Thammarat Koottatep, associate professor in the Environmental Engineering and Management program at the Asian Institute of Technology and adjunct associate professor in the Geography and Planning Department at Buffalo State, will present “Challenges and Urgent Needs of Sanitation Interventions” today, September 15, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in Classroom Building B119.

Koottatep has research and education interests in sustainable sanitation and greening the hospitality sector in Thailand. He was the designer of the highly innovative constructed wetland for Phi Phi Island, which was developed to replace the island’s conventional wastewater treatment system destroyed by the 2004 tsunami.

Check out September updates and resources from the Employee Assistance Program! Visit us at www.buffalostate.edu/eap. Be sure to check the "Events" page!

The Volunteer and Service-Learning Center will host its annual Volunteer Fair on Wednesday, September 21, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the upper lobby of the Campbell Student Union. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to visit agency tables and speak with representative from more than 25 organizations. Find individual and group opportunities, including one-time events, short-term activities, or long-term projects.

Please encourage students to attend and to get involved with groups that reflect their passions and interests. There may even be something there for you!

Would you like to be part of an interdisciplinary writing group? You can chose a group that meets on a regular basis to write, a group that meets to provide feedback on manuscripts, or a group that does both. The goal of the writing groups is to support faculty in the production and publication of their scholarly works. New groups will begin as soon as next week.

To be a part of a writing group, complete the interest form.

Weight Watchers at Work will begin our new session on Thursday, September 15, at noon in E. H. Butler Library 204. If we have 20 people, the cost will be $175 for 19 weeks with e-tools (if we have fewer than 20 participants, the cost will be higher). You have the option to split the cost into three payments, but all three checks must be turned in at the meeting tomorrow. Come and check out the meeting!

All full- and part-time faculty members at Buffalo State are invited to participate in a short survey concerning the nature of academic rigor. Questions about the survey or study of academic rigor/challenge can be directed to John Draeger. Thank you for your participation.

Veronica Federiconi, executive director of Autistic Services Inc., will moderate and join a panel discussion on how the arts, specifically ASI's Arts Work Program, are used to a positive effect with people on the autistic spectrum on Wednesday, September 14, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.

Panel members will include Dana Ranke, a teaching artist with ASI's Arts Work Program, and Cathy Rouin, the mother of James Marino, a client of ASI and an artist whose work is currently on display in the Historical Society Community Gallery.

The event is free for museum members and free with regular museum admission for non-members.

For more information, please contact Tara Lyons, 873-9644 ext. 311.

The research group on academic rigor/challenge is looking for concrete examples of assignments that promote active engagement, higher-order thinking, and meaningful learning. We want to illustrate our model with disciplinary examples. We are also interested in the extent to which techniques for promoting active engagement, higher-order thinking, and meaningful learning vary across disciplinary contexts. Anyone interested in contributing to this portion of the study should contact John Draeger by Friday, September 23.

Full- and part-time faculty members are invited to participate in a workshop on academic rigor on either Thursday, September 29, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. or Wednesday, October 5, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. in E. H. Butler Library 181B. The goal is to empower faculty with tools to raise the level of academic challenge on campus. More specifically, we will explore ways of actively engaging students in higher-order thinking about meaningful course content. We will collectively discover concrete ways of stretching students beyond rote learning and toward helping them learn to analyze ideas, make judgments about important information, and apply theories to new situations. The workshop conversation will also contribute to the ongoing study of academic rigor on campus. Any full- or part-time faculty member interested in participating in this workshop should sign up by contacting John Draeger at draegejd@buffaostate.edu.

Any student or faculty or staff member interested in the multiple possibilities of the Fulbright program is welcome to attend the Fall Fulbright Seminar of the Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Fulbright Association on Friday, October 14, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York.

The guest speaker will be Barbara Higgins, senior vice president, Allstate Insurance Company.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Jean F. Gounard, director of international student affairs and vice president for advocacy of the WNY/NWPA Fulbright Association Chapter, ext. 5331.