heritage to reemerge as a vibrant, cultural, great American city-region.

The John R. Oishei Foundation, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and the Cameron Baird Foundation currently provide funding for AAC, which operates through a partnership with Buffalo State College and Niagara University’s College of Hospitality and Tourism.

“The Resources Showcase responds to one of the priority needs identified by AAC’s Coordinating Council—that of providing a better connection between the arts and cultural sector and existing resources that can assist them with their capacity-building needs,” said Florine Luhr, executive director of AAC. “The showcase helps close this gap by providing direct connection opportunities for the sector members with these service providers.”

Tonight marks the third event this semester where the Hospitality and Tourism Department has volunteered catering management services to benefit a local nonprofit organization—assisting with a benefit for Crisis Servicesof Buffalo on October 6, and hosting a wine dinner at Campus House on October 14 to benefit Field & Fork Network, which supports local food producers and buyers in Western New York.

The Resources Showcase is free for staff and board members of nonprofit arts, cultural and heritage organizations, and regional artists. Advance registration for the event is required; contact the AAC at (716) 512-5267 or luhrf@buffalostate.edu.

The Great Lakes Center presents several seminars over the course of the academic year. The next seminar, “Acoustics of Pelagic Fish Schools,” will be presented on Thursday, November 19, at noon in Classroom Building B118.

Thomas R. Hahn, assistant professor of applied marine physics at the University of Miami, will present a series of theoretical and practical developments in active and passive low-frequency acoustics of pelagic fish. These developments may have applications to research in the Great Lakes. Hahn’s research focuses on practical and basic problems in underwater acoustics, and he has published numerous articles.

On Monday, December 7, Gregory L. Boyer, professor of biochemistry at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, will present “Toxic Cyanobacteria in the Great Lakes: Problems, Issues, and Solutions.” Boyer has traveled around the world studying cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae. The presentation will be held from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Upton Hall 230.

The campus community is invited. Light refreshments will be available.

Professors worldwide continue to discuss the merits of online learning. Some feel learning is most effective face-to-face, while others believe it is possible for students to be more engaged online. One fact is indisputable, at least at Buffalo State: students have expressed a need for more online courses. A discussion hosted by the Provost’s Office on Tuesday provided information on creating or converting courses to an online format.

Fifty faculty members participated in the discussion, which featured presentations by John Thompson, associate professor of computer information systems; Laurie Buonanno, professor and chair of political science; and Andrew Nicholls, associate professor of history and social studies education. Participants viewed different examples of online courses on ANGEL and asked a variety of questions throughout the discussion.

Interim Provost Kevin Railey did not consider the event to be a training session but rather a way for faculty to learn from other faculty and then decide whether to pursue online instruction. He hopes to expedite the creation of 10 new online General Education courses for the summer to meet student demand.

“We want to find faculty who are interested in teaching online and learn what barriers they encounter in trying to make it a reality,” Railey said. “We’re also trying to identify target audiences and link those needs with faculty interest. One of the goals of Tuesday’s event was to help faculty consider the possibility that—through a properly developed online course structure—they can teach in a manner consistent with their educational goals and maybe even offer unique enrichment.”

Thompson shared the layout of EDC 672: The Microcomputer in the Instructional Program, a course he has taught entirely online since 2002. He showed faculty how they can customize ANGEL to fit specific needs.

“You can take whatever pedagogy or structure fits your course and transfer it to an online format,” he said. “I suggest starting simple and building up by steps—perhaps try a hybrid approach first. Student feedback is very helpful.”

Faculty asked if the conversion process can be time-consuming and if Thompson must continually respond to student posts in online forums. Thompson said that while it may take many hours to first convert or create an online course, the content can then be easily modified for future semesters. He also said that he makes an effort to get students to talk to each other, rather than to him, in discussion forums.

Nicholls has experimented with online learning since 1994 and understands the importance of maintaining the integrity of content. He argues, however, that online capabilities such as podcasts and video clips can enhance course material.

Buonanno limits her online courses to 25 students but said that, as a rule, online quotas need not be lower than those for on-campus classes. She believes in keeping content simple, relevant, and current, and she requires students to add to discussions rather than simply offer empty comments like “Nice post.” Buonanno invites interested faculty members to be virtual students in future classes if they would like to see how the structure works within ANGEL.

Faculty also discussed preventing plagiarism, how to gauge whether students comprehend the material, and what types of assignments to give. Prior to the event, Railey correctly predicted that engagement would be a key concern.

“As professors, we believe our [spoken] words make a difference,” he said. “Some think that hearing explanations and being immersed in a class are necessary for learning. The physical college environment also provides a human dimension, with social interaction. But one can also argue that student learning only occurs inside students’ minds, and that online education allows for—requires, even—lots of processing on the students’ parts. Students also face challenges with regard to time slots and outside commitments, and online courses offer flexibility and convenience. There are legitimate questions and positions on both sides, and this event was simply meant to be a discussion of the pros and cons.”

To increase the pool of faculty interested in online teaching and, ultimately, the number of available courses, the Provost’s Office is providing several incentives. Faculty who have previously taught online will receive a $500 incentive per course to teach next summer, contingent upon the online courses filling to capacity. Faculty interested in developing a general education class online will be offered training and an incentive to develop and teach the course. Two training sessions are scheduled for January 14 and 21, and more details of this incentive will be forthcoming. Other plans are also under consideration by the Faculty Advisory Committee.

Is it possible to redesign large introductory courses in a way that improves student learning while making the class size even larger? According to William Ganley, professor of economics and finance, the answer is yes, but it requires an effort from a team that includes experienced faculty members. Ganley will take part in a panel discussion about course redesign, “Lessons Learned from ECO 101,” on Tuesday, December 1, in Classroom Building B118 from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m.

“Course redesign” is a national effort that has been under way since the late 1990s, when the Pew Charitable Trusts funded a program that examined ways to reinvent large introductory courses. The effort, now spearheaded by theNational Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT), seeks to “enhance the learning experience”—that is, reduce drop-out and failure rates—for students in large introductory, overview, or survey courses. ECO 101: The Economic System is such a course.

Ganley and associate professors of economics Ted P. Schmidt and Curtis Haynes Jr. worked with Karen O’Quin, associate dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences; Meghan Pereira, instructional technology specialist in Instructional Resources; and Ginger DeMita, ’09, to redesign ECO 101. Funded by a $40,000, two-year grant from SUNY, they developed a hybrid version of the course following the “replacement model,” one of six models identified by NCAT.

The hybrid course is offered both face-to-face, with Ganley as professor, and online via ANGEL. The online component is facilitated by undergraduate learning assistants (ULAs). Pereira’s role is to design the ANGEL component. These three elements—professor, ULAs, and technology—work together to make the course succeed.

“This is the fourth semester,” Ganley said, “and the difference between the redesigned hybrid course and the traditional course is significant. In the hybrid, fewer students are dropping out, more are passing, and students are doing better on exams.” The hybrid course has about 240 students; the traditional ECO 101 has about 100 to 150 students.

Ganley believes that professors who master technology and contemporary higher education trends are in the best position to ensure that changes in higher education promote scholarship for both professors and students. “You can’t turn time back,” he said.

In the hybrid course, ANGEL uses a number of tools, including video clips and Toondoo (a cartoon-generating site), as well as online quizzes and class discussion. Students also use clickers during the face-to-face class. “Clickers give the professor a way to evaluate student comprehension on the spot,” said Pereira.

The ULAs, whose primary role in the course is to encourage online engagement, attend a two-day workshop before assuming their role as ULA for a group of 30 to 40 students. Each ULA knows the students in his or her group, and guides students through the quizzes, which are used as a learning tool and a way to measure class participation. Online forums facilitate discussion; each student is expected to offer at least one comment in response to a question, and to respond to two other students’ comments. Ganley meets once a week with the ULAs to discuss progress, strategies, and ideas.

“We’ve been able to increase student engagement in ECO 101,” said Ganley, “while freeing faculty members to teach upper-level and graduate courses.” Details and examples will be presented at the panel discussion. The event is open to the campus community.

In recognition of the excellent service that E. H. Butler Library provides to its patrons, the Western New York Library Resources Council (WNYLRC) gave the annual Outstanding Library Award to Butler Library in October.

“We are thrilled and delighted to receive this award,” saidMaryruth Glogowski, associate vice president for library and instructional technology, “especially during these times of fiscal challenge. It’s good for our staff to know that their hard work is recognized and respected.”

The award emphasizes service and pays tribute to creativity and innovation in program development, leadership in creating new or enhanced services that other libraries can emulate, and improvements in physical facilities that result in better service. The WNYLRC is a consortium of libraries and library systems serving six Western New York counties. Its members include academic, corporate, hospital, public, school, and special libraries.

Butler Library was recognized for a variety of innovative programs and services developed over the past year, including the Green Initiative program, which encourages environmental awareness and stewardship. Its activities include a workshop series that featured topics such as earth-friendly cleaning and recycling tips, and brought local community groups such as Urban Roots and Buffalo ReUse on campus. The Green Initiative team also established a Magazine Exchange Program with three stations in the library for patrons to drop off gently used magazines to share. Librarians have also created anenvironmental study guide to aid students researching environmental topics.

The Rooftop Poetry Club continues to attract new users to the library by holding poetry readings, open-mike events, and workshops. Its success serves as a model for other libraries.

“We work really well as a team,” said Lisa Forrest, who founded the Rooftop Poetry Club in 2005. “We couldn’t do this, or any of our initiatives, without the support of Maryruth and Maureen [Lindstrom]. It’s a very creative environment.”

A new “Ask Me” help desk, an extension of the successfulInformation Commons initiative, is set up in the library’s lobby during its busiest hours. It’s a place to get answers for quick questions, including directions. To navigate the library, colorful new posters have been hung throughout the library as a visual aid to help library patrons find books by subject. “This project was a partnership between the library and the Instructional Resources department,” said Forrest.

The library has also established an Applications Support Desk, which provides support for all software loaded on library computers. It also serves as an equipment loan center for the campus community.

“All these programs serve our patrons and further ourmission,” said Glogowski. “We hope that our colleagues in other area libraries can benefit from our experiences.”

The Information Technology Exchange Center (ITEC) is one of several special-purpose SUNY-wide organizations. More than 60 SUNY institutions work with ITEC, but only one—Buffalo State—is lucky enough to have it physically located on campus.

Formed in 1989, ITEC supports computer-related group activities to improve the quality, quantity, and cost-effectiveness of computing services for individual campuses and university-wide programs throughout SUNY. Michael Notarius, ’85, chief technology officer of ITEC, said the shared access to common software saves time and money for campuses that would otherwise provide programs independently. And ITEC’s location at Buffalo State, he said, offers the college added benefits.

“We’re a centralized clearinghouse for university-wide software and applications,” he said. “And since we’re located here at Buffalo State, we’re able to share data center facilities and mutually enhance the college’s existing technology.”

ITEC shares space with Computing and Technology Services in Twin Rise and has worked jointly with Buffalo State College to bring additional Internet network capabilities to both organizations. It manages ALEPH, the SUNY-wide library catalog database that powers theSUNYConnect program, for 54 campuses. It also hosts ANGEL and Banner for 26 campuses, including Buffalo State’s Banner system.

Don Erwin, senior associate vice president for information services and systems, found ITEC’s presence on campus especially valuable during the migration from STARS to Banner.

“The ITEC staff helped us to quickly learn how to navigate Banner,” he said. “They gave us added resources and expertise, which saved time and money.”

ITEC manages a variety of software used by Buffalo State faculty and staff, such as Opinio surveys, Oracle databases, and department-specific software that is part of the SUNY-wide Academic Software Initiative. It also provides backup servers for applications such as Banner.

Additionally, ITEC supplements other SUNY-wide programs, providing information technology services for SUNYConnect; the SUNY Center for Professional Development; the SUNY-wide Technology Contracts Program; the SUNY Learning Network, a campuswide support system for online classes; and the Student Information and Campus Administrative Systems (SICAS) Center, which provides software, service, and training for SunGard Higher Education products.

Training and education is as much a priority for ITEC as technological support. ITEC is a key player for three SUNY-wide conferences: the annual Conference on Instructional Technologies (CIT) for SUNY faculty and instructional support professionals; Wizard, which is typically held twice a year for a discussion of specific technology issues; and the SUNY Technology Conference (STC), an annual online conference.

ITEC’s 40 staff members are divided into three units: application services, administrative services, and systems and telecommunications support. While they focus on providing service across SUNY, they are also immersed in the Buffalo State community. A number of student interns are hired each semester, and the Ron Brown ITEC Scholarship fund has awarded a total of $5,500 to eight Buffalo State students since 2004.

Notarius, a graduate of Buffalo State’s computer information systems program, said he is happy that he and his staff are part of the Buffalo State community. He invites all faculty and staff to contact him anytime to find out more about ITEC. To reach ITEC’s main office, call 878-4832.

After months of planning and preparation, construction is about to get under way on Buffalo State’s new student housing project. The new 507-bed apartment-style dormitory, to be located on Lot L, will feature 124 four-bed apartments, each with single rooms and full kitchens, and main-floor common space with laundry facilities and activities. Construction is scheduled for completion in spring 2011.

With an increased need for on-campus housing, a new not-for-profit corporation, the BSCF Housing Corporation, was formed to expedite the financing and construction process.

“This is a project that is long overdue, and we are excited that it is moving forward,” said Stanley Kardonsky, vice president for finance and management. “While construction may be a nuisance for faculty, staff, and our commuter students, this new residence hall will reduce crowding in our existing dorms and eliminate the need to house students at the Adam’s Mark hotel. The end result will be a better overall experience for our students.”

To accommodate construction-site preparation, Lot L will be permanently removed from service on Wednesday, November 25.* Construction of the college’s new $48 million student housing project is scheduled to begin Friday, November 27.

The recent addition of 159 parking spaces in Lot R and the soon-to-be-completed 411-space expansion of Lot Mwill more than make up for the loss of 433 spaces in Lot L, Kardonsky said. The recently enacted freshman and sophomore resident-student parking ban also saves an estimated 475 spots.

Despite the surplus of new spaces, Kardonsky is advising everyone on campus to be patient in the coming weeks as students, faculty, and staff adjust to the new parking configuration.

“The removal of Lot L from service will undoubtedly require some adjustment on the part of our students, faculty, and staff,” said Kardonsky. “But once the expansion of Lot M is complete, there will be sufficient parking available on campus.”

To better accommodate faculty, students, and staff, an additional service is planned for those who park in lots along Rockwell Road and Letchworth Street. A free shuttle service linking Lots M, G, and C is planned and will be operational soon. The new shuttle, which will be known as the M-G-C Direct, will be available from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. This schedule may be adjusted in response to user needs and demand, Kardonsky added.

Please check the Daily orwww.buffalostate.edu/construction for a finalized shuttle schedule, pickup and drop-off sites, and service commencement date.

The overnight escort shuttle van, which currently serves the entire campus and is free to faculty, staff, and students, will also be enhanced with the addition of early-evening hours to its schedule. University Police will also increase patrols near Lot M, which will feature enhanced lighting.

Questions about student housing construction, Lot M expansion, or the new shuttle service may be e-mailed toVPFM@buffalostate.edu.

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*Editor’s note: Lot L was originally scheduled to close November 14. This article has been updated to reflect the revised closing date of November 25.

Buffalo State College honored more than 150 of its most dedicated supporters during the 23rd annual President’s Circle Dinner, held at the Buffalo Club on November 4.

Dinner was followed by the presentation of awards. Interim President Dennis K. Ponton presented the Individual Leadership Award to Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower. Their daughter, Mollie Byrnes, and her husband, John Byrnes, traveled from Gloucester, Massachusetts, to accept the award on Mr. and Mrs. Tower’s behalf. In his remarks, Ponton noted that Peter and Elizabeth Tower have been two of the community’s most generous supporters of the arts and education. “That has been true of their generosity to Buffalo State as well,” said Ponton. Mr. and Mrs. Tower established the Elizabeth and Peter Tower Program in Special Needs Art Education Fund and provided significant support to the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

Susanne P. Bair, vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the Buffalo State College Foundation, presented the Foundation Leadership Award to the Gustave A. and Geraldine F. Werner Foundation, which provides three full scholarships annually for exceptional education majors.

Mrs. Geraldine Schrader Werner, a 1929 graduate of Fredonia Normal School, taught elementary school. When her son was born with Down syndrome, she helped at his school, eventually taking over the special education class. She took courses at several colleges including Buffalo State to augment her education. Her daughter Gayle A. (Schrader) Fish, ’56, ’60, earned a B.S. in exceptional education and an M.S. in elementary education at Buffalo State College.

Werner and her second husband established the foundation to assist students studying to become exceptional education teachers.

Bair told the guests that the family’s generosity was demonstrated anew last year, when William Fish called Buffalo State to share the welcome news that the Werner Foundation had decided to fund two additional scholarships because, he said, “We know times are hard for some of your students.” Mr. Fish and his brother, Charles, trustees of the foundation and grandsons of Mrs. Werner, accepted the award on the foundation’s behalf.

The Alumni Leadership Award was presented to Joseph Varga, ’43, by Linda A. Dobmeier, ’71, chair of the Buffalo State College Foundation. Dobmeier said that although she was presenting the award to Varga, it was really going to two people, Joseph and his late wife, Jean, ’43.

“Joe and Jean supported the college for decades,” said Dobmeier, “and together they established the Joseph and Mary Jean Daly Varga ’43 Graduate Award Fund. The Vargas had experienced the need for dedicated special education teachers in their own family, and their generosity helps ensure this need is met.”

In accepting the award, Varga told the assembly, “As donors, you’re not giving; you’re receiving. The results of your gift will come back to you many times over. Thousands and thousands of people will be affected because you chose to help a student.”