The Buffalo State Alumni Association cordially invites faculty and staff to attend the Young Alumnus Achievement Awards Reception on Friday, September 19, at 7:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Fireside Lounge. 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:

Cesar A. Cabrera, ’90, ’06
(Broadcasting, Multidisciplinary Studies)
WNY Regional Representative
NYS Department of Labor

Gerald L. Cornish, ’90
(Economics)
First Vice President
Merrill Lynch

Kelly (Monahan) Frothingham, ’94, ’97
(Urban and Regional Analysis and Planning, Multidisciplinary Studies)
Associate Professor, Geography and Planning
Buffalo State College

Christopher R. Gallant, ’92
(Broadcasting)
Emmy Award–Winning Editor/Director
WGRZ-TV

David A. Kopasz, ’93
(Food Systems Management)
Vice President for Food and Beverages
Seneca Niagara Casino

Join master of ceremonies Steve Barber, ’97, news anchor, WKBW-TV, to honor the outstanding achievements of our recipients. The cost is $15 and includes a champagne toast, hors d’oeuvre and dessert reception, and special memento. For reservations, call the Alumni Affairs Office at 878-6001 by Monday, September 15.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to attend the fourth annual First-YearConvocation, welcoming this year’s freshman class to Buffalo State College, tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. in Rockwell Hall Auditorium. First-Year Awards will be formally presented to Laurence Shine, lecturer in the College Writing Program, and students Watoii Rabii and Christine Santoro.

Those who wish to march in the academic processional should report to the third floor of Rockwell Hall at 3:00 p.m. If you are planning to march, please call University College at 878-5906 to reserve a seat.

A family picnic in Rockwell Hall Quad will follow the ceremony, with great food, live music, fun, and games to give new freshmen and their parents a chance to meet faculty and staff and to build the Buffalo State spirit!

Buffalo State College will host 17 Chinese undergraduate students from the Sichuan Province of western China, the site of the massive May 12 earthquake, for the 2008–2009 academic year. The students are from diverse Chinese ethnic groups; the majority come from 40 counties around Wenchuan, the center of the quake.

Twenty-two SUNY campuses are hosting a total of 150 students, primarily sophomores and juniors, who will study for two semesters as full-time students at SUNY state-operated and community-college campuses beginning this fall. All students are competent in English and otherwise prepared for the two semesters of U.S.-based college education.

Students were assigned to various campuses based on their interests as well as the ability of campuses to accommodate additional students from abroad in currently available spaces. There is no impact to current student enrollment or fall applications. SUNY has undertaken a fundraising drive so this initiative should not result in any costs to New York State taxpayers.

The goal is to build a team of young leaders who will return to China to help rebuild the local economy and infrastructure in the earthquake-ravaged region. Each student has committed to return to China upon completion of the program in May/June 2009 and to a period of national service in Sichuan to help with the rebuilding effort.

The death toll from the 7.9-magnitude temblor stands at nearly 70,000. Reconstruction costs are estimated at $147 billion, according to China’s National Development and Reform Commission.

The full SUNY press release is available online.

Summertime in Buffalo comes midyear, and for many, midway between recurring New Year’s resolutions to get in shape. The difficulty of finding the right equipment, a convenient workout location, the time, or the money are all common reasons for avoiding exercise. Fortunately for Buffalo State students, faculty, and staff who want to be healthier, stronger, or trimmer, the Fitness Center is the answer.

Open since 2002, the Fitness Center is more than just a place to exercise. It doubles as a social gathering spot, rehabilitation center, and student learning lab.

David Alessi, payroll manager, understands the center’s many benefits. He has been a regular visitor to the center from the beginning and found its services especially helpful when recently trying to overcome tendonitis in his knees.

“I love to run, and didn’t want to get out of shape when the tendonitis kicked in,” he said. “So I used the elliptical machines on a regular basis to stay active. Going to the center really boosts my endorphins and takes away my stress. I feel crummy if I don’t go for a while.”

The Fitness Center is funded by the Athletics Department and received a major boost from United Students Government in 2003 for equipment. Admission for undergraduate students is free, and the cost for the rest of the Buffalo State community remains low compared with private facilities. Faculty and staff who wish to take advantage of the $135-a-year membership fee may choose to cover costs via payroll deduction—amounting to roughly $5 a pay period. Other options are available, such as fewer months or package visits.

The 4,500-square-foot center, located on the gym’s ground floor, was once a campus bowling alley. Now the center houses more than 45 exercise stations and 25 pieces of cardio equipment. Members may also take advantage of racquetball courts, a swimming pool, a basketball court, and a dance studio.

According to Nicholas DeMarsh, Fitness Center coordinator, the facility tallied close to 50,000 visits last year. Use should continue to increase this fall, and new equipment is expected to arrive at the start of the semester.

“Earlier this spring on a trial basis, we had bike machines where users could look into a screen of virtual environments, such as a forest or seaside trail,” he said. “Because of their popularity, we’re hoping to bring in four machines that can link together for races and help users keep track of their progress online. This is just one example of our responsiveness to member feedback.”

Learning-Lab Environment Comes to Life
By working together with the Health and Wellness Department, the Fitness Center staff turned a longstanding aspiration into a reality in spring 2008 by offering a personal-training service free to members.

Four student-intern trainers began offering sessions in March, and sign-ups quickly grew to about 50 clients. For most participants, the program consisted of four or five one-hour meetings: an initial consultation to determine goals and fitness level, two to three meetings to learn exercises and test equipment, and a final meeting to review progress.

DeMarsh said the pilot program was a huge success.

“From the beginning, we wanted the Fitness Center to provide an academic setting for teaching and internships,” he said. “Our partnership with [Assistant Professor] Sue Baldwin and the Health and Wellness Department provided direction and accountability. We received 100 percent satisfaction based on surveys, and plan to offer the personal training again in the fall.”

Trainer Julie Rodland, a senior-year health and wellness major, said classes such as kinesiology and exercise principles prepared her well. She had always enjoyed helping others and using creative skills to solve problems, but got even more enjoyment than she bargained for in her clients.

“To me, it was a big deal to see this program get off the ground, and I know it was important to the college, too,” Rodland said. “Being a trainer gave me confidence. I’ll always be grateful for this opportunity.”

Camaraderie and Rejuvenation through Exercise
Fitness Center members can also take advantage of a second-floor dance studio for aerobics classes. Kissinger Pool, located just down the hall from the Fitness Center, offers open swimming from noon to 2:00 p.m. And a full-size basketball court just above the center is the site for many pickup games.

Charles Mancuso, professor of music, was captain of the Buffalo State men’s basketball team as a student in the 1960s. The following decade, when he came back to teach, he worked with other faculty members to organize Friday-afternoon scrimmage games. These matches still take place today, with as many as 18 people regularly attending.

“A basketball game is easy to organize, and it’s easy to keep score,” Mancuso said. “You get a great workout because you have to play as much defense as offense. The people who play come from all walks of campus and all walks of America. It really tightens the sense of community here at Buffalo State.”

The Fitness Center’s lineup of elliptical machines and treadmills serves as a popular spot for working out and meeting others. Tom Renzi, coordinator of the Academic Skills Center, uses the machines in place of his lunch hour whenever he can.

“The Fitness Center has an upbeat atmosphere and is convenient to get to,” he said. “The machine area is well lit, and I like to read when I’m on the treadmill. It’s part of ‘the break’ for me.”

Jennifer Small, assistant director of alumni affairs, enjoys seeing familiar faces when she visits the center, but also likes making new connections.

“The Fitness Center doubles as a place for me to get work done,” she said, “because I often see people I don’t normally run into around campus. And with the endorphins pumping, people seem to be in better spirits when working out.”

DeMarsh said the benefits of exercise—having more energy at work, increasing productivity, staying sharper longer—should be obvious. “But the Fitness Center is also such a positive and uplifting place,” he added. “The people around you are all trying to improve themselves.”

“Working out keeps me sane and balanced,” Small said. “It gives me drive and determination to go from day to day. It’s refreshing and puts my mind in a different perspective.”

As a service to the Buffalo State community, the Communication Department has distributed to all departments informational handouts on the federally mandated conversion from analog to digital broadcasting. Congress has set February 17, 2009, as the deadline for the digital television (DTV) conversion. This has caused some anxiety for consumers who wonder whether their television sets will work and how they will receive a signal.

The packets distributed on campus contain the following consumer advisories from the Federal Communications Commission:

• DTV Is Coming (And Sooner Than You Think)
• Buying the Right TV: What Every Consumer Should Know
• Closed Captioning for Digital Television
• Closed Captioning and Digital-to-Analog Converter Boxes for Viewing Free Over-the-Air Programming on Analog Televisions

Associate professor of communication Paul DeWald has worked with the FCC to educate consumers about the coming DTV conversion. He has produced an informational video, which is posted on the Multimedia Showcase of the department Web site.

Contact the Communication Department, 878-6008, for additional information packets. Spanish-language handouts are also available.

More information is available on the FCC’s Web site.

Please take a moment to consider the Buffalo StateBulletin over the past academic year and complete asurvey designed to measure reader satisfaction with the new publication.

College Relations redesigned the Bulletin—its longstanding weekly newsletter for faculty, staff, and emeriti—last year, in part to address the results of a 2006 faculty-staff survey on internal communication. Respondents said they wanted a more in-depth publication, one that would encourage a more scholarly campus culture. Sixty percent said they wanted more information, and 77 percent wanted more information about issues affecting the college. Respondents also wanted more quotations and opinions from people across campus and an eco-friendly product (i.e., no paper).

Rather than introduce a new publication, College Relations chose to enhance the Bulletin, an established source of reliable information for the campus community since 1958. The electronic version is archived and searchable.

Readers’ reactions to the new Bulletin seem positive. Web-tracking software suggests that readership has roughly doubled over the past year. Our goal in augmenting the Bulletin was to improve communication with and among faculty and staff members at Buffalo State College. Have we succeeded? Please let us know!

The survey is short—just 13 questions. It will be posted through June 27. Responses will be anonymous (but feel free to send comments or suggestions anytime tocollrel@buffalostate.edu). Please help us tailor the newBulletin to better meet your needs. Thank you.

PeopleAdmin, a new electronic application and search-process system, is set to launch July 1. The system will allow search committee chairs to develop recruitment plans; review applications, résumés, and cover letters; and complete search documentation in a paperless environment.

PeopleAdmin also allows job applicants to search and apply for faculty, professional staff, and administrative positions online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from any computer with Internet access.

The system is used at more than 400 higher education institutions nationwide. Buffalo State joins other SUNY schools such as Fredonia, Geneseo, and the University at Buffalo with the implementation of PeopleAdmin. The Web-based tool will not change the hiring process but will automate and simplify the recruitment process.

“We’ve been moving to a more electronic process for hiring the past three or four years,” said Dolores Battle, senior adviser to the president for equity and campus diversity. “PeopleAdmin provides us a structured system. It’s a ‘green’ approach.”

“PeopleAdmin will improve our communication with applicants,” added Susan Earshen, director of human resource management. The system sends confirmation receipts to applicants and allows them to verify “received” status online.

A committee led by Ted Schmidt, chair and associate professor of economics and finance, began investigating online application systems for Buffalo State two years ago. The committee reviewed various vendors and determined that PeopleAdmin, which specializes in higher education, offered a superior applicant-tracking system. Applicant data also is saved and backed up on PeopleAdmin’s servers.

Dennis McCarthy, senior research associate and former associate dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, is leading an implementation team of staff members who are working to prepare PeopleAdmin for its July 1 debut. “Initially, we’ll be using PeopleAdmin for non-classified positions that require a search,” he said. “Once the system is up, Human Resources will set up targeted training for new users and provide technical assistance.”

Battle said PeopleAdmin should also aid in the collection of EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) data, such as the gender and race/ethnicity of applicants. This information is required by the U.S. Department of Education and is used to monitor the success of recruitment efforts.

“The system allows us to see who applied, who was offered an interview, and who was hired—tracking the employment application process from beginning to end,” Battle said. “The Equity and Campus Diversity Office will continue to work with search committees to increase diversity in our applicant pools and make sure all applicants are treated fairly.”

Battle added she would have been concerned a few years ago about computer accessibility, but doesn’t see the electronic format as a limitation today. She also said users find PeopleAdmin intuitive.

With the online system, Earshen expects a reduction in paper, immediate access to applications, a shortened time frame for hiring, an increase in EEOC responses, and improved communication for users. Electronic routing for approvals, the elimination of shared-drive folders, and no further need to scan applications should all contribute to greater efficiency.

McCarthy best summarizes the forthcoming implementation: “We’ve made it to the twenty-first century.”

In today’s America, more and more families have working parents—which necessitates day-care services for children. Fortunately, Buffalo State students, faculty, and staff have access to one of the region’s most affordable and reputable child-care establishments: the Buffalo State College Child Care Center.

Open since 1975, the Child Care Center is located in the Buckham Campus School, near Rees Street. The 16 staff members at the private, nonprofit organization oversee an average of 66 children a day, ranging from 6 weeks to 5 years of age (up to 12 years during the summer months).

The center exists to serve Buffalo State College but is open to anyone within the SUNY system—although the number of non–Buffalo State clients is negligible. According to Daniel Thiel, director of the Child Care Center, the center strives for a 50-50 split of children of students versus faculty and staff, but the numbers each year tend to fall around 70-30.

“Our center defies the typical high turnover rate in the child-care industry,” Thiel said. “Several teachers have been here more than 10 years, which forms a great foundation of longevity and dedication.”

The Child Care Center first opened through a grant fromUnited Students Government and receives continued financial support from USG as well as from outside grants, the college, and SUNY.

Accredited since 1991 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the center recently met new rigorous accreditation standards set a few years ago. It is one of only 645 centers in the nation to boast the honor.

“We have a great curriculum here at the Child Care Center,” Thiel said. “We believe that structured play is best for children. By being actively involved in developmentally appropriate play, children will learn, grow, and be happy.”

The center also prides itself on being a family-friendly environment. Parents are welcome to visit anytime and even have lunch with their children. The center is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (5:00 p.m. on Fridays), but parents can choose flexible hours for pickup and drop-off to accommodate work schedules.

Affordability is also a hallmark of the center. Its private, nonprofit status keeps down cost, which is a sliding-scale fee based on household income.

Thiel recommends that anyone interested in enrolling a child at the center register as early as possible. The historically long waiting list tends to stretch about two to three semesters on average. The summer program, however, typically is not as booked. It allows children up to 12 years of age to enjoy the facilities and frequent field trips. Space is still available for this summer’s session, which is currently under way.

Although the Child Care Center is a private institution, it is deeply connected to campus. Students from many departments—especially Elementary Education and Reading, Health and Wellness, Psychology, and Social Work—regularly benefit from the center’s “learning lab” environment as student-workers, interns, and/or researchers. Roughly 40 students work or intern at the center each semester.

The center’s facility has five age-specific play areas: 6 weeks to 18 months, 18 months to 2 years, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds. There are always a minimum of two teachers per classroom; the average student-to-teacher ratio ranges from 4-to-1 to 8-to-1. The center also includes a gym area, kitchen, and fenced playground, and all areas are securely monitored.

In addition to reaccreditation, the Child Care Center also boasts recent awards for some of its staff. Mary Wilson, program coordinator, received the 2006 Dorothy B. Millard Award from the Child Care Resource Network, a local professional organization, for her outstanding 20 years of administrative service. Teacher Nicole Horning recently coordinated the Week of the Young Child, an exhibition of artwork by 144 children from 20 day-care centers throughout Western New York that was on display at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. And Thiel was recently honored as the 2007 Outstanding Program Director or Administrator by the Association for the Education of Young Children of Western New York (AEYC), the local NAEYC affiliate.

Awards and accreditation aside, what matters most to Thiel is doing what’s best for children. He never forgets that he’s running a business—or that providing excellent care is paramount for continued success. “Being here for children and their families,” he said, “is what we do.”

The fact that Buffalo State uses a content management system (CMS) and a suite of 12 official templates to help users develop campus Web pages isn’t exactly breaking news. But the fact that we’re looking to change content management systems may be.

The Road to CMS
In 2002, College Relations surveyed the college’s primary Web contacts (PWCs), the faculty and staff on campus who voluntarily maintain official Web subsites. The survey was undertaken to identify overall Web-development issues and needs specific to the PWC function. The findings, which cited lack of time, equipment, and training as leading causes for low self-publishing and infrequent site maintenance, led the college to explore content management systems and adopt Ingeniux, our current CMS.

The college has been using Ingeniux for four years. More than 500 campus users have been trained on the package, and more than 130 college subsites live within the Ingeniux system.

The Web at Buffalo State
Last year, the Buffalo State Web site received 10,484,000 unique visitors. The Web team, housed in College Relations, is responsible for maintaining and developing the Buffalo State Web site. The college’s Web site audience is myriad, including prospective and current students, donors, alumni, faculty, staff, and the general community. The Web team works in partnership with Computing and Technology Services; CTS ably manages the college’s Web servers and provides other necessary support.

All Web work at Buffalo State is driven by user feedback. Responses are gathered year-round, every year, through an array of Web metrics that “attack” www.buffalostate.edu from a variety of perspectives: content, visual design, usability, features, overall relevance, and whether or not current institutional priorities are being met. We recently solicited opinions from faculty, staff, and current students in preparation for a redesign of the main site (please visit the College Relations blog for more information).

Why Revisit CMS?
At a crossroads, we are contemplating either a significant upgrade to Ingeniux or a move to a new package. There are more than 50 content management systems on the market now (not so in 2003 when we were first searching). This additional choice, advancements in Web technology, and the addition of UNIX to our server mix may very well allow us to find a package superior to Ingeniux.

But whether we upgrade Ingeniux or move to a new system, campus users can be assured that no additional work will be required on their part. Content would be imported, and the design and navigation of the sites would carry over. Users would be fully trained in using any new system.

Evaluation Process and Status
Our first step in this process was to check in with campus users. This spring, we asked more than 30 current Ingeniux users and technology advocates to share their Web publishing and Ingeniux experiences with us. The responses we received were used to develop our user feature list. Top-of-list items include better Mac support, ability to make Web forms, ability to copy and paste content (that is, without having to save as plain text first), faster save, easier upload of PDFs, and ability to upload user-generated images.

We also connected with our colleagues in Computing and Technology Services for help in developing server and technical specifications. These are also now in place, so we have begun evaluating packages that match both user and technical requirements. The following packages are being evaluated by the College Relations/Computing and Technology Services working group: RedDot, Drupal, Moodal, Expression Engine, WebGui, Mambo, and Ingeniux.

Please check the College Relations blog for status reports, including information on package finalists, user-evaluation opportunities, and an estimated launch date.

Just before the start of the chaotic week of final exams, grading, and Commencement, nearly 100 faculty, staff, students, alumni, family members, and friends took time to remember something far more important—the lives of loved ones.

The annual campus memorial service known as the “Celebration of Life” paid tribute to 49 students, faculty, staff, and alumni who passed away during the academic year.

The 2008 ceremony—the seventh consecutive annual gathering of its kind—took place Friday, May 2, in Rockwell Hall. It included music from the Buffalo State Chamber Choir, a message from President Howard, readings, the lighting of memorial candles, a memorial wreath presentation, a memory book signing, and an after-event reception. Toward the end of the ceremony, as the full list of the decreased was read, a memorial bell rang once after each name.

According to Modupe Akin-Deko, associate director and clinical coordinator of the Counseling Center, the ceremony is designed to be spiritual yet nondenominational.

“The focus is on lifting the spirits of those left behind,” she said. “The ceremony gives the college community an opportunity to be together and respond to [the loss of] loved ones.”

Akin-Deko is a co-coordinator of the Critical Incident Support Team, a volunteer group under the auspices of the Counseling Center. She said the team works every year to plan the Celebration of Life ceremony and organized the first event in 2002, after a well-known student passed away.

“At the time, it was powerful to see so many members of the community come out to support the student,” Akin-Deko said, “but we realized we needed a way to recognize all of our own.”

The Celebration of Life often includes special touches from year to year. The 2007 event included ribbons to honor victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy. This year, guests received carnations and also heard a Chamber Choir performance of the United States Navy Hymn in honor of the late Captain John Freidhoff, lead boat captain and field station manager of the Great Lakes Center, who died in October. He was also a member of the Critical Incident Support Team.

Akin-Deko and Joan McCool, director of the Counseling Center, encourage more members of the campus community to attend next year’s event and to share names of deceased loved ones for the campus to acknowledge.

“Beyond the counseling we offer, we want anyone who grieves for members of our community to know their loved ones will be remembered,” McCool said. “The Celebration of Life is a healing activity for the community. It’s important to stop and reflect.”