Buffalo State's Banner system will be upgraded on Saturday, December 8. Work will begin at 8:00 a.m. and continue until approximately noon. Banner will be unavailable during that time.
Faculty will be entering their fall grades on Banner beginning Monday, December 10. In preparation, faculty are encouraged to log on to Banner, and check to be sure that all of their courses are listed under their account. If the list is incorrect, please call the Registrar's Office at ext. 4811.
Twenty-two years after she was selected as Christa McAuliffe's backup in NASA's Teacher in Space Program, Barbara Morgan became the first educator-astronaut in space as a mission specialist with the space shuttle Endeavour in August 2007. Morgan trained side by side with McAuliffe and witnessed the 1986 Challenger accident. The Teacher in Space Project was suspended following that accident, but Morgan continued to work with NASA. She conducted visits that McAuliffe would have made, talking in schools all over the country, and later returned to teaching in McCall, Idaho. In 1998, she became a full-fledged astronaut as part of NASA&';s new Educator-Astronaut Project. Thanks to the efforts of Kenneth Huff, a Buffalo State College alum, science teacher at Mill Middle, and participant in NASA's Teaching from Space Program, Buffalo State College will enjoy a visit by this sought-after presenter. On Tuesday, December 4, at 12:15 p.m. in the Buckham Campus School, Barbara Morgan will present to nearly 200 middle school children as well as campus faculty, staff, and students. This event is free and open to the campus community. Questions can be directed to the School of Education at ext. 4214.
The Buffalo State College literacy specialist program has openings for school-aged children at the Literacy Center in February 2008. New York State–certified teachers who are studying to be literacy specialists will provide tutoring (in the area of literacy) for students on Monday or Wednesday evenings beginning in February. This service is free to the children of faculty, staff, and students. Other children are welcome for a small cost. Please contact the Literacy Center at ext. 5917 or garasyka@buffalostate.edu for more details.
Robert H. Blessing, senior research scientist from the Hauptman-Woodward Institute (HWI), will give the third lecture part of the Colloquium Series in Applied Mathematics, titled "Crystals — Diffraction Physics — Crystallography," at 3:00 p.m. today in Butler Library 210. We expect this presentation to be informal and interactive, with discussions happening during the presentation. For more information, visit the Web site. Note: The last event of this series is a hands-on tour of the Hauptman Woodward Institute on study day, Friday, December 7, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. You can sign up for the trip to HWI during the presentation on Friday or e-mail carbonjo@buffalostate.edu. Attendance is limited; sign up as soon as possible.
It was announced yesterday that 16 faculty members were being recognized by Residence Life student staff as outstanding faculty at Buffalo State. Five more names have been added to the list:
The seventh annual Artists in Buffalo Holiday Open Studios and Galleries is Friday, November 30, 5:00–9:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, December 1 and 2, 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Over 100 artists and galleries—including the Museum Store at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center during regular museum hours—will throw open their doors to give everyone the chance to meet local artists, to visit the actual spaces where art is created, and to purchase art.
Join the Burchfield-Penney for a poetry reading by Barbara D. Holender and Sam Magavern on Sunday, December 2, at 2:00 p.m.
Nothing says "Christmas" like the smell of pine in your living room on a winter morning! But is that smell really "green" or is it bad for the planet? If you want a tree for the holiday, the experts at Grist and TreeHugger say it's actually better to buy a cut real Christmas tree than an artificial tree. Fake trees are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Producing this type of plastic creates a lot of pollution, and it's difficult to recycle. Plus, lead has been found in PVC. According to a report in the Journal of Environmental Health, lead levels are higher in older artificial trees. Farmed Christmas trees are ultimately a renewable resource. Growing trees absorb carbon dioxide, and after the holidays, the trees can be recycled into mulch. Check Earth 911 to see where to take your dead tree after the holidays. A live tree is often promoted as the ultimate eco-friendly holiday option, but it's not that simple. If the ground is frozen outside, you can't do it. Also, you can only keep a live tree indoors for a few days. So, the most practical solution for earth-friendly folks who celebrate Christmas is to look for a locally grown tree. Source: Yahoo! Green
What is COCID? The COCID program provides financial support for intercampus scholarly conferences. Conferences are intended to expand communication within SUNY around ways of leveraging technology to support instruction, learning, and research. The overall emphasis of the conferences will be upon professional development in curricular, instructional, and scholarly matters. By such interchange, both the personal and professional growth of individuals and the programs of instruction and research at participating campuses will be enhanced. Who can apply for COCID funding? COCID proposals are invited from individuals and departments from one or more of the 64 campuses in SUNY—community colleges, colleges of technology, specialized colleges, and university centers. Where can I find out more information? Detailed COCID submission guidelines and information on submitting proposals is available online. Submission deadline! March 1, 2008.