From the Chair of the College Senate
The first meeting of the College Senate for the spring 2009 semester will be held on Friday, February 13, at2:30 p.m. in Classroom Building C122. Please note the time change. The agenda for the meeting is posted on the College Senate Web site.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
In compliance with the Federal Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989, employees of Buffalo State College should be aware of and must adhere to the policy stated below:

• The unlawful use, possession, manufacture, dispensation, or distribution of controlled substances in all Buffalo State College work locations is prohibited. The term “controlled substance” means a controlled substance in Schedules I through V of Section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21USC812).
• Employees who unlawfully manufacture, distribute, dispense, possess, or use a controlled substance will be subject to disciplinary procedures consistent with applicable laws, rules, regulations, and collective bargaining agreements.
• Employees must notify the Human Resource Management Office of any criminal conviction for a drug-statute violation occurring in the workplace or at a work site no later than five working days after such conviction. An employee so convicted will be required to satisfactorily participate in a state-approved drug-abuse assistance or rehabilitation program as a condition of continuing employment.
• No employee will report for work or will work impaired by any substance, drug or alcohol, lawful or unlawful. “Impaired” means under the influence of a substance such that the employee's motor senses (i.e., sight, hearing, balance, reaction, or reflex) or judgment either are or may be reasonably presumed to be affected.
• Medical testing may be done if the college has a reasonable suspicion that an employee is unable to perform job duties due to the misuse of alcohol, controlled substances, or prescription drugs.

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available on campus for employees who wish to seek assistance in dealing with drug- or alcohol-related problems as well as a variety of other concerns. Information on the program and a current list of EAP coordinators can be found on the Human Resource Management Web site.

Questions regarding the Policy on Alcohol and Drug Use in the Workplace should be referred to Emmanuel J. Hillery, associate director of human resource management, 878-4822.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
The SUNY Office of University Counsel advises that all college offices should be notified of the procedures to follow regarding the receipt of legal papers of any kind by a campus employee. Accordingly, Buffalo State’s procedures are as follows:

The associate vice president for finance and management/comptroller is the college’s official liaison to the Office of University Counsel for the purpose of receipt of service of legal papers on the college, notification of the area of the college affected (required to respond), and decision about who should notify SUNY counsel, the attorney general, or other parties. When legal papers of any kind are served upon a campus employee or the college, the campus liaison should be contacted immediately and the legal papers should be forwarded to the liaison.

If the associate vice president for finance and management/comptroller is unavailable, the referral should be made to the assistant vice president for finance and management.

This procedure is especially important when legal papers request personnel files or information on students or are requests made under the USA Patriot Act. Various other rights, such as those afforded by FERPA, the Personal Privacy Protection law, and collective bargaining agreements are involved in those situations.

From the Provost
Friday, February 6, is the deadline to submit proposals for papers, roundtable sessions, and poster presentations on women’s and gender issues for the Women’s Studies Research Symposium, one of several events planned for Women’s History Month. The Research Symposium will take place on Thursday, March 5, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210.

Please submit a brief (200–500 words) proposal with a description of your project; a list of other people with whom you have worked on this project; a résumé or short CV; and a cover letter that explains both your topic and your commitment to the field of women’s studies in hard-copy form to Jennifer Ryan, Women’s Studies Coordinator, Ketchum Hall 304. She can be reached at 878-5415.

Submissions from all departments, programs, and disciplines are encouraged; diversity will be a key criterion in compiling the program. Materials will be reviewed by the Women’s Studies Interdisciplinary Unit Core Committee.

From the Provost
As part of a faculty development initiative, 29 new faculty members have joined faculty writing groups. The groups are interdisciplinary, and each group consists of four to six faculty members. The writing groups are designed to provide feedback on manuscripts and to help new faculty allot time for academic writing. The writing groups typically meet every three to five weeks and set their own agenda for each meeting. Some groups spend time writing at their meetings, while others discuss manuscripts and provide editing suggestions. The ultimate goal of the writing groups is to assist faculty in achieving the publication of their scholarly works. More information can be found on the Professional Development Web site. Anyone interested in joining a writing group should contact Susan McMillen, director of faculty development.

From the Provost
The Advisory Committee of Buffalo State’s Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) and Academic Affairs announce three one-year, $3,000 faculty-development fellowships to promote the scholarship of teaching and learning on campus. All tenured and tenure-track Buffalo State faculty members are eligible to apply.

Research funded by these fellowships can be empirical (qualitative or quantitative studies, measurement of student learning or teaching effectiveness, etc.) or conceptual (design of educational innovations, curriculum development, pedagogical problem analysis, etc.). All proposals that represent the scholarship of teaching and learning are welcome; however, the committee will give priority to projects that focus on the following areas:

1. Active and Collaborative Learning:Investigating how collaboration among students and/or engagement with course material leads to understanding and long-term retention of concepts and processes. Understanding how student engagement in successful collaborations develops enduring skills that transfer to unfamiliar contexts.
2. Promoting Academic Challenge:Documenting the success of classroom strategies that promote high student effort and performance on authentic learning tasks.
3. Enriching Educational Experiences:Conducting studies that illustrate how two forms of enrichment enable students to integrate and apply knowledge. One form involves programs such as Intellectual Foundations, service learning, undergraduate research, or international activities; the second involves curricular infusion initiatives such as Intellectual Foundations, Writing Across the Curriculum, diversity, or technology.
4. Student-Faculty Interaction: Undertaking projects that explore the potential for deep and enduring learning that occurs when attention is given to both cognitive and affective domains in teaching, learning, and advising, particularly in the first year.

Fellows will conduct studies related to their specialty areas during the 2009–2010 academic year. They will also work closely with Cheryl Albers, coordinator for the campus programs for CASTL, and Scott Johnson, associate vice president for undergraduate education and dean of University College, to promote faculty development efforts related to their fellowship. In addition, fellows are required to serve as members of the CASTL Advisory Committee and present their findings at a public forum. Fellows are responsible for compliancewith any applicable research approval conditions as set out by the Research Foundation.

Submissions must be received by 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 1. Send electronic submissions to labiaksm@buffalostate.edu.

Hard-copy submissions will be accepted but are not necessary with electronic submission. Mail hard-copy submissions to Susan Labiak, Buffalo State College, University College, South Wing 510, Buffalo, NY 14222.

CA Full application guidelines and selection criteria are available on the CASTL Web site. Questions should be directed to Cheryl Albers, coordinator for the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL), 878-3292.

Proposal-Writing Workshops
All workshops will be held in Twin Rise 102

To register for a workshop, contact Susan Labiak in the CASTL office, University College, 878-3093.

Translating a Pedagogical Interest of Issue into a SOTL Study
Wednesday, February 11
Noon–1:00 p.m.
or
Thursday, February 26
12:15–1:15 p.m.

Designing a SOTL Study the Meets the Fellowship Criteria
Wednesday, February 25
Noon–1:00 p.m.
or
Thursday, March 5
12:15–1:15 p.m.

By Tony Astran

Five staff members of Campus Services will be honored tomorrow at the annual employee recognition awards ceremony from 10:00 a.m. to noon in the Carmine A. Grande Conference Room, Cleveland Hall 418.

Horace “Hank” Mann, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of exceptional education, has funded the Campus Services Employee Recognition Awards since 2003 to recognize and reward outstanding staff members. Each honoree receives a plaque and a $200 check. The following employees will receive this year’s awards:

• Michael Andrew, Carpentry
• Brian Bridges, Custodial Services
• Karen Partridge, Custodial Services
• Dennis Richmeyer, Custodial Services
• William Smock, Grounds

Campus Services personnel maintain Buffalo State’s 45 buildings and 125-acre campus. Their responsibilitiesinclude heating and cooling, carpentry, custodial, electrical, plumbing, masonry, painting, grounds maintenance, and snow removal. They provide the campus’s mail, moving, and locksmith services; inventory control; and central receiving for all equipment and supplies received through purchase orders.

Campus Services also manages Central Stores, which houses and delivers stationery that bears the college’s name, such as envelopes and letterhead. Additionally, Campus Services manages the college’s power plant and maintains the Maud Gordon Holmes Arboretum.

The Arts Council in Buffalo and Erie County will honor three distinguished members of the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College during its 23rd annualArts Awards Luncheon on Friday, March 20, at the Adam’s Mark in downtown Buffalo. Honorees will include William Magavern II and Sylvia L. Rosen, who will receive the Knox Lifetime Achievement Award, and Rita Argen Auerbach, who will receive a 2009 Achievement Award as an Individual Artist.

The Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College is now accepting reservations for tables and individual tickets. Please call Katerina Syntelis, executive assistant to the director, at 878-6012.

By Mark Norris

Anselm Berrigan, author of multiple chapbooks, poetry collections, and a spoken-word CD, will present a reading at Buffalo State College on Thursday, February 19, at 4:30 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210. The event is free and open to the public.

Berrigan is a poet and educator with a strong connection to the Western New York literary community. He received his bachelor of arts in English from the University at Buffalo in 1994. While at UB, he served as editor of the student newspaper, the Spectrum, and the paper’s entertainment supplement, the Prodigal Sun. Since graduating, Berrigan has made frequent return visits to Buffalo for reading engagements and has been a guest instructor at Just Buffalo Literary Center.

Berrigan’s personal history is steeped in poetics. He is the son of poets Alice Notley and the late Ted Berrigan, stepson of the late English poet and prose writer Douglas Oliver, brother of poet Edmund Berrigan, and husband of poet Karen Weiser.

Born in Chicago, Berrigan was raised in the East Village of New York City, where he lives now. He served as director for the famed Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church from 2003 to 2007. He has taught writing at Brooklyn College, Rutgers University, Pratt Institute, and Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. He is currently co-chair of the summer M.F.A. program in the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College and a visiting writer in the English Department at Wesleyan University. He holds a master of fine arts from Brooklyn College. His new book, Free Cell, will be published later this year by City Lights Books.

This event is sponsored by the Buffalo State English Department and Just Buffalo Literary Center, and is supported by the Auxiliary Services Grant Allocation Committee.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The agenda for the February 13 meeting of the College Senate is available on the College Senate Web site. The meeting will start at 2:30 p.m. in Classroom Building C122 to allow time for a special briefing from the H. H. Richardson master plan architects, who will update the campus on their work and answer questions. All are welcome to attend. Information about the project can be found on the Richardson Olmsted Complex Web site. We look forward to your participation.