Computing and Technology Services will apply a Microsoft security update to all Windows devices at 4:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 2. For devices that are not on the network at that time, users can expect the updates and reboot of the devices the next time they log in to the network. Please contact the Computing Help Desk, ext. 4357, if you have any questions.

The 13th annual Faculty and Staff Research and Creativity Fall Forum will be held on Thursday, October 25, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Houston Gym. The goal of the forum is to develop, encourage, and support Buffalo State faculty and staff research and creativity, and to make collaborative research endeavors and grantsmanship more accessible. This is an excellent opportunity to network with other Buffalo State faculty and staff members and to identify common scholarly and creative interests you may have.

All faculty and staff members are invited to organize an exhibit to present current research, creative activities, or other scholarship. Individual, departmental, or group exhibits are welcome. President Podolefsky declared the 2012–2013 academic year as the "Year of the City," highlighting the unique fact that Buffalo State is the only SUNY four-year comprehensive institution located in a city. This theme is an opportunity to celebrate our mission as an institution that serves the city while bringing greater public recognition to Buffalo State’s wide-ranging educational programs and research with urban emphases, as well as the university’s extensive community engagement initiatives.

If your submission relates to or supports the Year of the City theme, please include it in the box on the submission form so that we may highlight it in the program.

To participate, please complete the online form. Titles and abstracts must be submitted electronically by Friday, September 28 (deadline extended).

Now entering its sixth year, Men Who Cook celebrates the art and science of food while raising awareness and resources for Crisis Services. This event is supported by the local restaurant community and will be anchored by some of Buffalo State's favorite amateur chefs, including Buffalo State president Aaron Podolefsky and associate professor of economics and finance Ted Schmidt. This year's event will be held on Tuesday, October 2, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Statler City, 107 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202.

Visit http://crisisservices.org/content to learn more or to purchase tickets.

Project Clean Plate is a Chartwells program that provides awareness of international hunger and helps students focus globally and act locally to combat hunger, reduce waste, save energy, and initiate real change. Clean Plate is designed to reduce overall food waste in Buffalo State’s all-you-can-eat dining operation Resident Dining. Buffalo State Dining encourages its customers to take as much food as they can eat, but not to throw it away.

Project Clean Plate monitors plate waste at the plate disposal area during select meal periods. Results are gathered on a monthly basis in order to reduce food waste. Clean Plate is a grassroots effort to reduce food waste at the consumer level in order to negate global food shortages.

Join Buffalo State Dining today in the Resident Dining Hall, located in the Campbell Student Union, from noon to 2:00 p.m. as we complete round one of Project Clean Plate.

Enter with a meal swipe or lunch door price of $8.79.

For more information on Buffalo State Dining, visit our website.

Free meditation instruction and a weekly meditation session take place every Wednesday from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. at Weigel Health Center (sign in at the reception desk). Quiet your mental chatter. Clarify your thoughts. All members of the Buffalo State community are welcome.

The audiovisual vendor will be on campus the week of October 1 to complete work in the third-floor rooms of Rockwell Hall. The following rooms will be offline or unavailable on the dates listed:

• Tuesday, October 2: Rockwell 302 and Rockwell 307
• Wednesday, October 3: Rockwell 303 and Rockwell 306
• Thursday, October 4: Rockwell 301 and Rockwell 308
• Friday, October 5: Rockwell 304 and Rockwell 305

These classes have been reassigned to another building or room only on the dates listed below:

• AED 688 / CRN 1275 – October 2: meet in Science Building 317
• BSC 101 / CRN 1521 – October 4: meet in Ketchum 300
• BUS 305 / CRN 2810 – October 3: meet in Bulger North 2A
• CRJ 302 / CRN 4051 – October 2: meet in Campus West (Buckham) A203
• CWP 101 / CRN 2887 – October 3: meet in Bulger North 2A
• CWP 102 / CRN 4840 – October 4: meet in Ketchum 315
• EXE 360 / CRN 1038 – October 4: meet in Caudell 215
• HIS 116 / CRN 4503 – October 2: meet in Caudell 214
• PHI 101 / CRN 2293 – October 4: meet in Bacon 215
• SLP 511 / CRN 1365 – October 2: meet in Ketchum 212

Faculty members: If you have a class that is reassigned, please be sure to let your students know ahead of time, remind them orally, and send them an e-mail reminder. Your reassignment location was the best fit that we could find based on what we had available. If you need a smart classroom on your reassigned day but have not been assigned one, please contact Instructional Resources to reserve a smart cart for use on that day.

Thank you for your patience.

Alex Robertson, Ph.D., ion torrent technical applications specialist with Life Technologies, will present "Ion Torrent Applications and Specifications: Covering the Next Generation Sequencing Applications Available on the Ion Torrent PGM for Small Genomes and Sets of Genes" today, September 27, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Classroom Building B118. Please contact Amy McMillan, associate professor of biology, ext. 3756, with questions.

Learn practical strategies, techniques, and tips for creating activities and materials that support Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning (POGIL) approaches to teaching and learning during this workshop on Monday, October 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The workshop will focus on creating POGIL cross-disciplinary activities around the theme of "smart grid." We will model the process of activity design and then divide participants into teams, with each team developing one smart-grid activity. During the afternoon, participants will have the option to design an additional activity for use within their own course or discipline.

This workshop is hosted at Buffalo State and facilitated by Daniel K. Apple of Pacific Crest Inc. Lunch will be provided. Contact Ilya Grinberg, professor of technology, to register.

Join the National Federation for Just Communities (NFJC of WNY Inc.) in the annual Walk for Unity on
Sunday, October 14, at 12:45 p.m. in the Buffalo State Sports Arena.

This annual family and community event is filled with many entertaining activities designed to bring people from all backgrounds together to walk as one. Walkers will enjoy a picnic lunch as well.

Register online or contact Rene Petties-Jones, (716) 853-9596.

The NFJC of WNY is a human relations organization dedicated to overcoming racism, bias, and discrimination by building understanding, respect, and trust through education, advocacy, and community involvement.

Steve McLaughlin, veteran weather forecaster, will present "WNY Climate: Oddities and Obscura" on Thursday, October 18, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Classroom Building A209. McLaughlin recently retired from the Buffalo Office of the National Weather Service. Having spent his entire forecast life in Western New York, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of local weather. Join him in this fun discussion about our weather and climate, and learn about its hidden secrets and quirky events. His presentation is directed to a general audience. All are welcome. There will be opportunity for questions.