Andrea Nikischer, associate professor and chair of the Social and Psychological Foundations of Education and Adult Education Department, completed the 2022–2023 Charles E. Scheidt Faculty Fellows Program in Atrocity Prevention at Binghamton University. “The Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP) at Binghamton University has pioneered the Charles E. Scheidt Faculty Fellows in Atrocity Prevention program to engage faculty in a guided process of learning and exploration of the potential for their own disciplines to contribute to atrocity prevention. Fellows learn from I-GMAP’s faculty, staff, and practitioner visitors and alongside faculty from a wide range of disciplines both within their cohort and from previous cohorts. The program culminates with each faculty member modifying at least one of their own courses to integrate an atrocity prevention lens through innovative and engaged pedagogical approaches.”

Camille Holmgren, professor of geosciences, and her graduate school advisor and long-time colleague, Julio Betancourt, were interviewed separately by Arizona Public Media, the PBS affiliate in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Holmgren’s part was filmed in January at the University of Arizona Desert Laboratory, where she worked as a graduate student, and Picacho Peak State Park, in Arizona. The result is a short feature on their research using fossil packrat middens, which aired Sunday, July 16, on the local weekly PBS show Arizona Illustrated.

Watch the clip.

Sourav Biswas, assistant professor; Jinseok Heo, associate professor; and Joonyeong Kim, professor, from the Buffalo State University Chemistry Department have been awarded a 2023 SUNY OER Services Impact Grant for their proposal “Creation of Open Education Resources Using a Problem-Based-Learning Pedagogical Approach for a First-Year Chemistry Course.”

Angella Rocklein, communication management specialist in Student Affairs, was recently named Volunteer of the Year by Crisis Services. Ms. Rocklein has been volunteering as a hospital advocate within the Advocate Department, supporting survivors of sexual assault, rape, and domestic violence across Erie County emergency rooms, for the last year and a half.

Dana Faye Serure, assistant professor of history and social studies education, facilitated a two-day conference for the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Summer Institute, which was held June 26–28 at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Serure co-presented with Tina Ellsworth, assistant professor of education at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The summer institute was co-sponsored by a Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources grant. Their session provided professional development for K–12 social studies teachers and teacher educators on inquiry with primary sources and instructional engagement strategies. Dr. Serure presented on how to plan and implement taking informed action for all grade levels. Participants developed their own inquiry design blueprint and discussed best-practices learned from various inquiry models.

Sourav Biswas, assistant professor of chemistry, organized and chaired a symposium, “Greener Catalytic Oxidation Processes,” at the 27th annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, sponsored by the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute, held June 13–15 in Long Beach, California (and in hybrid format). The symposium featured speakers from industry and academia with a focus on design of novel materials by employing more abundant elements for oxidation reactions under “green” conditions. Michael Vullo, a chemistry major who conducts research under the guidance of Dr. Biswas, presented his work on oxidative deprotection chemistry. Dr. Biswas acknowledged the contribution of the EURO program of the Undergraduate Research Office.

The Creative Services team in the Marketing and Communications Office—Brian Kantz, creative services director; Chantel Kutzbach, art director; Ken Giangreco, video production manager; John Myers, video journalist and production assistant; Jesse Steffan-Colucci, photographer; David Ross, chief TV engineer; and Nancy Paschke, editorial director—won three awards in the 2023 State University of New York Council for University Advancement (SUNYCUAD) Awards for Excellence competition:

Excellence in Design (Magazine or Periodical)—Buffalo State University “1300 Elmwood Magazine”

Excellence in Design (Single-Page Publication)—Buffalo State University “Bengala Invitation”

Excellence in Video—Buffalo State University “International Students Welcome”

The annual SUNYCUAD Awards for Excellence program recognizes top work from SUNY’s 64 campuses. All judging is performed by peers working in marketing and development offices across the system.

Jane Cushman, chair and associate professor of mathematics, and her coauthors published the article "Merging Inquiry and Math Teachers’ Circles: The Math Circles of Inquiry Project" in the June-July issue of the American Mathematical Society’s magazine Notices 70 (6): 963–967.

Luke Haumesser, associate director of student leadership and engagement, was invited by the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) to present at the annual Facilities Management Seminar, which was held June 12–14 at Syracuse University. His presentation, "The Intersection between Free Speech and Facilities Management," focused on the unique challenges and opportunities experienced by student unions and activities professionals when balancing the principles of free speech within the context of higher education. The presentation discussed how college campuses serve as important hubs for open dialogue and diverse perspectives while also needing to ensure the safety, functionality, and inclusivity of our spaces.

Alice Villaseńor, associate director of the Civic and Community Engagement Office (CCE), and Talia Rodriguez, associate director of West Side Promise Neighborhood (WSPN), facilitated the session “Service-Learning Pre-Reflections: A Food Security Reflection Activity” at the conference Beyond the Classroom: Community-Engaged Teaching and Research, held at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, on June 2.

Their session on pre-reflection combined a brief informational presentation with a practical demonstration. The CCE team highlighted research on the importance of pre-reflection for student learning in community-engaged learning courses. They then discussed a specific food security reflection activity that the WSPN invites its new stakeholders (including community-engaged learning students) to complete. Participants completed their own food reflections and discussed what they learned from the activity.