The Anne Frank Project announces a call for proposals for its 2011 conference, September 14-16. The AFP proposal review committee is seeking proposals from students, faculty, staff, and community members that help to explore this year's conference theme, "Our Shared Humanity: Looking Inward." Simple proposal forms, directions, and focus stream explanations can be found at http://www.theannefrankproject.com/2011.html.

The deadline for submissions is April 8, 2011.

The past two conferences have featured more than 100 Buffalo State faculty, staff, and student research, creative activity, and scholarship. Last year's conference welcomed more than 3,000 attendees—this is an excellent opportunity to highlight the amazing things that are happening on our campus!

The Anne Frank Project is an annual college-wide diversity conference where the words and wisdom of Anne Frank are used as a springboard for an intense examination of intolerance, bias, and genocide. For more information and past conferences, visit our website.

Transfer Orientation has been revised this year, and there are some important details you should know. The new format decouples advisement and registration from orientation. As such, new transfer students must complete an online workshop (available via the orientation transfer advisement webpage) to receive a registration access code. Fall 2011 transfer students cannot register in Banner without the access code. Each major department has a specific advisement plan for their students (available for review at the aforementioned site) and some of the majors are using Banner advisement PINs as well. Registration begins for transfer students on Monday, May 23. With this new process, transfer students must seek advisement prior to attending orientation. Transfer orientation (for all transfers with more than 15 college credits) will take place on Friday, August 26.

For more details, visit the Orientation website at http://www.buffalostate.edu/orientation/x1068.xml.

An opportunity to meet with faculty and staff who have received grants, or worked with the various funding agencies and organizations to "fertilize" your research interests, will take place, Thursday, April 28. For more information and to register, visit the Research Foundation website.

Faculty project leaders who have redesigned psychology and economics courses will describe their organization and outcomes, with a special focus on the effective use of undergraduate learning assistants (ULAs), Monday, April 18, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Buffalo State.

Participants will be able to learn how the redesign projects got started, what issues the teams faced in implementing their redesign, and what learning improvements and cost reductions have been achieved. This conference is a presentation of The Redesign Alliance and is co-sponsored with Buffalo State College.

The Provost’s Office is providing funding to register a limited number of Buffalo State faculty members.

View the conference agenda (PDF).

To register, contact Cara Angie at ext. 3841.

"Of Hume Do You Speak: David Hume on Personal Identity" is the next presentation in the Philosophy and Humanities Spring Student-Faculty Colloquia, today, Thursday, April 7, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 113. Presented by Matthew Guminiak, senior, philosophy major and Sterling Scholar. Commentator: Nickolas Beauharnois, junior, philsophy major. For further information, contact blessika@buffalostate.edu.

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 505 of the Education Law, the NYS Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) is seeking nominations for one delegate and one alternate to attend the annual delegates meeting to be held in November. 

Delegates represent their co-workers at the annual meeting, and have the primary responsibility to elect a teacher member to the retirement board. Delegates also act as liaisons between their employers and the retirement system. Elected delegates will serve a two-year term beginning Monday, August 1.

Buffalo State College employees who are active members of the NYS Teachers’ Retirement System are eligible to serve as a primary or alternate delegate. Nomination forms may be obtained at Human Resource Management, Cleveland Hall 410, and must be returned by Monday, May 2.

If you have any questions regarding the nomination or election process, please contact Human Resource Management at ext. 4821.

Thank you to the members of the campus community who have registered to march or volunteer for commencement on Saturday, May 14. Your effort and time is significant and allows for Buffalo State to celebrate the accomplishments of the graduating class and aptly welcome families and guests.

Please check the lists of marchers, volunteers, and staff registered to date. Please e-mail chambepa@buffalostate.edu should you find any errors to your registration.
Further, it's not too late to register if you haven't yet done so.

Marchers, register at www.buffalostate.edu/commencement/x548.xml.

Volunteer ushers, register at www.buffalostate.edu/commencement/x547.xml

Thank you!

Please attend the annual Celebration of Life Memorial Service where we will honor and remember students, faculty, staff, and alumni who have passed away this academic year.

The service will be held on Friday, April 29, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center auditorium. Please share this information with your colleagues and students. 

For further information, contact the Counseling Center at ext. 4436.

Faculty and staff of elementary and secondary education departments, please share the following information with your students:

Applications are available for the Joseph S. Sperrazza Scholarship which will provide an annual award to a student, undergraduate or graduate, working toward a degree in elementary or secondary education at Buffalo State College. This endowed scholarship is to honor the memory of alumnus Joseph Sperrazza, a revered teacher and administrator with the Buffalo Board of Education. The deadline for the application is Wednesday, May 4. For complete details and to print the application, please visit www.buffalostate.edu/ceure/ or stop by the Center for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education’s office, Caudell Hall 107.

Please take part in helping kids in our community escape child poverty and start a new chapter by stopping by any Wegmans or Library Branch that have bins set up to accept donations throughout the month of April. Your donations of new children’s books or cash will allow Project Flight to place books in the hands of needy children who have no books of their own. 

As Project Flight’s co-directors, Buffalo State College’s Betty J. Cappella and Geraldine E. Bard say, “Teaching a child to read opens a door that no one can close.”
Last year, 111,894 books were collected and given to children in 152 organizations, including Head Starts, League for the Handicapped Preschool Programs, Haven House, Cradle Beach, the Response to Love Center, and the Salvation Army. “Books for Kids” is sponsored by Project Flight, Buffalo State College, the Buffalo News, JR .League, Wegmans, and WGRZ-TV Channel 2. More information is available atwww.buffalo.com/booksforkids. “Please give Book touch a life”