From the President
At its December 12, 2008, meeting, the College Senate voted to approve and forward the following motion as a recommendation to the president for review and action”

WHEREAS, the goals of Advanced Foundations of Inquiry (BSC 301) to facilitate transfer student transition and improve the academic performance of such students remain crucially important to Buffalo State, but at present the college has insufficient data to presume that a single course will resolve identified transfer student issues,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that paragraph III.A.2. of the Intellectual Foundations resolution as amended, be removed, thereby eliminating the Intellectual Foundations requirement for Advanced Foundations of Inquiry (BSC 301), and that transfer student issues be further investigated by the college to determine an appropriate response.

I hereby accept the recommendation of the College Senate and approve the amendment to the Intellectual Foundations resolution, eliminating the requirement for Advanced Foundations of Inquiry (BSC 301) for transfer students. I charge the provost with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of these revisions and also charge him with the responsibility of establishing a process to further investigate transfer issues.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The Academic Plan Committee of the College Senate will hold two open forums to facilitate discussion of the Strategic Plan and Academic Plan (2009–2013). The forums will be held on Tuesday, February 3, from noon to 1:30 p.m. (Bengal Pause) in Bacon Hall 117, and on Friday, February 6, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210. Light refreshments will be served. Your participation is highly valued, as it enables the College Senate to advance campus concerns about the Strategic and Academic plans via elected governance members.

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.

From the Vice President for Student Affairs
Applications and nominations are requested for the following student awards. The deadline for nominations for all awards 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 and from the Academic and Student Affairs Office, Cleveland Hall 519; the Student Life Office, Campbell Student Union 400; the Dean of Students Office, Campbell Student Union 306; United Students Government, Campbell Student Union 402; the Student Union Information Desk, Campbell Student Union lobby; Residence Life, Porter Hall; the Career Development Center, Cleveland Hall 306; Weigel Health Center; and the Intercollegiate Athletics Office, Sports Arena. Completed nomination folders must be submitted to the Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Office, Campbell Student Union 306, by the specified deadline, Friday, February 27.

For additional information, contact Charles B. Kenyon, associate vice president and dean of students, 878-4618, or Dolores Battle, co-chair, President’s Council on Equity and Campus Diversity, 878-6210 for the Phillip Santa Maria Award for Student Leadership in Equity and Campus Diversity.

The Mildred Keller Campbell Leadership Award
The Mildred Keller Campbell Leadership Awardrecognizes a Buffalo State College student whose work has had a positive impact on student life and who has excelled as an extracurricular leader among students on campus. The award is offered annually to an undergraduate student based on the evaluation of the nominee’s leadership credentials in accordance with established criteria. A plaque and award citing the recipient’s distinction is presented at a ceremony held in the spring semester, and the recipient may receive a monetary award, pending availability of funds.

Criteria for Selection:

• Undergraduate student.
• Minimum of 24 credit hours completed at Buffalo State College.
• Minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5.
• Strong record of extracurricular leadership at Buffalo State College, demonstrated through personal development, campus organizational leadership, and citizenship and community service.

Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges Award 2008–2009
For nearly seven decades, Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges has assisted in the tradition of furthering the aims of higher education by recognizing and rewarding academic excellence on a national level. Buffalo State is among the 1,900 institutions participating in this national program. As a lifetime benefit, students selected for inclusion in Who’s Who are entitled to use a free reference/placement service when seeking postgraduate employment or fellowships. A certificate citing the recipient’s distinction is presented at a ceremony held in the spring.

Criteria for Selection:

• Undergraduate junior or senior with a minimum of 24 credit hours completed at Buffalo State and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
• Graduate student with a minimum GPA of 3.5.
• Strong record of leadership at Buffalo State, demonstrated through personal development, organizational leadership, citizenship, and community service.

Phillip Santa Maria Award for Student Leadership in Equity and Campus Diversity
For 25 years, Dr. Phillip Santa Maria served as dean of students at Buffalo State College. During his tenure, he was recognized both on campus and throughout the community for his leadership on a variety of diversity and social justice issues. The Phillip Santa Maria Award for Student Leadership in Equity and Campus Diversity has been established in his honor and will be given annually to recognize students who exemplify Dr. Santa Maria’s commitment to service, social justice, and diversity.

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to submit nominations of student leaders who exemplify his commitment to service, social justice, and diversity through promoting respect for diversity and individual differences in their activities, projects, discussions, or their leadership with student organizations and groups for this purpose.

Eligibility:

Undergraduate and graduate students at Buffalo State College who are in good standing with the college.

Criteria:

The recipients must have demonstrated leadership in the promotion of respect for diversity and individual differences through their roles in organizing discussions, curricular experiences, out of classroom experiences, special projects, or programming that goes beyond that usually expected of a student.

• Recipients must demonstrate leadershipin encouraging their peers to embrace diversity and to appreciate the benefits of diversity on campus, in the community, and in their everyday lives.
• Recipients must have created or played asignificant leadership role in initiatives or programs that promote access, equity, or social justice in relation to the diversity of thought, diversity of experiences, and diversity of values of other aspects of diversity within the college or the broader community.

The Luis M. Antonetti Student Humanitarian Award
The Luis M. Antonetti Student Humanitarian Awardrecognizes a Buffalo State College undergraduate student who has demonstrated personal character through encouragement of nonviolent beliefs and actions and volunteer service both on campus and in the community, and who demonstrates an ability to reach out to others with broad cultural acceptance. A plaque and award citing the recipient’s distinction is presented at a ceremony held in the spring, and the recipient may receive a monetary award, pending availability of funds.

Criteria for Selection:

• Undergraduate sophomore, junior, or senior enrolled full time (minimum 12 credit hours) at Buffalo State College during the academic year in which the award is made.
• Evidence of exemplary personal character, altruism, and advocacy for nonviolence.
• Evidence of volunteer service on campus and within the larger community while a student at Buffalo State College.
• Evidence of financial need. Financial need will be considered but will not be the determining factor.

The Minnie and Joe Engel Student Humanitarian Award
The Minnie and Joe Engel Student Humanitarian Awardrecognizes a Buffalo State College undergraduate student who has demonstrated personal character through altruism, volunteer service, and the giving of oneself to the campus and the larger community. The Engel Humanitarian Award recognizes the full measure of a person’s worth, not just as a scholar, but as someone whose efforts on behalf of others define a quality of character that embodies core values that merit recognition. A plaque and award citing the recipient’s distinction is presented at a ceremony held in the spring, and the recipient may receive a monetary award, pending availability of funds.

Criteria for Selection:

• Undergraduate sophomore, junior, or senior enrolled full time (minimum 12 credit hours) at Buffalo State College during the academic year in which the award is made.
• Evidence of exemplary personal character and altruism.
• Evidence of volunteer service on campus and within the larger community while a student at Buffalo State College.

The Phillip Santa Maria Memorial Award

The Phillip Santa Maria Memorial Award recognizes a Buffalo State College undergraduate student who has demonstrated a well-rounded character, exhibiting not only scholastic achievement but also active participation in campus life at Buffalo State College and in the Western New York community and a desire to improve the world. A plaque and award citing the recipient’s distinction is presented at a ceremony held in the spring, and the recipient may receive a monetary award, pending availability of funds.

Criteria for Selection:

• Undergraduate junior or senior enrolled full time (minimum 12 credit hours) at Buffalo State College during the academic year in which the award is made.
• GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• Evidence of high integrity.
• Evidence of volunteer service on campus and within the larger community while a student at Buffalo State College.

From the Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Faculty and staff are asked to share the following information with their students:

Applications are now available for the 22 scholarship opportunities offered through the Buffalo State Alumni Association. Scholarships range from $150 to $1,000. To apply, students must submit a completed application form, an essay, and two reference forms to the Alumni Affairs Office, Cleveland Hall 305, by 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 3. Applications are available online or from the Alumni Affairs Office, 878-6001, Cleveland Hall 305.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
The Internal Control Act of the State of New York requires Buffalo State College to communicate the following information on agency responsibilities and standards:

The internal control standards define the minimum level of quality acceptable for internal control systems in operation and constitute the criteria against which systems are to be evaluated. These internal control standards apply to all operations and administrative functions (both manual and automated), but are not intended to limit or interfere with duly granted authority related to development of legislation, rule making, or other discretionary policy making in an agency.

General Standards

1. Reasonable Assurance. Internal control systems are to provide reasonable assurance that the objectives of the systems will be accomplished.
2. Supportive Attitude. Managers and employees are to maintain and demonstrate a positive and supportive attitude toward internal controls at all times.
3. Competent Personnel. Managers and employees are to have personal and professional integrity and are to maintain a level of competence that allows them to accomplish their assigned duties, as well as to understand the importance of developing and implementing good internal controls.
4. Control Objectives. Internal control objectives are to be identified or developed for each agency activity and are to be logical, applicable, and reasonably complete.
5. Control Techniques. Internal control techniques are to be effective and efficient in accomplishing their internal control objectives.
6. Continuous Monitoring. Agency heads are to establish and maintain a program of internal review designed to identify internal control weaknesses and implement changes needed to correct the weaknesses.

Specific Standards

1. Documentation. Internal control systems and all transactions and other significant events are to be clearly documented, and the documentation is to be readily available for examination.
2. Recording of Transactions and Events.Transactions and other significant events are to be promptly recorded and properly classified.
3. Execution of Transactions and Events.Transactions and other significant events are to be authorized and executed only by persons acting within the scope of their authority.
4. Separation of Duties. Key duties and responsibilities in authorizing, processing, recording, and reviewing transactions should be separated among individuals.
5. Supervision. Qualified and continuous supervision is to be provided to ensure that internal control objectives are achieved.
6. Access to and Accountability for Resources. Access to resources and records is to be limited to authorized individuals, and accountability for the custody and use of resources is to be assigned and maintained. Periodic comparison shall be made of the resources to the recorded accountability to determine whether the two agree. The frequency of the comparison shall be a function of the vulnerability of the asset.

Audit Resolution Standard

Prompt Resolution of Audit Findings. Managers are to (1) promptly evaluate findings and recommendations reported by auditors, (2) determine proper actions in response to audit findings and recommendations, and (3) complete, within reasonable time frames, all actions that correct or otherwise resolve matters brought to management’s attention.

Contact Rebecca J. Schenk, director of budget and internal controls, 878-4312, with questions about the Internal Control Act.

By Mary A. Durlak

Jill M. Norvilitis, associate professor of psychology, and Margaret E. Schrembs, secretary I in College Relations, have been honored with SUNY Chancellor’s Awards.

The awards will be formally presented to Norvilitis and Schrembs during the college’s 23rd annual Academic Convocation ceremony on September 16 in Rockwell Hall Auditorium.

Norvilitis received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in recognition of the outstanding skills she brings to her classroom. She has taught 12 different courses and used a variety of techniques to ensure that her students are engaged and enthusiastic learners. Although her classes are demonstrably challenging, students consistently identify her as an effective teacher.

Outside the classroom, Norvilitis continues to be an invaluable resource to her students by her service as director for more than 40 independent studies, chair for 11 honors thesis committees, and as a mentor and adviser who is acclaimed by students. Her commitment to teaching is underscored by her recent appointments as, respectively, a Carnegie Academy of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Fellow, and a Volunteer and Service Learning Fellow.

In addition to her active involvement with her students, Norvilitis is a highly productive, exceptional scholar with 20 publications in refereed journals and three papers submitted for publications. In addition, she has encouraged her students to pursue original research, and her students have presented 50 poster sessions at the college’s annual Undergraduate Research and Creativity Celebration. She has also mentored students in the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program.

Norvilitis joined Buffalo State as an assistant professor of psychology in 1997, and she was promoted to associate professor in 2003. She has been an active member of the campus at large as well as of the Psychology Department, serving on many committees and in many volunteer capacities.

Schrembs received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service. She started her career with SUNY at Cortland State in 1981, and has worked at Buffalo State for the last 15 years. As secretary I in College Relations, she has combined the highest degree of professionalism with an unflappable, can-do manner—all the while maintaining good humor.

As the sole support person in an office of 15 professional staff in an office that deals with campus emergencies, constant deadlines, and demanding clients, Schrembs has demonstrated flexibility, discretion, and a willingness to reach the highest level of achievement. She plays a prominent role in assisting public relations staff by arranging meetings of the Media Alumni Advisory Board, which includes top TV and print reporters. This assignment requires patience and tact to accommodate the conflicting schedules of the participants.

Her talents and skills include in-depth knowledge of New York State’s purchasing regulations. She efficiently set up blanket purchase orders for creative services including photographers, graphic artists, and outside vendors so that College Relations can respond quickly to campus demands.

A lifelong learner who is adept with new technology, Schrembs has mastered not only standard office software but also customized databases behind several College Relations’ Web products. When the Human Resource Management Office implemented a Web-based system, Schrembs was called upon to serve on the testing and implementation team because of her expertise with the college’s recruitment and advertising program.

Her patience, discretion, and deep commitment to the mission of Buffalo State make Schrembs a key member of the College Relations team.

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

June 2010

Sue McMillen, Professor, Mathematics
$33,238
Buffalo Public Schools
“MSP–Math Focus 2010–2011 School Year–Services”

Sue McMillen, Professor, Mathematics
$20,000
Buffalo Public Schools
“MSP–Math Focus 2010–2011 School Year–Tuition”

Robert Skutnik, Senior Program Coordinator, Center for Health and Social Research
$7,500
New York State Victim Assistance Academy
“NYS Coalition Against Sexual Assault”

Kathy Wood, Director, Center for Excellence in Rural and Urban Education
$67,188
Lackawanna City School District
“21st Century Project–Year 3”

By Mary A. Durlak

On June 8, the first Buffalo State students received their loan monies from the new federal Direct Loan program. The funds, which were disbursed to students enrolled in summer sessions, were credited to the students’ accounts.

“Direct lending to students from the federal government has been around for a while,” said Kent McGowan,financial aid director. “However, it didn’t become a requirement until the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act was passed last spring.”

In the past, higher education loans guaranteed by the federal government were made through individual banks, which reaped the interest in return for processing the loans through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. During the early 1990s, some lawmakers proposed that the federal government make the loans directly to students so that the interest would come to the government instead of the banks, but the idea received substantial opposition. So the Direct Loan program came into existence as an alternative to FFEL rather than as a replacement for it.

After the subprime lending crisis and subsequent market crash of 2008, the country’s banks stumbled and credit dried up. As a result, fewer and fewer banks had money to lend to students for college. When President Barack Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act into law on March 30, 2010, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act was included. It stipulated that any federally guaranteed student loans issued from July 1, 2010, would be direct loans from the federal government to students.

“I think it will be a good thing for our students,” said McGowan. “We anticipate a slightly better turnaround time between when a student applies for a loan and when he or she receives the funds.” The new process, from the student’s perspective, should be very similar to the old process; students still must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). From now on, repayment may be simpler because students will be dealing with just one lender.

However, McGowan is concerned about potentially confusing repayment issues for 2011 graduates who have been taking out student loans since they started college. “A student may have started out with a loan from one bank,” he said, “and then, after that first bank got out of the student loan business, the student got a loan from another bank. That student will have several loans to repay.” Another complicating factor is that a loan servicing organization such as Sallie Mae could handle payment processing for different banks as well as for the new direct loans. It’s possible that a student owing, for example, $200 a month on his or her student loans could receive four separate bills monthly.

“After they graduate, students may get more than one bill from a loan servicing organization such as Sallie Mae, because Sallie Mae is acting on behalf of more than one lender,” said McGowan. “It’s important that students know that they can consolidate their student loans for easier repayment.”

By Mary A. Durlak

When he first stepped onto the Buffalo State College campus as a freshman 50 years ago, nobody would have guessed that Charles Mancuso, ’66, ’69, would someday become a professor in its Music Department.

“I was planning to go to Gannon University,” said Mancuso, “but at the last minute, I was recruited to come here and play basketball.” With most of the academic programs closed, Mancuso was placed in the industrial arts program. “I didn’t even know how to use a hammer,” he said. He shone on the basketball court, and his other grades were good, but he was on academic probation because he couldn’t run a lathe to save his life.

After a brief absence, Mancuso returned as a history major. But it wasn’t until the Record’s sports editor suggested that he write a music column for the student newspaper that Mancuso found a way to express his earliest passion, music.

“When I was in third grade,” said Mancuso, “I’d spend my Saturday mornings listening to boogie-woogie piano players on my father’s 78s [records].” It wasn’t long before he had a record collection of his own. Instead of a diary, he kept a top 10 list of his favorite new songs every week. “The Four Aces, the Four Lads—I loved that stuff,” he said. Although he played “a little” piano, Mancuso’s real fascination focused on the music, its performers, and the layers of story behind popular music. He calls his courses “history with a beat.”

He started his teaching career at Buffalo State in 1970, and joined the Music Department as a full-time faculty member in 1976, when William H. Tallmadge, music professor and Mancuso’s mentor, retired. At that time, Mancuso taught in Bulger Communication Center. “The classrooms had three screens,” he said, “and I decided to make use of all of them.”

The multimedia course he developed was decades ahead of its time, and it established his reputation as an innovative teacher as well as a passionate scholar of popular music. He featured slides and music; today his courses also incorporate video and sound clips via computer. He still uses three screens in his customized classroom in Rockwell Hall, and he shares iconic and rare photos and posters that illustrate the connections between the music, its makers, literature, films, and politics. “The three screens complement each other,” he said.

In 1996, his many years of writing about music culminated in the publication of Popular Music and the Underground: Foundations of Jazz, Blues, Country & Rock 1900–1950. Critic Jeff Simon of the Buffalo Newsreviewed the encyclopedic book and wrote, “Chuck Mancuso has seen American non-classical music of the 20th century whole—not just jazz and blues and popular music, but country music and cabaret and urban folk music, too.”

Today, his lectures include references to Lady Gaga and Ani DiFranco. And he’s at work on another book that will detail his own encounters with the musical greats who traveled through Buffalo when jazz clubs flourished and “Chaz” was reviewing concerts and records for the student newspaper on campus.

“Buffalo State made it all possible for me,” Mancuso said. “When I started, there was no word for what I was doing—and I was able to do it here.”

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

Read previous Faculty Spotlight stories:

Edward A. Standora
Simeon W. Chilungu 
Al Riess
Kimberley Zittel-Palamara