By Mary A. Durlak

The Earth Sciences and Science Education Department is launching the first Jack Mack Lecture Series in Astronomy and Planetary Science this semester. The lectures, which will be held in the evening, are free and open to the public.

Jack Mack, professor emeritus of earth science and science education, will present the first lecture on Wednesday, March 4, at 8:00 p.m. in Science Building 213. The lecture, “It Came from Outer Space! Forty Years of Explosive Progress in Astronomy,” will discuss why our picture of the universe is developing at an incredible rate. Mack retired in 2008 after 35 years of service to the college.

John Grant, a geologist at the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, will present “Driving and Orbiting the Red Planet: New Insights from the Exploration of Mars” on Wednesday, April 1, at 8:00 p.m. in Science Building 213. Grant, who served at Buffalo State and who co-taught a class with Mack, is a member of the Science Team for the Mars Exploration Rovers and for the HiRISE camera orbiting Mars on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.

Kevin K. Williams, assistant professor of earth sciences and science education, is a planetary geologist. “It’s very exciting to be able to honor Jack this way,” he said. “Jack is a true scholar with a wide range of interests, including technology in the classroom and the technology that has greatly increased our understanding of our solar system and the universe.”

This year’s lectures are sponsored by the Faculty-Student Association. The series will be held annually.

By Phillip Weiss

Poet icon and revolutionary political activist Amiri Baraka will share his words and thoughts on change, the Obama presidency, and how working people can cope in the “Great Recession” at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, March 5, in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall.

Baraka, renowned founder of Harlem’s Black Arts Movement in the 1960s, is the author of more than 40 books of essays, poems, musical history, and criticism. He has lectured extensively on cultural and political issues in the United States, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe.

Baraka has taught at Yale, Columbia, and Stony Brook universities. His awards and honors include the Obie Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters award, the James Weldon Johnson Medal for Contributions to the Arts, and grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He is a professor emeritus of Stony Brook University and was New Jersey’s poet laureate from 2002 to 2003.

Baraka is the first of several speakers that will take part in the Alternative Speakers Series, hosted by Buffalo State Students for Peace. For more information, contactStudents for Peace, (716) 430-0922.

By Mary A. Durlak

The Chemistry/Physics Lecture Series has scheduled its spring speakers, drawing on scientists from the College at Brockport and McGill University in Montreal as well as here on campus.

Refreshments will be served at 12:15 p.m.; lectures will begin at 12:30 p.m. in Science Building 420, unless otherwise noted. All will be held on Thursdays.

On February 26, Paul Seidler, a chemistry graduate student at Buffalo State College, will present “Infrared Studies of Metastable States in Sodium Nitroprusside and of the Film Formation Process of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane on Silicon Substrates.”

On March 12, Mohammed Tahar from the College at Brockport, State University of New York, will speak on magnetic properties and measurements. Note: This lecture will be held in Science Building 272.

On April 2, Dominic Ryan, professor of physics at McGill University, will present “The Mössbauer Effect and Neutron Scattering Measurements in Intermetallic Compounds.”

On April 9, Jude Sabato, assistant professor of earth sciences and science education, will present “Angular Momentum in Planetary Atmospheres.” His talk will use the concept of atmospheric angular momentum to facilitate/unify topics in a survey of current problems in the dynamics of planetary atmospheres. He will talk about Earth’s atmosphere as well as the atmospheres of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Titan—the largest moon of Saturn and the largest moon in the solar system. Note: This lecture will be held in Science Building 272.

The lecture series, formerly known as the Chemistry Lecture Series, has been running for more than 20 years. Presenters have included alumni and speakers from around the world. “It has provided both students and faculty members with the chance to hear ideas from a variety of researchers,” said Michael DeMarco, professor and chair of the Physics Department, which is participating in presenting the series this year.

This semester, the series is sponsored by the Auxiliary Services Grant Allocation Committee and the Academic and Student Affairs Office.

By Tony Astran

The EOP Fund, a departmental fund for the Arthur O. EveEducational Opportunity Program, will be renamed the Jaelah Yannis Jenkins EOP Fund, in honor of the late daughter of director Yanick Jenkins, during a ceremony at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow, February 27, in the Campbell Student Union Fireside Lounge.

Jaelah passed away in 2007, at age 10, from a brain tumor. EOP staff members hope her memory will live on through the fund, which supports EOP staff and the 877 students they serve.

“Jaelah was a free spirit with a can-do attitude,” Jenkins said. “She wanted to go to college one day.”

“Jaelah was the type of person who was always willing to listen and be positive,” added Erica Murphy, a junior-year social work major who is helping to plan the event as EOP’s work-study student.

The EOP Fund provides support for students, activities, and other expenses. EOP has additional funds within the annual Faculty and Staff Appeal, but they are for specific needs, such as scholarships.

The campus community and friends of EOP may donate to the newly named Jaelah Yannis Jenkins EOP Fund through the Faculty and Staff Appeal or are welcome to make an independent donation at any time. More than $1,500 is donated to the fund each year, and Jenkins hopes that amount will increase.

EOP staff members attribute the EOP Fund at least in part to the continued success of the program. Since the fund’s inception in 2005, student retention rates have improved, and the number of students on academic probation has decreased.

“The EOP Fund improves the quality of our program,” Jenkins said. “It means the difference between one student or four students being able to attend a conference.” She said she hopes tomorrow’s event will reintroduce the EOP Fund to the campus and that its renaming will provide a “reenergized renewal.”

Tomorrow’s ceremony will include inspirational poetry readings, a short DVD presentation, and a performance by the Buffalo State College Chamber Choir. Refreshments will be served. The Alumni Affairs Office will provide giveaways, and members of the Buffalo State cheerleading team will volunteer at the event in honor of Jaelah, who was also a cheerleader.

“Jaelah wanted to be a writer when she grew up and spent a lot of time at our office,” Jenkins said. “All the EOP staff and students got to know her so well. We’re one big family—in the sense of a larger community.”

All are welcome to attend tomorrow’s ceremony, but reservations are recommended; please call Mary Ann Osborne at 878-4225.

If you missed President Howard’s 2009 State of the College address last Thursday, text, podcast, and video of the speech are available on the president’s Web siteunder Speeches and Statements.

The job market for communication graduates—including those from Buffalo State—is positive and remains largely unchanged from previous years, according to a national Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication graduates. Buffalo State is one of 83 partner schools in the survey, conducted annually by researchers at the University of Georgia.

The survey found that nearly all communication graduates who looked for jobs had at least one interview within six months after graduation. Nearly two-thirds had a full-time job in which they expressed greater satisfaction than did respondents in previous studies.

The annual study is sponsored by professional organizations including the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the National Association of Broadcasters, and the Society of Professional Journalists; by media chains including Gannett Newspapers and Hearst Corporation; and by academic organizations such as the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication.

More information is available on the Communication Department Web site. The full study is available from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

By Tony Astran

The Student Support Services Program, informally known as SSSP, will hold its annual Student Recognition Ceremony today from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. This event serves to honor SSSP students for their academic achievements. Program director Florence D. Johnson and her staff are proud to recognize more than 65 participants who are carrying a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

SSSP is a Title IV (TRIO) federally funded project that operates under the umbrella of the Research Foundation and University College and is located in South Wing 210. The program goals are retention, graduation, and good academic standing. The program is designed to provide opportunities for academic achievement, cultural enrichment, and tutorial assistance, as well as to motivate students toward successful completion of their degrees.

The ceremony will be catered by Emerson Commons. The program is proud to celebrate the success and persistence of all the students being recognized.

Attendance at this event is by invitation only. Faculty and staff who received invitations must make reservations to attend. For more information, please call Armeta Bernardat 878-4042.

From the Chair of the College Senate
Information on the Richardson Olmsted Complex that was presented at the February 13 College Senate meeting is available on the wall racks outside the College Senate Office, Cleveland Hall 211.

From the Dean of Students
Applications and nominations are requested for students to be considered for the following student awards (deadline for nominations is Friday, February 27):

Student Leadership Awards:

• Mildred Keller Campbell Leadership Award
• Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges
• Phillip Santa Maria Award for Student Leadership in Equity and Campus Diversity

Student Humanitarian Awards:

• Luis M. Antonetti Student Humanitarian Award
• Minnie and Joe Engel Student Humanitarian Award
• Phillip Santa Maria Memorial Award

Nomination forms are available online. For information, contact Charles B. Kenyon, dean of students, 878-4618.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
The deadline to submit applications for the SUNY B-140W Tuition Assistance Program for the spring 2009 semester is Friday, February 27. Staff members may apply for tuition assistance after six months of service; faculty members may apply after one semester of service. The following employees are eligible:

• Full-time Buffalo State faculty and professional or classified employees.
• Part-time and/or temporary Buffalo State faculty and professional or classified employees who are employed at least half time (faculty must teach at least two courses in the semester).
• Full-time Research Foundation employees provided they work on the Buffalo State campus.

Program funds may be used for courses at SUNY campuses only. Eligible employees may apply for a 50 percent waiver of SUNY tuition for up to two courses per semester, to a maximum of 15 credit hours per academic year. Tuition assistance is limited to regular in-state undergraduate or graduate tuition rates. The level of support may be adjusted when necessary if funding is not adequate to cover applications received. Contact theHuman Resource Management Office, 878-4821, for applications and program guidelines.