If you are a faculty member who is willing to be a resource for journalists seeking input from experts on your specialty, please send the necessary information to Mary A. Durlak, senior writer in College Relations. College Relations uses this database to find experts in response to inquiries from various sources, so it serves as an internal resource as well as a resource for reporters.

Include your name; terminal degree; title; department; campus phone number; and a phone number where you can be reached when you are not on campus. If you are willing to be available but prefer not to publish your home or cell phone number online, please provide the number but clearly label it “private.”

Please express your expertise in broad terms and simple language so we don’t miss an opportunity to contact you. Review the current Experts Database listings for examples, and please let me know if you have a current listing that needs revision, or if you have any other questions. Thank you!

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the loss of the space shuttle Challenger. The crew of seven included teacher Christa McAuliffe and UB graduate Gregory Jarvis.

Many of us remember where we were and what we were doing when we got word that Challenger had exploded 73 seconds after liftoff.

The Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium honors the Challenger crew as well as astronauts lost in the Apollo 1 fire on January 27, 1967, and in the loss of the space shuttle Columbia as it returned to Earth on February 1, 2003. The special commemorative program "T+ . . . and Counting" will be shown at the start of every presentation of our winter program "Wonders of Winter" running now through February 26.

For more information, please visit www.fergusonplanetarium.net or e-mail planetarium@buffalostate.edu.

The Burchfield Penney will host WaterMedia Weekend 2011 in Western New York presented by American Artist's Watercolor Magazine Friday, May 13, through Sunday, May 15.

Join leading watermedia master artists/teachers—Philip Burke, Margaret Martin, Margaret Roseman, John Salminen, Nicholas Simmons, Mel Stabin, and Mary Whyte—for an engaging, hands-on weekend of workshops, demos, and roundtable discussions at the Burchfield Penney.

Learn from the masters, network with fellow artists, get to know the editor of American Artist's Watercolor Magazine, and enjoy the art and architecture of the renowned Burchfield Penney Art Center, home to the world's largest collection of Charles E. Burchfield works and archival materials.

Cost: $325* early bird registration by March; $350* which includes five two-hour sessions with leading watermedia masters, evening receptions, tours of the Burchfield Penney, weekend lunches.

*Burchfield Penney and Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society Members will receive an additional $25 discount.

Call ext. 6120 or e-mail kellymc@buffalostate.edu for information.

Download the registration packet.

Student Support Services Program (SSSP) will be holding its annual Student Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday, February 1, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center auditorium.

This event serves to honor the SSSP students for their academic achievements. Florence D. Johnson, the director, and her staff are proud to be recognizing 75 participants who are carrying a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The Student Support Services Program is a Title IV (TRIO) federally-funded project which operates under the umbrella of the Research Foundation and University College. The program goals are retention, graduation, and good academic standing. The program is designed to provide opportunities for academic achievement, cultural enrichment, tutorial assistance, as well as motivating students toward successful completion of their degree.

The annual recognition ceremony will be a catered event by Emerson Commons Culinary School. This program is proud to be celebrating the success and persistence of all the students being recognized.

This event is not open to the campus community. Faculty and staff who received invitations need to make reservations.

Join the Student Life staff in the Campbell Student Union lobby on Tuesday, February 1, from noon to 1:30 p.m. to build a snowman. Supplies will be provided. Please sign your team up in the Student Life Office, Campbell Student Union 400 before the event.

This presentation focuses on the basics of teaching for deep learning. Research on learning and memory will be shared and we will discuss the implications for structuring our classes. We will also examine one potential framework for guiding course design. Presented by Sue McMillen on Friday, February 4, noon–1:00 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 181B.

Register online.
 

The minigrants from the College and Community Partnerships Office for 2011 have a much shorter timeline for requests for proposals and project completion than in the past four years. Interested faculty and staff are invited to join us for coffee and a continental breakfast on Thursday morning, February 3, at 8:00 a.m. in Cleveland Hall 205 to discuss the possibilities for application. We have also invited successful past recipients of awards to apply and to provide suggestions and guidance.

For more information contact the Partnership Office at ext. 4132 or ext. 5444.

Campus House provides an innovative, hands-on teaching and research laboratory for students in the Buffalo State Hospitality and Tourism Department. Students earn academic credit as they create original menus, manage and market the club, and conduct hospitality and tourism-related research.

Campus House membership is open to all Buffalo State faculty, staff, emeriti/retirees, alumni, and select friends of the college. Becoming a member is easy; simply complete and return our membership application which can be found at http://www.buffalostate.edu/campushouse/membership.

Campus House features contemporary American cuisine, with an emphasis on the use of simple and direct cooking methods and harmony in all dishes. Menu items are carefully selected by our own club chef and prepared using the freshest ingredients.

The restaurant opens Monday, January 31. Call today to make your reservations with our guest services manager at ext. 3300.

This Friday, January 28, 1:00–2:30 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 418, the college is offering a webinar on Universal Design and Online Education: Ensuring Access and Engagement for All Students.

This webinar will highlight the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for accessibility, ensuring online access and engagement of students with sensory (i.e. blindness or deafness) and physical disabilities, along with faculty strategies for developing courses and programs that integrate UDL principles.

Three Buffalo State undergraduates have made it to the final round in the College Green Bowl for their Community Youth Garden proposal. Please encourage friends, students, and colleagues to vote at http://www.facebook.com/GrowWNY this week (January 24–31). We appreciate your support.