Buffalo and its rich history provided M. Stephen Pendleton, associate professor of economics and finance, with the subject of the research he completed during his fall 2007 sabbatical.

Pendleton, whose broad research interests include economic history and public policy analysis, focused on the Western New York home front during the Civil War. “The raw material has barely been scratched,” said Pendleton, who worked with archival material at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society library, the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library’s Buffalo Collection and Rare Book Room, the University at Buffalo’s Health Sciences Library, and Buffalo State’s E. H. Butler Library.

“We Are Coming, Father Abraham, Three Hundred Thousand Strong (Or Somewhere Thereabouts): Buffalo and the 1862 Militia Draft” details Western New York’s efforts to meet the Union’s need for more troops, which had become critical by spring 1862.

In July 1862, President Lincoln called for 300,000 three-year volunteers for the Union Army. A month later, he called for 300,000 nine-month volunteers. If recruitment goals for the latter quota were not met, the federal government ordered the states to draft eligible men. To meet this demand, New York required each state senatorial district to meet a quota. On a local level, the quota was broken down to the smallest political geographical unit, the ward. Fundraisers were held to augment the bounty offered to new recruits in an effort to meet the quotas and to avoid the need to implement the draft.

Many people had expected the War between the States to be over quickly. Recruitment became increasingly difficult as citizens realized that a protracted struggle was likely. Men who agreed to enlist were offered bounties by the federal and state governments. However, on July 18, 1862, the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser newspaper lamented the relatively low number of enlistees despite a bounty of $90, which included a month’s advance pay of $13. The paper also criticized the city’s recruitment efforts.

Pendleton’s research explored the reaction of the city’s immigrants to recruitment efforts. Wiedrich’s Battery was made up largely of German Americans; the 155th New York Volunteer Infantry was made up of Irish immigrants.

“When the 155th left Buffalo,” said Pendleton, “there was no band, no ceremony. The local Catholic paper expressed anger at this slight toward a regiment made up of Irish Catholics.” Accounts differ regarding the reason for the lukewarm sendoff.

As 1862 wore on, recruitment efforts continued, but the results did not attain the goals established by the quotas. The threatened draft was postponed repeatedly. However, the problems encountered in setting up state-run drafts persuaded Congress to pass the Enrollment Act of March 1863, which established a federally run national draft.

Pendleton’s work adds to a growing literature on the political, social, and economic history of the local Civil War home front, continuing the development of a narrative and analytic history of Buffalo advanced by David Gerber in The Making of an American Pluralism.Pendleton has delivered several presentations based on this research, including a presentation at the 29th Conference on New York State History in June 2008 and another at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference in Chicago in April 2009.

Pendleton also completed research for an article about the development of Buffalo’s public health policy and related urban infrastructure, which is currently under review.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Read previous Focus on Sabbatical stories:

Felix Armfield
Betty Cappella
Ann Colley
Rob Delprino
Musa Abdul Hakim
Katherine Hartman
David Henry
Wendy Paterson
Stephen Phelps
John Song
Carol Townsend
Jonathan Thornton

Drew Kahn, professor and chair of the Theater Department, wonders what Anne Frank—who would have turned 80 this year—would think about genocide in today’s world. Kahn hopes to engage the Buffalo State community in such a discussion with the Anne Frank Project, an inaugural daylong conference on September 11.

The Anne Frank Project builds on the Theater Department’s mission of social change and diversity, which burgeoned in 2006 with the production of The Diary of Anne Frank. The play updated the classic story by weaving the horrors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide into the Holocaust of World War II. Two “Annes” were cast, one Jewish and the other Tutsi.

The project will gather speakers, artists, scientists, and writers to comment on and artistically interpret genocide as a recurring global tragedy. Events include hands-on workshops, presentations, theater and dance performances, a panel discussion with genocide survivors, and a keynote speech from Hilary Eddy Stipelman, program manager of the Anne Frank Center USA in New York City.

Opening ceremonies begin at 9:00 a.m. in Warren Enters Theatre in Upton Hall. Workshops and performances will take place throughout the day across campus and are designed to relate to the 2008–2010 academic theme. Related events will continue into the evening at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, and Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall. A variety of faculty members from the School of Arts and Humanities will also deliver presentations and performances. Events are free, but reservations are recommended by September 4.

Kahn hopes faculty and staff will consider bringing their classes to one or more of the day’s events.

“This project serves as a litmus test for social responsibility,” he said. “Just as Anne said, ‘How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world,’ I think the day’s events will give students applications for making a difference. My thought is, if you can’t explore the most difficult of experiences on a college campus, where can it happen?”

In June, the SUNY Office of Diversity and Educational Equity awarded Buffalo State a $9,000 Explorations in Diversity and Academic Excellence Award. The money will be used to create a visual dedication to the Anne Frank Project on campus. Kahn is working with Campus Services to create a brick walkway and sitting area in the quad on the east side of the Savage Building.

The Theater Department also applied to the Anne Frank Center USA to receive a horse chestnut sapling from the tree that resides behind the secret annex in Amsterdam, where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis. The center will award saplings to seven institutions at the end of September.

“The horse chestnut tree was Anne’s connection to nature while in hiding,” Kahn said, “Between the Anne Frank Project and the outdoor display, we hope to show the Anne Frank Center that we’re ready for a long-term commitment to educate the community about ending violence, bigotry, and genocide.”

Partners of the 2009 Anne Frank Project include the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, the School of Arts and Humanities, the Theater Department, the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo, the Anne Frank Center USA, the Buffalo News, Re-Tree WNY, and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

The Mayor of Strawberry Fields, a moving documentary by Buffalo-born filmmaker Torre Catalano, premieres tonight, August 27, at 6:30 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College.

The film chronicles the quirky life of a homeless man named Gary, who has been decorating John Lennon’s “Imagine” memorial in Central Park for the past 15 years with discarded petals from florists’ Dumpsters. The 40-minute documentary provides a moving look into the trials of homeless life in New York and the inspiration that only a true Beatles fan can understand. The film follows Gary, the self-proclaimed “mayor,” as he shares his artwork with thousands of people every day and faces both adversity and encouragement.

The event, which is free and open the public, includes a screening of the film, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and a champagne reception with live music from singer-songwriter John Ryan, the Rochester native whose original songs make up the film’s score.

Tickets are available by phone at 878-6011 during gallery hours.

The Student Life Office will provide five weeks of co-curricular programs and events for the entire Buffalo State campus beginning Friday, August 28. Weeks of Welcome (WOW) is structured to complement and embrace the curricular experience. Faculty and staff are encouraged to participate.

Most activities are free or subsidized. Events include a Buffalo Bisons baseball game, the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, cultural and spiritual awareness activities, movies, tours, guest speakers, and workshops.

For more information, please visit the WOW Web site.

The Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall proudly announces its 2009–2010 Great Performers Series, presented by M&T Bank.

This season features performances by recording artist and entertainer John Tesh, comedian Paula Poundstone, smooth-jazz pioneers the Rippingtons, pianist George Winston, flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, neo-folk icon Suzanne Vega, and music legend Roger McGuinn. Tickets for the Great Performers series go on sale August 31 at 9:00 a.m.

Continuing to be one of the best entertainment values in the area, the Performing Arts Center has priced all shows in the Great Performers Series between $30 and $35. Flex Pack patrons can purchase any three or more Great Performers shows for as low as $27 each. Tickets may be purchased at the Rockwell Hall Box Office by phone at 878-3005 or online at www.buffalostate.edu/pac. Box Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Buffalo State Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall (PAC) holds 150 events every year. The PAC is a college facility that funds its own programming through ticket sales and sponsorships. If anything is left over after paying performers and ancillary staff (mostly students), the PAC donates it to the School of Arts and Humanities, to which it belongs.

Jeff Marsha is the PAC’s director of operations. In addition to Marsha, the PAC employs Dawn Pustelnik, audience services manager; Tom Kostusiak, production manager; Tracey Trietley, who serves as office manager; and, through the Buffalo State College Foundation, Tom Ochs, assistant production manager. “One of our four full-time employees is on site for every event,” Marsha said.

The two main series presented by the PAC are the Great Performers Series and Artsplorations. Artsplorations presents performances that are, for the most part, based on children’s literature. Tickets are $5 per student, and the experience introduces students to live performances.

Last year, Artsploration presented eight shows, includingAlexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (based on a book by Judith Viorst and suitable for grades K–3) and Super Scientific Circus, a show designed to show third- through eighth-graders that science can be both fun and funny.

“Teachers love the series,” said Marsha. “Often, their students read the book in class, and then they see how the book becomes a play.”

Artsploration was in existence before Marsha came on board, but he introduced the Great Performers Series. “I wanted the PAC to run in the black,” he said. He’s been successful; the PAC has generated enough revenue to make a donation to Arts and Humanities every year since 2002. The series also furthers the college’s commitment to being a cultural destination.

Rockwell Hall is one of the five original Elmwood Avenue campus buildings that date back to 1931. Earlier, the space that now contains the PAC was known as Rockwell Auditorium. Generations of students remember it as the place where chapel and “assembly”—a gathering of all students and faculty—were held. In 1970, fire damaged the space, and it remained closed until a major renovation of the Rockwell Hall auditorium was completed in 1987. At that time, the space became a performing arts center seating 850 people. “That’s our current capacity,” said Marsha. “All the seats are good, too. We have only 26 rows.”

Marsha has spent more than 20 years in the entertainment industry. He was a music promoter for many years, and he continues to play trombone with the JJ Swing band. He frequently takes the stage at the beginning of a show. “I like to loosen the audience up,” said Marsha, “and thank our sponsors.

“We focus on music,” he said, “because the space is so well suited for it.” In fact, the Music Department has first claim on the PAC, and many student and faculty concerts are held there during the academic year.

The PAC is also host to several college events including the annual Academic, Honors, and EOP Honorsconvocations. Last year, several outstanding individuals spoke, including Cornel West, professor of religion and African American studies at Princeton University and one of America’s most provocative public intellectuals. Many community groups also rent the space.

The 2009–2010 Great Performers series will include a repeat visit by Roger McGuinn, founder of the Byrds, and the Velveteen Rabbit will be staged through Artsplorations. “Every day is different,” said Marsha. “It’s a great job.”

First-year students formally joined the Buffalo State community at yesterday’s First-Year Convocation, held in the Sports Arena—the site of their commencement in May 2013. Interim president Dennis Ponton and interim provost Kevin Railey welcomed the students and introduced the deans of each school.

First-Year Awards were presented to Charles Mancuso, professor of music, who received the award for Outstanding Faculty/Staff Contribution to First-Year Student Success, and to student Stephanie Tobar. Tobar was independently nominated for two awards, and she received both the Outstanding First-Year Student Scholarly or Creative Achievement Award and the Outstanding First-Year Student Contribution to Campus Life Award.

Events are scheduled through Sunday as part this year’sorientation for first-year students. This event, currently taking place, seeks to provide students with the information they need to succeed immediately before they begin college classes.

A podcast of the First-Year Convocation ceremony is available.

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

July 2009

Darryl C. Carter, Program Director, Precollegiate Programs
$181,613 (Continuation)
New York State Education Department
STEP

Naomi Diaz-Slack, Program Director, C-STEP
$112,172 (Continuation)
New York State Education Department
C-STEP

William Wieczorek, Director, Center for Health and Social Research
Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health
WNYCOSH Safe Patient Handling and Movement Project
$22,800 (Continuation)

William Wieczorek, Director, Center for Health and Social Research
Erie County Council for the Prevention of Alcohol and Substance Abuse
ECCPASA Evaluation 2009
$16,320 (Continuation)

Beginning with Suzan-Lori Parks’s drama In the Bloodand concluding with a dance showcase choreographed by faculty, Buffalo State’s Theater Department andCasting Hall Productions have scheduled an exciting, varied, and adventurous list of entertainment for the new academic year.

In the Blood
By Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Drew Kahn
October 1–3, 8–10, 8:00 p.m.
October 3 and 10, 2:00 p.m. 
Flexible Theatre, Donald Savage Building

Anything Goes
Music and lyrics by Cole Porter
Original book by P. G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay, and Russell Crouse
New book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman
Directed by Joseph Price
November 12–14, 19–21, 8:00 p.m.
November 14 and 21, 2:00 p.m.
Warren Enters Theatre, Upton Hall

The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute
Directed by Joseph Price
February 18–20 and 25–27, 8:00 p.m.
February 20 and 27, 2:00 p.m.
Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College

Seven Keys to Baldpate
By George M. Cohan
Directed by Donn Youngstrom
March 11–13 and 18–20, 8:00 p.m.
March 13 and 20, 2:00 p.m.
Warren Enters Theatre, Upton Hall

Miles and Mythology
Faculty-choreographed dance concert
April 28–May 1, 8:00 p.m.
May 1, 2:00 p.m.
Warren Enters Theatre, Upton Hall

Ticket prices are $15 for general admission, $10 for faculty and staff, and $6 for students. Tickets may be purchased through the Rockwell Hall Box Office, 878-3005, or online. For more information, call Casting Hall Productions at 878-6432.

A one-of-a-kind gazebo will soon be taking shape on 18th Street, thanks to a College and Community Partnership Grant awarded to the Mathematics Department, which will partner with Making Fishers of Men and Women, a faith-based neighborhood group.

Preservice math teachers are working with middle- and high-school students who will develop math skills and help West Side youth employed in the Summer Youth Employment Program build the gazebo. Michael Brundige, construction project specialist and director of Making Fishers of Men and Women, is overseeing the project with David Wilson, chair and associate professor of mathematics.

“We were going to make the gazebo from a kit,” said Wilson, “but then Paul Kinney, an architect with Young + Wright Architectural, volunteered his services to design a shelter that would fit in better with existing structures in the neighborhood.”

The structure’s unique design also extends the teaching and learning opportunities of the project, titled “Building for Understanding.”

“Construction uses a lot of math,” said Wilson. “For example, a property of rectangles is that its diagonals are equal. That’s how carpenters determine that corners are square.”

Crystal Sailor, ’03, a math major working on her teaching certification, and Jason Robinson, an undergraduate math education major, are using the building’s design drawings to help students understand math principles. Wilson said, “By seeing how math applies to real life, we hope to help the students understand concepts like ratio and proportion, geometry, and trigonometry. They will also have an opportunity to use them to solve real-life problems.”

Before the digging starts, Sailor and Robinson will help the students determine the dimensions of the necessary materials and guide them through building a scale model.

Thanks to assistance from the Undergraduate Research Office, Sailor and Robinson are documenting the project for presentation at the 2010 Undergraduate Research and Creativity Celebration and receiving a stipend for their work.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Read previous Focus on College and Community Partnerships stories:

Louis Colca
Keli Garas-York
Robin Lee Harris