Mark your calendars! We will celebrate the retirement of Larry Flood, dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences, on Monday, April 28, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210. Details to follow.

Please join the Houghton Chapter for "An Introduction to the New York State Historic Preservation Office," by Dr. Nancy Herter, Historic Preservation Program Specialist, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, tonight at 7:00 p.m. The Houghton Chapter is part of the New York State Archaeological Association whose purpose it is to promote archaeological and historical study and research covering the artifacts, rites, customs, beliefs, and cultures of the aboriginal occupants of New York State up to and including their contact with the Europeans. All Houghton Chapter meetings are free and open to the public. Lectures are held at the Buffalo Museum of Science—please join us!

According to the SUNY policy, "Any student in a SUNY institution of higher education who is unable, because of his or her religious beliefs, to attend classes on a particular day or days shall, because of such absence on the particular day or days, be excused from any examination or any study or work assignments. It shall be the responsibility of the faculty and of the administrative officials of each institution of higher education to make available to each student who is absent from school, because of his or her religious beliefs, an equivalent opportunity to register for classes or to make up any examination, study, or work assignment which he or she may have missed because of such absence on a particular day or days."

Dr. Diane Ramos, assistant professor of Natural Sciences at Daemen College, will present "Differential Expression of Engrailed-family members in Bicyclus anyana: Implications for Evolution of a Morphological Novelty" on Tuesday, April 1, during Bengal Pause (12:15–1:30pm) in Science Building 272. A reception will follow. All students and faculty are welcome and encouraged to attend. The speaker series is sponsored by grants from the Auxiliary Services Grant Allocation Committee and the Equity and Campus Diversity Mini-Grant Program.

Join a group of campus members who are learning how to use SPSS Text Analysis for Surveys software to analyze existing open-ended (qualitative) text, or open-ended text you are planning to acquire. Our orientation session will take place today, Wednesday, March 19, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 318. You are invited to join our weekly work group, which meets on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., during the month of April. An introduction of the software, as well as an opportunity to meet with others who have made use of it, will take place in a congenial atmosphere. For more information contact Sharon Cramer at ext. 4334.

The Buffalo State Alumni Association invites you to attend a special reception on Thursday, March 20, at 6:30 p.m. in Caudell Hall's Margaret Grant Lounge. This reception precedes the performance of Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical at 8:00 p.m. in Warren Enters Theatre, Upton Hall. This production is presented by the Theater Department and Casting Hall Productions.

The CASTL Advisory Committee and Academic Affairs will award 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 welcomed; however, the committee will give priority to projects that focus on the following areas:

The Auxiliary Services Grant Allocation Committee (GAC) is requesting proposals from individuals, departments, and student clubs and organizations for funding of programs, speakers, and events to take place during the 2008–2009 academic year. The application and guidelines have been updated; interested individuals are encouraged to review this document. The deadlines for submitting applications under this funding cycle are as follows:

Dr. George DeBoer is a National Science Foundation policy leader and deputy director of Project 2061, the American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) massive twenty year project that has focused on ways to help all Americans become literate in science, mathematics, and technology. This project has produced a plethora of data, documents, and resources for educators in the United States, Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, and China. DeBoer will be sharing recent middle school assessment data collected through the AAAS. This speaker session is sponsored by a grant from the Auxiliary Services Grant Allocation Committee and other sources. Date: Thursday, April 10, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. in Science Building 213. All are welcome to attend.

The Fashion and Textile Technology program has invited guest speaker Dr. KeunYoung Oh, from Auburn University's Department of Consumer Affairs, to speak on the topic of "Forecasting and Consumer Understanding" on Thursday, March 20, during Bengal Pause (12:15-1:30 p.m.) in Caudell Hall 212. Please join us.