From the Interim President
At its December 11, 2009, meeting, the College Senate voted to approve and forward the following motion to the interim president for review and final action:

Motion to Change the Major Declaration Policy for Undergraduate Students
Introduced by the Standards for Students Committee on November 13, 2009; revision introduced on December 11, 2009 (co-sponsored by the Student Welfare Committee)

Whereas Buffalo State College is required to comply with federal policy related to financial aid eligibility to disburse aid—including the federal policy that states the campus federal aid policy must be the same as or stricter than the standard academic policy, and

Whereas the current campus policy requiring a student to declare a major by 45 credits is not enforced by the campus, which results in the de facto enforcement of a major declaration policy being enforced by the campus federal aid policy, which states students must declare a major by 57 credits, and

Whereas if a change to the major declaration policy is not made, all students with more than 45 credits who have not declared a major will abruptly become ineligible for federal aid, and

Whereas giving students until the end of their sophomore year (instead of the end of the first semester of their sophomore year) will not affect students’ timely graduation given the general education courses that must be completed for a Buffalo State College undergraduate degree, and

Whereas changing credit verbiage to class-standing verbiage will allow this policy to hold even if class-standing increments are altered, and

Whereas after review of the 2007–2009 and 2009–2011 catalog policies have indicated the need for both “native” and transfer students to declare a major by the same deadline,

Therefore, be it resolved that the Senate recommend that the major declaration policy be changed to the following, effective spring 2010:

Declaring an Academic Major
All students must declare a major before completing the credits required for junior class level. It is recommended that all students declare a major upon completing 30 credit hours. Before declaring a major, students should seek the advice of the chair of the department or division responsible for the major. A Change of Major form, available from the chair, must then be completed and sent to the Registrar’s Office.

Some academic programs have special requirements that the student must meet before being admitted as a major. For example, fine arts candidates must submit a portfolio of representative work. The department chair or program coordinator can provide information on specific requirements.

The current policy (Undergraduate Catalog 2009–2011, p. 27) reads as follows:

Declaring an Academic Major
All students who start as freshmen at the college must declare a major before completing 45 credit hours. It is strongly recommended that new freshmen declare a major upon completing 30 credit hours. Transfer students who have completed more than 44 credit hours must declare a major at the time of application for admission. Before declaring a major, students should seek the advice of the chair of the department or division responsible for the major. A Change of Major form, available from the chair, must then be completed and sent to the Registrar’s Office.

Some academic programs have special requirements that the student must meet before being admitted as a major. For example, fine arts candidates must submit a portfolio of representative work. The department chair or program coordinator can provide information on specific requirements.

The recommended policy would read as follows:

Declaring an Academic Major
All students must declare a major before completing credits that would result in achieving “junior class level” standing. It is recommended that all students declare a major upon completing 30 credit hours. Before declaring a major, students should seek the advice of the chair of the department or the associate dean of the school/college responsible for the major.

A Change of Major form, available from the chair or the associate dean, must then be completed and sent to the Registrar’s Office.

Some academic programs have special requirements that the student must meet before being admitted as a major. For example, fine arts candidates must submit a portfolio of representative work. The department chair or program coordinator can provide information on specific requirements.

I approve the revisions to the policy to change the Major Declaration for Undergraduate Students recommended by the College Senate. I authorize the interim provost to oversee the implementation of the new policy, effective with the spring 2010 semester.

Join the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State forRendezBlue: Chance Operations from Thursday, February 11, to Sunday, February 14. This fifth installment of RendezBlue, Lecture on the Weather: John Cage in Buffalo, celebrates the influential American composer’s more than 20 visits to Buffalo from 1966 to 1991.

Download the full program for more information and the complete schedule of events. All programs are free and open to the public.

From the Chair of the Senate Curriculum Committee
The deadline for all course and program proposal submissions is Monday, March 15. Any submission received after that date will not be reviewed until fall 2010.

Technical issues with SharePoint are handled, via Neil Palmer in Computing and Technology Services, at 878-4611. The Senate Office does not handle SharePoint technical problems.

When submitting a course on SharePoint, the signed blue routing form must be delivered to the Senate Office in order for it to be forwarded to the Bulletin editor and to the Curriculum Committee for review. If possible, submit the routing form before going to SharePoint, if the course has been approved at the department level. This will eliminate confusion and backups in the Senate Office.

From the Senior Adviser to the President for Equity and Campus Diversity
The following programs have been approved for spring semester Equity and Campus Diversity Program Grants:

African Drumming Ensemble
$1,000
Tiffany Nicely, Lecturer, Music
Students will study and perform music from West African cultures in combination with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Percussive Arts Society.

Holocaust and the Middle East
$900
Alan Podet, Professor, Philosophy and Humanities
Panel on the Holocaust and its relations to current conflicts in the Middle East. Guests will include a Holocaust survivor, a high school teacher with expertise in Holocaust education, and Drew Kahn, faculty and organizer of the Anne Frank Project.

A Shifting Emotional Habitus: Bowers vs. Hardwick and the Emergence of the Direct Action AIDS Movement
$800
John Abromeit, Assistant Professor, History and Social Studies Education
Deborah Gould, assistant professor of sociology, University of California Santa Cruz, will address how participants in the AIDS awareness movement were themselves transformed to contest negative attitudes toward people with AIDS.

International Cultural Fiesta
$400
International Student Organization
Fiesta will showcase cultures of international students with particular focus on Haiti.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
The Buffalo State College Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a confidential assessment, referral, and information service available to all New York State employees and their family members. EAP coordinators are specially trained to assist Buffalo State employees and their family members in finding professional service providers in the community to help with personal or work-related problems such as emotional stress, depression, substance abuse, domestic violence, or marital discord. Coordinators also provide information on local resources for issues such as child care, elder care, and legal and financial services. 

If you need help with a personal or family matter, please call one of the campus coordinators: Ann Ellement, Al Galone, or Aaron Hudson at 878-6699. All calls and discussions are strictly confidential.

More information about EAP is available on the Buffalo State College Web site.

From the Interim Provost
The Health and Wellness Department has been newly constituted with offices in Houston Gym 216. The acting program coordinator is Dr. Scott Roberts, and the department secretary is Barb Olivieri, available at 878-6501. Questions about the department should be directed to the Office of the Dean of Natural and Social Sciences.

From the Interim Provost
It is my pleasure to announce the following sabbatical leaves for the 2010–2011 academic year:

Fall 2010
Jozef Bajus, Design
Kimberley Irvine, Geography and Planning
Peter Mercer, Mathematics
Michael Parks, Art Education

Spring 2011
Tina Colaizzo-Anas, Dietetics and Nutrition
Pixita del Prado Hill, Elementary Education and Reading
Eric Krieg, Sociology
Ronnie Mahler, Social Work
Amy McMillan, Biology
Christopher Pennuto, Biology
Crystal Reinoso, Music
Keith Schmidli, Educational Foundations
David Wilson, Mathematics

Fall 2010 and Spring 2011
Dan MacIsaac, Physics

Buffalo State College is pleased to welcome poet Hoa Nguyen to campus on Friday, February 26, at 1:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 313 for a reading and discussion of her work. The event is free and open to the public.

Nguyen was born in Vinh Long, Vietnam, near Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and grew up in the Washington, D.C., area. She earned an M.F.A. in poetics from New College of California in San Francisco. She has written seven books and chapbooks, most recently Hecate Lochia (Hot Whiskey Press, 2009) and Kiss a Bomb Tattoo (Effing Press, 2009). Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies, including Black Dog Black Night (Milkweed, 2007) and Best of Fence (Fence Books, 2009).

Nguyen is coeditor of the small press and poetry journalSkanky Possum, from which Robert Creeley selected poems for inclusion in The Best American Poetry 2002. Now living in Austin, Texas, she curates a reading series and leads a creative writing workshop. The University of Iowa Press will publish an essay by Nguyen in the forthcoming anthology Poets on Teaching.

This event is sponsored by the Buffalo State College English Department, Just Buffalo Literary Center, and the Buffalo State College Auxiliary Services Grant Allocation Committee. Nguyen will also speak to Dr. Gregg Biglieri’s Introduction to Poetry class at noon in Ketchum Hall 315.

The Philosophy and Humanities Department has announced its spring 2010 faculty-student colloquium series. All sessions will be held in Bishop Hall 245 and are free and open to the public. Contact Kimberly Blessing, associate professor and department chair, with questions.

Adoption and Respect
Tuesday, February 23
3:00–5:00 p.m.
Presenter: Jason Grinnell, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Commentator: Michael Cardus, Senior, Philosophy Major

Aristophanes, Aristotle, and Socrates: On Love (Eros) and Virtue
Thursday, March 4
12:15–1:30 p.m.
Presenter: David Whitehead, Junior, Philosophy and English Majors
Commentator: Ryan Harvey, Junior, Philosophy Major

Stoicism as Game Theory: A Solution to the Prisoner’s Dilemma
Tuesday, March 23
12:15–1:30 p.m.
Presenter: Joseph Yoder, Senior, Philosophy Major and Sterling Scholar, Religion Minor
Commentator: Matt Guminiak, Junior, Philosophy Major

Same-Sex Marriage
Tuesday, April 6
12:15–1:30 p.m.
Presenter: Marguerite Goglia, Senior, Philosophy Major, Sociology Minor
Commentator: Errin Doyle, Senior, Philosophy Major

By Tony Astran

Buffalo State is in the midst of Class Visit Day, a program designed to give admitted students a taste of academic life on campus and encourage them to enroll this fall. The program, which began yesterday and runs through Friday, is coordinated by the Admissions Office.

As many as 50 prospective students will be on campus each day. The program provides a welcome discussion, an opportunity to attend a 9:00 or 9:25 a.m. class, and a campus tour led by student ambassadors. At least two-thirds of students who attend the program enroll at Buffalo State, said Kenneth Robinson, admissions assistant and Class Visit Day coordinator.

“The program offers students unique insights,” he said. “By attending a class, they can see what it’s like to be a Buffalo State student. It’s a real-life experience, and they’ll see the personal attention they can receive with a small student-to-teacher ratio.”

“They’ll also see the quality of our professors,” added Carmela Thompson, director of admissions.

About 20 classes are available for students to attend throughout the three-day period. Some faculty members have made sections available at other times for students who cannot arrive in the morning or seek a more specialized experience.

Robinson assumed coordination of Class Visit Day in 2006 and said the program has since grown from about 60 students to 150. He said this year’s program is the most collaborative in history, with the Alumni Affairs Office, Barnes & Noble at Buffalo State Bookstore, and Campus Dining Services helping out by donating raffle items. In addition, the Parking Services Office has reserved part of Lot M-1 and is providing shuttle service for guests.

This year’s Class Visit Day also features a panel discussion for parents. While students are attending classes, representatives from the Career Development Center, the Financial Aid Office, the Residence Life Office, University College, and the University Police Department will discuss their respective areas and answer questions.

Class Visit Day is one of many components intended to increase student yield for Buffalo State. Other events include Spring Open House, Saturday campus visits, presentations to high school counselors, and off-site receptions and visits by admissions counselors. In addition, a luncheon for admitted students who were offered scholarships will take place this Saturday at the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College.