Deborah Oppenheimer, producer of the Academy Award–winning documentary Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, will take part in a special presentation and screening to benefit the television and film arts program on Saturday, October 3, in the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College. A reception at 6:00 p.m. will precede the 7:00 p.m. screening, followed by questions from the audience at 9:00 p.m.

Oppenheimer won an Oscar in 2000 for her documentary about the Kindertransport that rescued 10,000 children from Nazi-occupied territories by relocating them to foster homes and hostels in Britain. Oppenheimer’s mother was among them. In a quest to find out more about her mother’s childhood, Oppenheimer researched and produced the story.

Oppenheimer graduated magna cum laude from Buffalo State College with a bachelor’s degree in English secondary education. She worked as a development and production executive at Lorimar Productions, creating programming for HBO, Showtime, and PBS television networks. She became vice president of production at Lorimar, where she oversaw features, made-for-television movies, miniseries, and episodic television programs (The Hogan Family, Full House, and Dallas). Oppenheimer is president of Mohawk Productions at Warner Bros. (The Drew Carey Show, George Lopez).

She was awarded an honorary doctor of fine arts from the State University of New York in 2005, and received the Buffalo State College Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2001.

Tickets for the event are $100 and are available through the Arts and Humanities Dean’s Office, 878-6326.

All faculty and staff members are invited to attend one of the most exciting campus events of the semester—the Science and Mathematics Complex Groundbreaking ceremony—on Friday, September 25, at 3:00 p.m. in the John Urban Auditorium, Science Building 213.

Speakers and guests who will attend include members of the College Council, state and local officials, and supporters of the college. A reception will follow the ceremony. Reservations are requested; please call 878-5115.

The new science and mathematics complex—a 224,000-square-foot facility over three levels—will be home to the Chemistry, Biology, Earth Sciences and Science Education, Mathematics, and Physics departments, the Great Lakes Center, and a state-of-the-art planetarium. The project is estimated to cost $110 million.

“This is an important step that will demonstrate Buffalo State’s commitment to preparing the scientists, mathematicians, and the science and math teachers who are so essential in an increasingly complex global culture,” said Mark Severson, dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences.

Kim Bagley, professor of chemistry, serves as the faculty liaison for the project. “The Science Building Advocacy Committee began working on our view of what we wanted in the building in fall 2004,” she said. “I’m very grateful to all the faculty members who have put so much time and effort into providing the information and feedback necessary to build a facility that meets our needs.”

Phase I of the project, scheduled for completion in summer 2012, includes a 96,000-square-foot addition along the west side of the existing Science Building that will house new teaching and research labs, faculty offices, and instrumentation rooms.

Phase II, to be completed in 2015, will include demolition of the Science Building’s south wing, a full renovation of the north wing, and construction of a second addition along the south side of the building, which will house a greenhouse for the Biology Department.

The new planetarium, designed to appear as a large, glowing sphere housed in a transparent framework, will define the complex’s main entrance. A walkway from the Student Union Quad will lead directly to it. Inside the building, the walkway will lead visitors to an impressive three-story sky-lighted atrium that will be the main route through the complex. Upper-level balconies and bridges will open to the atrium, offering spaces for conversations and collaboration as well as quiet study. The design will create an environment that cultivates interdisciplinary research activities among both students and faculty.

The complex will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards and will incorporate many environmentally friendly features, including storm-water collection and treatment, use of recycled materials, water-conserving fixtures, and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems. The project is expected to qualify for Gold Certification, which affirms the design and operation of the facility to be energy-efficient and environmentally responsible. The LEED rating system is a national benchmark for high-performance green buildings.

Louis Noce, annual fund officer who directs Buffalo State’s annual Faculty and Staff Appeal, extends a sincere thank-you to the college community for its support of the 2009 campaign. “We’re the envy of our peers,” he said.

Noce, who has worked with various colleges and universities across the country as a development consultant, said that the Faculty and Staff Appeal Committee that organizes and executes the annual appeal does an extraordinary job.

Committee members are Dolores Battle, Claire Collier, Marian Deutschman, Carolyn Fusco, Kimberly Jackson, Karen Johnson, Lisa Krieger, Louis Noce, Mark Petrie, Holly Quicksey, Stephen Schwartz, and Rita Zientek.

“The committee members believe that giving to the college and our students is important,” Noce said.

The 2009 campaign demonstrated that the entire Buffalo State community shares that belief. Despite the economic downturn of fall 2008, the 2009 campaign saw a 4 percent increase in participation. “That’s tremendous,” said Noce. People designated their gifts to many categories, including scholarships, department funds, and the College Fund, which can be used where the college has the greatest need.

The campaign raised a record $168,800, up from $165,000 in 2008. “Even though one-time cash gifts decreased,” said Noce, “Buffalo State faculty and staff more than made up for it through payroll deductions. And the participation rate is outstanding.”

Faculty and staff support is important, according to Noce, because it makes a bold statement that the people who know the college best believe it’s worth supporting. He compared it to buying stock in a company, “Would you buy stock in a company that the employees didn’t support?

“This helps our students continue their education at a time when they really need the help,” said Noce. “Everyone should feel proud of our success.”

Nonetheless, he added, “We have a lot of room to grow. Next year’s campaign starts in February!”

The Buffalo State Alumni Association cordially invites faculty and staff to attend the Young Alumnus Achievement Awards Reception on Friday, September 25, at 7:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall. This prestigious award, recognizing the achievements of graduates of the last 20 years, will be presented to the following individuals for their professional advancement, dedication to the community, and commitment to the college and its mission:

Angela Maria Caba, ’95
B.A., Humanities
Emergency Medicine Attending Physician, Lutheran Medical Center
Family Practice Attending Physician, Urban Health Plan

Richard J. Trigilio, ’90
B.S., Design
President and CEO
Medical Management Services Inc.

Rita M. Zientek, ’90
M.S., Student Personnel Administration
Associate Dean, School of the Professions
Buffalo State College

Join emcee Dave McKinley, news reporter with WGRZ-TV 2, to honor the outstanding achievements of our recipients. The cost is $20 and includes a champagne toast, hors d’oeuvre and dessert reception (immediately following the awards ceremony in the Campbell Student Union Fireside Lounge), and special memento. For reservations, call the Alumni Affairs Office at 878-6001 or visit the Alumni Association Web site to register online.

Buffalo State is pleased to welcome renowned teacher educator and author Gloria Ladson-Billings on Thursday, September 24, during Bengal Pause (12:15–1:30 p.m.) in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall. She will present “The Language of Cultural Diversity and Education,” an examination of rhetoric versus action with respect to incorporating diversity in the field of education.

Ladson-Billings, a former president of the American Educational Research Association, is the Kellner Family Chair in Urban Education and professor of curriculum and instruction and educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She earned a Ph.D. in curriculum and teacher education from Stanford University in 1984.

Her lecture is tied to her ongoing research of critical race theory and the pedagogical practices of teachers who are successful with African American students. Ladson-Billings is considered a leader in her areas of study. The event is sponsored by the School of Education and is free and open to the public.

“Gloria is a natural fit for what Buffalo State is all about,” said Ronald Rochon, dean of the School of Education and associate vice president for teacher education. “She’s a firm believer in preservice teacher candidates reaching their full potential to serve children. She also speaks about moral accountability as a topic that teachers should wrestle with and embrace.”

Numerous associations and colleges have honored Ladson-Billings for her teaching and research. She received an honorary doctorate in 2002 from Umeå University in Umeå, Sweden. The Council on Anthropology and Education of the American Anthropological Association awarded her the George and Louise Spindler Award in 2004 for ongoing contributions in educational anthropology. In 2005, she was elected to the National Academy of Education. Last year, she received the Hilldale Award, the highest faculty award given at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Ladson-Billings has written a number of books, includingThe Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children and Crossing Over to Canaan: The Journey of New Teachers in Diverse Classrooms. She is also the former editor of the American Educational Research Journal and a member of several editorial boards.

Ladson-Billings will also speak on Thursday morning at an annual SUNY-wide meeting of deans and directors of education, hosted by Rochon, at Salvatore’s Grand Hotel in Williamsville.

Richard J. Herdlein III, associate professor, Student Personnel Administration, has been selected for a Fulbright Senior Specialists Award in France at the Catholic University of Lille during October 2009, according to the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Herdlein will present lectures on American history, society and culture, economics, and international business practices as well as conduct qualitative and quantitative assessments of student needs, satisfaction, and learning outcomes for strategic planning.

The Fulbright Specialists Program, created in 2000 to complement the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program, provides short-term academic opportunities (two to six weeks) to prominent U.S. faculty and professionals to support curricular and faculty development and institutional planning at postsecondary academic institutions around the world. Herdlein is one of over 400 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad this year through the Fulbright Specialists Program.

Herdlein has published and presented in the United States and overseas on aspects of higher education and student personnel administration, including comparative higher education systems, faculty and historical issues, research and student assessment, and student affairs administration curricula. He has received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Internationalization; the Buffalo State College President’s Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creativity; the College Student Personnel Association (CSPA) of New York State Significant Research and Publication Award; the CSPA Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession; the Instructor of the Year; and the United Students Government Meritorious Service Award. Herdlein received his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. He joined the Buffalo State faculty in 2001.

The Fulbright Program, America’s flagship international educational exchange activity, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Over its 60 years of existence, thousands of U.S. faculty and professionals have taught, studied, or conducted research abroad, and thousands of their counterparts from other countries have engaged in similar activities in the United States. Over 285,000 emerging leaders in their professional fields have received Fulbright awards, including individuals who later became heads of government, Nobel Prize winners, and leaders in education, business, journalism, and the arts.

A special exhibition, Dear America! The Italian Immigrant Experience in Buffalo and the Thomas Sgovio Story, is now on display in E. H. Butler Library’s lower lobby as the result of an agreement between the History and Social Studies Education Department and Biblioteca del Mediterraneo, the regional public library system of Apulia, Italy. The agreement, facilitated by Lucia Caracci Cullens, honorary vice consul in Buffalo for the Consulate General of Italy in New York, established a collaborative research venture encouraging scholars to study emigration from the Apulian region—the heel of Italy’s boot—to the United States. The exhibit is also showing in Bari, Italy, where it opened in June.

“Cullens was familiar with the department’s longstanding strong interest in local history,” said Martin Ederer, assistant professor in the History and Social Studies Education Department. “She also knows Buffalo State’s reputation for collaborative projects with the Buffalo community—and she knew Thomas Sgovio’s story.”

That story is a case study of the complexity of immigration to the United States. “Only about half the Italians who came into the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s stayed here,” said Ederer. “Many returned home, or went on to other countries, such as Brazil, Argentina, and Australia.”

Some immigrants—those who joined the communist party after being involved in labor activities and the socialist movement—were deported. Sgovio’s father, who came from the region of Apulia, was among them. However, he could not return to Italy because communists were under attack there by Mussolini’s government. So he went to the “workers’ paradise,” the Soviet Union, later sending for his family, including his teenage son Thomas.

The story that followed was one of disillusion, separation, and imprisonment. The younger Sgovio spent 16 years of imprisonment in the Gulag in Siberia for the crime of attempting to return to Buffalo. Twenty-four panels depicting the story, using Sgovio’s drawings as well as contextual material, are on display in E. H. Butler Library during September. St. Anthony of Padua Church in Buffalo covered the costs of the exhibit’s production.

Sgovio’s art also adorns offices at the GM Powertrain plant in Tonawanda, where he worked after his return to Buffalo in 1963. He self-published a book in 1979, Dear America! which described his ordeals in the Soviet Gulag.

The exhibition opened in June 2009 at an annual conference in Bari, Italy, which attracted librarians, archivists, and historians from almost a dozen countries, including Russia. Ederer and David Carson, professor and chair of history and social studies education,presented at the conference.

The next scholarly activity of the collaboration is a conference at Buffalo State. Dear America! The Italian Immigrant Experience in Buffalo and the Thomas Sgovio Story will take place on campus on Saturday, September 26, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Classroom Building C122. An opening reception will be held on September 25 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library. The event is free and open to the public.

More than 100 works by 50 accomplished and up-and-coming Western New York artists, many of them Buffalo State College faculty members, alumni, or students, will be showcased at the 11th biennial exhibition Art in Craft Media 2009 (formerly Craft Art Western New York), on view from September 12 through January 3.

The juried and invitational exhibition is presented by the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College and supported by the Sylvia L. Rosen Endowment. An opening reception takes place on September 12 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Art in Craft Media is the only regional craft art showcase in Western New York, attracting work by the region’s leading artists in clay, wood, fiber, metal, and glass. The region is defined as the nine counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming.

About 115 Western New York artists submitted recent works for consideration for the much-anticipated 2009 show. Juror Margaret Carney, Ph.D., made the final selection from about 400 submissions (each artist could submit up to four works). The event includes artists whose work has appeared in more than four previous Craft Art Western New York exhibitions. Most of the artists in this preeminent group of 18 have some affiliation with Buffalo State College, including five faculty members: Nancy Belfer, Stephen Saracino, Carol Townsend, Robert L. Wood, and Barry Yavener.

“The scope and scale of work speaks to the artistic potential and growing legacy of craft art in this region and across the country,” said Carney, who is a renowned ceramics historian and curator of the Blair Museum of Lithophanes in Toledo, Ohio. “The category has come into its own thanks to the talent and perseverance of artists and the enlightened support of people like Sylvia Rosen and institutions like Buffalo State College and the Burchfield Penney Art Center.”

Artists selected for the exhibition are Jozef Bajus, Lily Booth, Missy Crowell, Patrick Del Monte, Kate Doody, Alicia Eggert, Jihea Eum, Irwin Franco, Suzanne Hofmeister, Kevin Kegler, Bethany Krull, Temi Kucinski, Andrea Marquis, Dennis Nahabetian, Tara Nahabetian, Jane Notides-Benzing, Vincent Pontillo, Diane Pierce, Mattine Rattonsey, Davina Romansky, Taeyoul Ryu, Leslie Schug, Kala Stein, James Vasi, Alan Walke, and Kristin Wiepert. The project director for the exhibition is Scott Propeack, collections manager at the Burchfield Penney.

Sylvia L. Rosen, the patron of the exhibition, is a noted ceramicist whose work is in the Burchfield Penney and in the permanent collections of the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred University. Her generous sponsorship of craft art and artists in New York State, Florida, and Ohio is highly respected. She is an alumna of Buffalo State College and has taught at the college, the University at Buffalo, and Amherst Senior High School.

“We are delighted to have this year’s exhibition in the new Burchfield Penney Art Center,” Rosen said. “This remarkable space provides a perfect backdrop for celebrating these artists and their remarkable work.”

The Sylvia L. Rosen Endowment for the Fine Arts in the Craft Media, established by Sylvia and her husband, Nathan, in 1987, supports juried biennial craft art exhibitions with illustrated catalogs and purchase awards, alternating with biennial craft art lectures by specialists.

The Buffalo State community is invited to officially commence the 2009–2010 academic year during the 22nd annual Academic Convocation ceremony at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, September 17, in Rockwell Hall Auditorium. Convocation is an important tradition on our campus, a time when we celebrate learning and excellence. Please join us in recognizing the accomplishments of our faculty and staff colleagues.

This year’s Bonnie and Vern L. Bullough Academic Convocation speaker will be Gene R. Nichol,professor of law and director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Nichol served as president of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, from 2005 to 2008; as dean of the University of North Carolina School of Law from 1999 to 2005; and as dean of the University of Colorado Law School from 1988 to 1995.

Nichol has received many awards, including the American Bar Association’s Edward R. Finch Award (2003), UNC’s Pro Bono Professor of the Year (2004), the National Employment Lawyers Association’s Courage to Do Justice Award (2008), and the Thomas Jefferson Award from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (2008).

He has published articles and essays in such prominent law reviews as the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, and the University of Chicago Law Review. From 1998 to 1999, he was a political columnist for the Rocky Mountain News and the Colorado Daily. He has also written for the Washington Post, the Nation, theChronicle of Higher Education, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

President’s Awards for Excellence
President’s Awards for Excellence will be presented at Convocation to the following faculty and staff members for their outstanding contributions to Buffalo State.

EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP, AND CREATIVITY

Valentin E. Brimkov
Professor, Mathematics
Valentin Brimkov is regarded internationally as one of the best known and most respected scientists in the areas of his research, which include discrete geometry and combinatorial image analysis. He has also made significant contributions to many other areas of applied mathematics including optimization, theory of computation and complexity, graph theory, and combinatorics. In 2006, he received the Wilkes Award of the British Computer Society for the best paper published in the Computer Journal, published by Oxford Press. His publication record is extensive, approaching a total of 150 published works to date.

Michael J. De Marco
Professor and Chair, Physics
Michael De Marco has been the principal investigator on three grants from the United States Department of Energy totaling more than $1 million. De Marco’s research centers on the use of the Mössbauer effect to probe the electronic and magnetic properties of a large class of materials, the ruthenates, which have magnetic and superconducting phases. He is the only investigator currently working with this important technique in the United States, and his work is known internationally. Results he has published with collaborators in leading peer-reviewed journals challenge current understanding of the mechanisms for superconductivity and contribute significantly to greater understanding within the field.

EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING

James Mayrose
Assistant Professor, Technology
James Mayrose has distinguished himself in the classroom through his dedication to creating learning experiences that require full student engagement. Mayrose is an aerospace and mechanical engineer with significant publications and awards, including the 2004 Inventor of the Year award from the Niagara Frontier Intellectual Property Law Association. He uses practical, interactive teaching methods to explain engineering’s difficult concepts in ways that make them understandable to students. His dedication and willingness to make himself available for individualized instruction, advisement, and mentoring has earned him outstanding student evaluations.

EXCELLENCE IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF EQUITY AND CAMPUS DIVERSITY

Gail V. Wells
Director, Student Life
Gail Wells has been affiliated with the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) since 1995, and has served as team leader for NCBI on campus. In this role, she has been instrumental in expanding the campus NCBI Coalition Building Team, which now has 28 members. Each member of the team has experienced a training workshop led in part by Wells. The team’s goal is to create a nurturing environment for a diverse campus community. Wells has served on the national board for NCBI and is on the leadership committee for the Black African Heritage Caucus of NCBI. Wells has modeled the importance of celebrating diversity, and her exceptional skills as a facilitator have been a critical part of the successful NCBI training on campus.

EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE

Marcia D. Burns
Secretary 1, Modern and Classical Languages
Marcia Burns is known for her superb human relations skills as well as her organization, administrative competence, and drive. Burns joined Buffalo State in 2005 in the Purchasing Department, where she demonstrated impressive problem-solving skills. In her current position, she served as liaison between the department and Campus Services during the construction of a new seminar room for Modern and Classical Languages, and solicited input from faculty members as well bringing suggestions to them. The dean’s office also appreciates Burns’s attention to both detail and deadlines.

Heather D. Maldonado
Assistant to the Dean, University College
Heather Maldonado works to eliminate barriers that needlessly stand between students and graduation while upholding academic standards. Her supervision of probationary undeclared students in University College has led to an 11 percent reduction in the number of such students, and improved by 13 percent the number of undeclared students who remove themselves from probation in the first term. Her efforts to improve students’ first-year experience include creating the First-Year Convocation as well as engaging directly with students by volunteering to serve as adviser for a full load of freshmen advisees.

Kathleen M. O’Brien
Director, Campus House
Lecturer, Hospitality and Tourism
Kathleen O’Brien was instrumental in securing a $1 million capital investment to renovate Campus House and establish it as an applied-learning center for students in hospitality administration. Under O’Brien, membership in Campus House has more than quadrupled since fall 2002, and revenues have grown from $65,000 to $100,000. O’Brien also teaches several courses within the department and serves as co-director of the Buffalo State College Restaurant Institute, which was established in collaboration with the Small Business Development Center.

Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence
The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Librarianship will be awarded to Maureen Lindstrom, associate director for information commons in E. H. Butler Library. The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service will be presented to William Smith, a janitor in the Custodial Services Department.

Distinguished Teaching Professorship
Andrea Guiati will be formally recognized as a newly appointed SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor.

A reception on the front lawn of Rockwell Hall will immediately follow the Convocation ceremony. For more information, please contact Carolyn Martino in the Academic and Student Affairs Office at 878-5903.

The Burchfield Penney has added a second screening ofFresh—a film celebrating the farmers, thinkers, and business people across America who are reinventing our food system—on Thursday, September 24, at 7:00 p.m. The September 10 screening is sold out.