Come and participate in one of the largest community events in Buffalo! The JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge will take place on Thursday, June 7, at 6:45 p.m. in Delaware Park. More than 11,000 Buffalonians take part in this annual charitable event. A 3.5-mile run (or walk) starts the evening, followed by a party in the park that lasts until dusk. Be part of the Buffalo State College team!

All employees from Buffalo State are invited to participate. Runners, walkers, and race supporters are all welcome. The $32 per-person fee includes your donation to the race's specified charity, a Corporate Challenge T-shirt, a race swag bag, a Buffalo State team T-shirt, and admission to the Buffalo State hospitality tent.*

Details and online registration

*Non-race participants (i.e., party-only people) must still register to join the hospitality tent.

Manali Patel, a master's degree candidate in the forensic science program at Buffalo State, will present her thesis seminar on Thursday, April 5, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Science Building 220. Patel graduated from the University at Buffalo with a B.S. in biology and joined the Buffalo State program in fall 2010. Her research has been carried out under the direction of Amy McMillan, associate professor of biology.

This seminar is part of the spring 2012 Chemistry/Physics Seminar Series, sponsored by the Auxiliary Services Grant Allocation Committee, the Vice President for Student Affairs Office, and the Faculty-Student Association.

Abstract
An allelic ladder for the bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, microsatellite locus Hal01, was constructed. The allelic ladder includes alleles with lengths 137, 141, 143, 135, 149, and 151 bp in size. Since the components of the allelic ladder and the sample fragments have the same length and the same sequence, sizing is very accurate when conducted with an allelic ladder. Allelic ladders are therefore very useful in population genetics studies. First, the available bald eagle allele samples were screened to find consecutive alleles at Hal01 locus. The alleles were PCR amplified and analyzed using capillary electrophoresis with fluorescent detection of fragment sizes. The criteria for the selected allele samples were high peak intensity and specificity, and low stutter peak percentage. The selected amplified alleles were then co-amplified to obtain all the alleles in approximately equal amounts. The co-amplification was carried out with a fluorescently labeled primer in order to obtain a dye-labeled ladder as desired for the population studies. Because of the high stutter percentage observed in bald eagle alleles, optimizing the PCR conditions and reagent concentrations was an important step of the study. The constructed ladder was used to size known alleles via capillary electrophoresis with fluorescent detection. The known alleles lined up correctly with the allelic ladder, and hence, the ladder is usable for population genetics studies for this locus.

The Geography and Planning Department presents a SkyWarn training workshop on Friday, April 13, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Classroom Building A209. SkyWarn is a nationwide certification program to prepare spotters to report severe weather to the National Weather Service. The basic training session will be given by a meteorologist from the Buffalo Weather Forecast Office, who will provide a brief overview of the National Weather Service (the organization and responsibilities) and basic severe weather meteorology (including how thunderstorms, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes form). You will learn how to recognize severe weather situations and about your potential role as a certified spotter within the SkyWarn program.

There is no cost to attend the program. All students, staff, and faculty are welcome. A light dinner will be served. You must register in advance for the training. Please e-mail Stephen Vermette, professor of geography and planning, to register or if you have questions.

Join your colleagues to discuss the way the user experience is drastically changing with regard to how we interact with technology. What used to be a mouse on the screen is being replaced by our own bodies. “Things” are becoming more data aware and interactive with human beings. We will look at the future of how we will interact with technology and how this affects the academic environment during this professional development workshop on Wednesday, April 11, from noon to 1:00 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 181B. Facilitated by Ken Fujiuchi. A light lunch will be provided.

Register at http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/registration/classdetails.asp?class=2820.

The Western New York Network for Women Leaders in Higher Education cordially invites you to its annual Leadership Conference on Friday, April 27, in the Center for Tomorrow on the University at Buffalo's North Campus.

We will honor this year’s Poss Award recipient, Bonita Durand, chief of staff in the President's Office at Buffalo State College.

The Bernice Poss Award is presented annually by the Western New York Regional Committee of the Network for Women Leaders in Higher Education during its annual Leadership Conference to women in higher education who exemplify the following attributes:

• Noteworthy involvement in organizing and planning activities for the advancement of female professionals
• Commitment to and participation in community services and programs for women
• Professionalism as evidenced by support for colleagues and compassion in her own daily conduct

If you would like to attend, please e-mail Christine Cali and she will send you the registration form. Thank you.

The Writing Across the Curriculum Requirement can be found on page 36 of the 2011–2012 Undergraduate Catalog. Effective with summer/fall 2012 registration, Banner will enforce satisfactory completion of CWP 102 or its equivalent as a prerequisite for all courses used in fulfillment of the writing-intensive requirement.

If you are teaching a writing-intensive course, please take a moment to review how to grant a prerequisite override at www.buffalostate.edu/banner/x567.xml. The Banner Faculty Guide can be viewed at www.buffalostate.edu/Banner/documents/facfall2009.pdf.

Please be aware that transcripts for incoming students with transfer credits (e.g., CWP 102) may still be under review at the time of registration.

Buffalo State College and the Anne Frank Project are proud to announce the first round of proposals for the fourth annual conference, AFP 2012 Our Shared Humanity: Embracing Responsibility, September 12–15. The Anne Frank Project planning committee will be reviewing proposals for presentations and performances from faculty, staff, and students of Buffalo State.

This first round of proposals is reserved for the Buffalo State community; the call for proposals will be released to the local, regional, and national communities upon conclusion of this initial round. Please submit your proposals before the due date to ensure priority consideration. The proposal due date for this first round is today, April 2.

For detailed information and the online AFP 2012 proposal form, please visit www.theannefrankproject.com/afp2012.html.

For more information about the Anne Frank Project, visit www.theannefrankproject.com or contact AFP director Drew Kahn or AFP conference coordinator Ann Emo.

Please note that "Aristotle and Respect as a Virtue," scheduled for Tuesday, April 3, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Bacon Hall 115, has been canceled.

Celebrate China Week with us! Stop by the Campbell Student Union Monday, April 9, through Friday, April 13, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. when the Center for China Studies will host its annual China Week with a display of several traditional Chinese items for sale. We hope to see you there!

The American Marketing Association student chapter at Buffalo State proudly presents Neale Martin, resident scholar in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business, on Wednesday, April 4, at 6:30 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center's Tower Auditorium.

Martin, the author of the book Habit: The 95 Percent of Behavior That Marketers Ignore, will address the importance of unconscious processes in consumer behavior and the implications for marketing, new product development, and management. The event is free and open to the public.

Martin's talk is sponsored by the AMA student chapter and funded by a grant from the Faculty-Student Association along with the Business Department, the School of the Professions, and the Psychology Club.