In a unique collaboration with the Islamic Higher Education Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA), the International Graduate Program for Educators office and the Maurene Callahan Bouras Center for Global Engagement welcomed seven MORA delegates and 21 Indonesian student scholars to Buffalo State University on August 29. The students, who are studying during the fall 2023 semester, major in a variety of disciplines at their home institutions. Their experience at Buffalo State is an opportunity to enroll in courses that support their degree and also explore other subjects of interest while learning about the American education system and culture. As we work toward internationalization, the Buffalo State campus is enriched by the presence of these student scholars. The Center for Global Engagement is working toward an agreement that will allow a new cohort of selected student scholars to come to Buffalo State every semester for the next five years.

Dan MacIsaac, professor of physics, has been appointed a guest associate editor for the AAPT journal the Physics Teacher fall 2023 special paper collection on teaching about climate change and sustainability. The first 10 peer-reviewed articles discussing climate change physics education appear in an over-length September issue of the Physics Teacher. Many of these articles are freely downloadable.

William L. “Bill” Marcy, lecturer in the History and Social Studies Education Department, has just published Narcostates: Civil War, Crime, and the War on Drugs in Mexico and Central America (Boulder and London: Lynne Reinner Publishers, 2023).

Mark Warford, associate professor of modern and classical languages, was featured in the latest NYSAFLT News Member Spotlight (New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers).

Zhang Jie, SUNY Distinguished Professor of sociology and director of Buffalo State’s Center for China Studies, and coauthor Wei Wang published their paper "Social Support, Psychological Strain, and Suicidality: Evidence from Chinese Universities" in the journal Psychology in the Schools, 61 (1): 205–219 (first published online August 2023). Ms. Wei Wang was a visiting scholar to Buffalo State University in 2018–2019 and is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Delaware.

Zhang Jie, SUNY Distinguished Professor of sociology and director of Buffalo State’s Center for China Studies, and coauthors Sibo Zhao, Wenqun Yan, and Lifan Tao published their paper “The Association between Relative Deprivation, Depression, and Youth Suicide: Evidence from a Psychological Autopsy Study” in OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying (Online First DOI: 10.1177/00302228231190595). Dr. Sibo Zhao was a visiting scholar to Buffalo State University in 2010–2011.

Zhang Jie, SUNY Distinguished Professor of sociology and director of the Center for China Studies, and Dwight Hennessy, professor and department chair of psychology, published the article “Disparities in Insecurity, Social Support, and Family Relationships in Association with Poor Mental Health among US Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic” in the journal Scientific Reports 13 (1): 9731. The article’s coauthors were Kexin Zhu, Siyi Wang, Yihua Yue, Beth A. Smith, Zuo-Feng Zhang, Jo L. Freudenheim, Zhongzheng Niu, Joanne Zhang, Ella Smith, Joshua Ye, Ying Cao, Lijian Lei, and Lina Mu.

Zhang Jie, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and director of Buffalo State’s Center for China Studies, published the article “Current Situation and Influencing Factors for Suicidal Intent in Patients with Intentional Acute Pesticide Poisoning” in the journal Frontiers in Public Health 11 doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1168176. The article’s coauthors were Shuang Ma, Zixin Wen, Long Sun, Yingying Zheng, Yanxia Zhang, Longke Shi, Yaqian Li, Guangcai Yu, Baotian Kan, and Xiangdong Jian. Dr. Long Sun was a visiting scholar to Buffalo State University in 2014–2015.

Zhang Jie, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and director of Buffalo State’s Center for China Studies, published the article “Adaptation of the Psychological Strain Scale and an Empirical Testing of the Strain Theory of Suicide by J Zhang in a Russian Sample” in the journal Suicidology (????????????) 14 (50): 14–37. The article’s coauthors were Ksenia Chistopolskaya, Nikita I. Kolachev, Sergey N. Enikolopov, and Sergei E. Drovosekov.

Zhang Jie, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and director of Buffalo State’s Center for China Studies, published the article "Confucianism and Gender Ratios of Suicide in the World: A WHO Data-Based Study" in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20 (3): 2188. The article’s coauthors were Wei Wang and Wayne L. Thompson. Wei Wang was a visiting scholar to Buffalo State University 2018–2019 and is a Ph.D. candidate at University of Delaware.