Siena Week continues on Wednesday, October 3, when Siena program alumni will discuss the profound impact of study-abroad on their personal and professional careers. Faculty and staff members, students, parents, and alumni are welcome to join us in Bacon Hall 115 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

To kick off Siena Week, students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni can learn about Sienese art during the lecture "Sienese Art through the Centuries," presented by Frances Gage, assistant professor of fine arts, on Tuesday, October 2, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center South.

Celebrate the 150th anniversaries of the Buffalo Museum of Science, the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery with just one ticket! Passes include admission to the Burchfield Penney Art Center plus rare access to the Richardson-Olmsted Complex, Buffalo State Art Conservation Lab, and Forest Avenue Resource Center. Complimentary architectural tours outside the museums will also be held.

For more information, visit Preservation Buffalo Niagara.

The Burchfield Penney Art Center is pleased to begin the series "Art-Centered Yoga" on Thursdays (5:30–6:45 p.m.) and Sundays (1:15–2:30 p.m.).

This gentle yet energizing yoga practice takes place within the inspiring space of the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Merge with the creative environment as our bodies become artful, as we gracefully flow through our class. Each drop-in yoga session will begin with a short discussion of a work of art. Please bring a yoga mat and a towel.

The Thursday session with Leanne Oldenbrook runs from September 27 to November 15. The Sunday session with Jennifer Russo runs from September 30 to November 18.

Leanne Oldenbrook has been providing gentle and active yoga since 2003 at area sites including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Darwin Martin House, and the Erie County Rath Building. Oldenbrook received Yoga Alliance certification and completed workshops in Yoga Therapy for Healing and Adapting Yoga for Specific Needs.

Jennifer Russo, M.A., RYT, has been teaching yoga to people of all ages and abilities since 2006. She holds three professional yoga teacher certificates and is currently pursuing an advanced Ayurveda/Yoga Specialist training.

For questions, please call Mary at ext. 3156. Advance registration is not required. Cost: $10 for Burchfield Penney members; $15 for not-yet members. More information is available at www.burchfieldpenney.org.

Join the Burchfield Penney for Cruiser Night on Thursday, September 27, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. Check out some cool cars (from 6:00 p.m.), hear Tony Bannon on George "Hound Dog" Lorenz (7:00 p.m.), and enjoy a screening of Rebel Without a Cause drive-in style in the center's parking lot at dusk (bring a chair)!

Have a cool car? Call Bill Menshon at ext. 3397.

More information is available on the Burchfield Penney's website.

The Student Percussion Trio and Dance Ensemble will perform the works of John Cage and Lou Harrison on Wednesday, September 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall. The performance features John Cage's "Two Pages, 122 Words on Music and Dance" and "Trio" as well as "Double Music," which was independently composed by Lou Harrison and John Cage. The performance concludes with Lou Harrison's ballet "In Praise of Johnny Appleseed," an eight-movement contemporary ballet, with choreography by Joy Guarino, assistant professor of dance.

The event is free and open to the public. Part of the Faculty and Friends 2012–2013 concert series.

The Buffalo State Child Care Center will hold its second annual Fall Fest and Chicken Barbecue on Friday, September 28, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now for the half chicken dinner with roasted potatoes, garden salad, roll with butter, and a beverage. Dinner prices are $9 for adults, $8 for Buffalo State students, and $6 for children. Dinners are available for takeout beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Festival activities include games, face painting, a pumpkin patch, a 50/50 raffle, and clowns. All members of the community are welcome to take part in this family event!

Call ext. 5335 for ticket information.

Please encourage first-year students to participate in MAP-Works, Buffalo State’s award-winning retention program. MAP-Works will once again help us stay connected to first-year students and help those who might be at risk for dropping out.

MAP-Works is an online assessment designed to provide feedback to help students establish realistic expectations and connect with campus resources. All first-year students received an e-mail inviting them to take the survey, which asks about their transition to Buffalo State, including academic behaviors, financial means, social connections made so far, etc.

Survey results are reported back to each student in an easy-to-understand online report. Results are benchmarked against their first-year cohort to help them better understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Student survey results are also reported to faculty and staff who serve as advisers, first-year course instructors, residence hall directors, and mentors. These faculty and staff members will receive results for their students only. They will have opportunities to intervene if students are reporting risky behaviors (e.g., poor study skills, poor support system, not adapting to college life, etc.). The idea is to allow us to spend more time helping rather than diagnosing.

MAP-Works is helping Buffalo State in our commitment to academic success, student retention, student development, and student engagement. If you would like further information regarding MAP-Works, or if you would like to be connected in the system to a distinct group of first-year students, contact Eileen Merberg, ext. 3407.

MAP-Works, Buffalo State’s award-winning retention program, launched this past weekend and once again will help us stay connected to first-year students and help those who might be at risk for dropping out.

MAP-Works is an online assessment designed to provide feedback to help students establish realistic expectations and connect with campus resources. All first-year students received an e-mail invitation to take the survey. They will be asked about their transition to Buffalo State, including academic behaviors, financial means, and social connections made so far.

Survey results are reported back to each student in an easy-to-understand online report. Results are benchmarked against their first-year cohort to help them better understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Student survey results are also reported to faculty and staff members who serve as advisers, first-year course instructors, residence hall directors, and mentors. These faculty and staff members will receive results for their students only. They will have opportunities to intervene if students are reporting risky behaviors (e.g., poor study skills, poor support system, not adapting to college life). The idea is to allow us to spend more time helping rather than diagnosing.

MAP-Works is helping Buffalo State in our commitment to academic success, student retention, student development, and student engagement.

If you would like further information regarding MAP-Works, or if you would like to be connected in the system to a distinct group of first-year students, contact Eileen Merberg, retention and leadership specialist in Campus Life, ext. 3407. And please encourage first-year students to participate.

Students can learn how to spend a semester studying at one of Buffalo State's four partner universities in Australia or our partner university in England during this information session today, September 25, at 12:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center South. Students will find out how courses taken there fulfill requirements here, how financial aid applies, about scholarships that are available, and about other creative ways that students fund their overseas experiences. Please encourage them not to miss out on these life-changing and career-enhancing opportunities!