Buffalo State will host a Civil Service Test Preparation Workshop on Saturday, April 20, in Bulger Communication Center South. Attendants may park in Lot B or T or in any lot designated as staff or student for those with parking passes (stickers). Please note that no food or beverages will be provided. Attendees are welcome to bring their own food or use the food and beverage options on campus.

The Keyboard Specialist 2 training runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Secretary 1 and 2 training runs from 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Please arrive a half hour before your training begins for registration.

You still have time to register for this training opportunity. Just follow highlighted instructions at www.cseainc.org/wi.

No refunds will be given unless class is canceled.

Dine with us at Campus House this evening, April 9, and a portion of your food bill will be donated to Evergreen Health Services (formerly AIDS Community Services). Evergreen works to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS in our region and improves the lives of individuals and families affected by the disease.

To assist our hospitality students with this mission, all you have to do is donate your appetite! Call ext. 3300 or e-mail campushouse@buffalostate.edu today to make your reservation for dinner. A spectacular à la carte menu is planned.

Visit diningoutforlife.com to learn more.

Please use the current Intellectual Foundations program (IF) when advising students. The implementation date for the revised program, Intellectual Foundations 2.0 (IF2), is fall 2014. SIFOC is currently reviewing existing student learning outcomes, which may result in the removal or addition of courses from the revised program. Advisement should not be based on IF2. If you have any questions regarding the Intellectual Foundations program, please contact Amitra A. Wall, interim assistant dean of intellectual foundations and first-year programs, Twin Rise 100.  

The English Department will hold its annual Spring Fling fundraiser on Friday, April 12, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. in the Bulger Communication Center atrium. English Department faculty member Ann Colley will regale us with harrowing tales of her travels abroad! English education faculty member James Cercone will regale us with harrowing tales of the secondary classroom! And writing major Amanda Pratt will regale us with...harrowing tales! Buffalo State faculty members Laurence Shine and Maureen Porter will serve as master and mistress of spring flinging.

Admission is $20 and includes wine, refreshments, finger foods, and desserts. Tickets will be available at the door (cash or check only). Reservations can be made in advance by contacting Maureen Lougen, ext. 5417. 

The English Department is also holding a basket raffle. Tickets may be purchased either in the English Department office, Ketchum Hall 326, or at the Spring Fling fundraising event on April 12. The baskets will be on display in the English Department office from Monday, April 8, through Friday, April 12. Winners will be drawn at the Spring Fling. Attendance at the Spring Fling is not necessary to win, but it is encouraged!

Distinguished Service Professor Betty Cappella is retiring from Buffalo State. Please join us to wish her well on Friday, May 3, at Campus House from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. with light refreshments and a cash bar. No formal program has been planned except a joyous occasion filled with fun and laughter. Feel free to bring a fun gift. Please call the Higher Education Administration Department at ext. 3789 with questions.

Please join the Biology Department for the seminar "Macrophage NADPH Oxidase Mediates Antifungal Host Defense" by Melissa J. Grimm, Ph.D., from Roswell Park Cancer Institute, on Thursday, April 11, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in Classroom Building B118.

All faculty, staff, and students are welcome. Light refreshments will be served.

Seminar abstract:

Although NADPH oxidase isoforms exist in several lineages, reactive oxidant generation is greatest in neutrophils, where NADPH oxidase activity is deemed to be the most critical. In contrast, the role of NADPH oxidase in macrophages is less clear.

To address this question, we evaluated susceptibility to pulmonary aspergillosis in NADPH oxidase-null mice versus transgenic mice with monocyte-targeted NADPH oxidase activity. We found that the lethal inoculum was more than 100-fold greater in transgenic vs. NADPH oxidase-null mice. Consistent with these in vivo results, NADPH oxidase in mouse alveolar macrophages limited germination of phagocytosed Aspergillus fumigatus spores. Also, NADPH oxidase-null mice developed exuberant neutrophilic lung inflammation and pro-inflammatory cytokine responses in response to zymosan, a sterile fungal cell-wall derived product, whereas inflammation in transgenic mice was minimal. Finally, we have also discovered a role for macrophage NADPH oxidase in limiting inflammation by promoting neutrophil death and clearance from the lungs.

Together, our studies show that macrophage NADPH oxidase controls fungal infection and limits acute lung inflammation.

Please share this great opportunity with students you work with. The annual Opportunity Knocks program on Friday, April 19, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. is an afternoon networking event where we take students to various places in Buffalo to meet with distinguished community leaders who are alumni of Buffalo State. It all starts with an amazing buffet lunch and is free and open to all students.

Opportunity Knocks gives selected students an opportunity to network with Buffalo State alumni in our community. It is open to undergraduate and graduate students; lunch and transportation will be provided, and it’s all free of charge!

We will begin at Erie Community College City Campus and enjoy a gourmet buffet lunch in the E. M. Statler Dining Room, prepared by culinary students. This will also be a chance to network with current ECC students who are considering transferring to Buffalo State.

We then head to City Hall, where students will meet with Byron Brown, ’83, mayor of Buffalo, and then take a quick trip to the observation deck, time permitting.

Next stop will be WGRZ-TV, Channel 2, where students will get to see behind-the-scenes TV news production and talk with several alumni reporters.

Our final stop will be at Architectural Resources, an award-winning architectural practice with offices in Buffalo and New York City. Students will meet Kevin Trietley, ’92, from the design team.

A bus will leave campus at 11:00 a.m., and we anticipate returning to campus by 4:00 p.m. Seating is limited; reservations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Please let us know by Monday, April 15, if you wish to attend, and we will let you know by April 16 if there is an opening. The earlier you let us know, the better the chance there is a spot for you! E-mail your name, with Opportunity Knocks in the subject line, to Eileen Merberg.

When opportunity knocks, will you be ready and open?

Buffalo State alumnus Brendan Klick, '03, will discuss his career path and research in applied mathematics and statistics on Wednesday, April 10, at 4:00 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 208. His presentation is titled "Household Transmission of Influenza during the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic."

More information is available at http://hiperc2.buffalostate.edu/AMS-presentation.pdf.

Each student’s Student Detail Schedule will now list both registered and waitlisted courses. A waitlisted course will show on the Student Detail Schedule with a status “Waitlisted on X Date”; below that will be Waitlist Position: #. Even though a waitlisted course appears on the student’s schedule, the student is not registered for the course. The Detail Schedule shows waitlisted sections so that the student can monitor his or her status.

Cycles at the Center, a four-day launch of art happenings dedicated to change, vision, and motion, will be held April 11–14 at the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State. The second in a new series of launches, Cycles celebrates community and sustainable progress. Learn more at www.burchfieldpenney.org.

Highlights of the weekend include the following:

• Launch Talk by Tony Bannon, BPAC executive director, on Friday, April 12, at 6:00 p.m.
• Film screenings of S:STREAM:S:S:SECTION:S:S:ECTION:S:S:ECTIONED (1971) by Paul Sharits
• Performances by LehrerDance in the East Gallery on Thursday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 13, at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets $15; $10 for Burchfield Penney members; $5 standing.
• M&T Second Friday featuring an opening celebrationfor five new exhibitions and happy hour with Dive House Union
• A Musical Feast featuring David Taylor on Friday, April 12, at 8:00 p.m. Tickets $20; $10 for Burchfield Penney members.
• Elmwood Bike Path Celebration in collaboration with GO Bike Buffalo and Campus Wheelworks on Saturday, April 13, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Register today for the Burchfield Sites Bus Tour and Brunch: Sunday, April 14, part of Cycles at the Center
Visit the places that Charles E. Burchfield lived and worked and see firsthand the sites he painted in Buffalo with Nancy Weekly, head of collections, Charles Cary Rumsey curator, and Burchfield scholar. Brunch will be served at Butterwood Sweet and Savory at the Lafayette Hotel in downtown Buffalo.

To reserve your space, send a check ($65 for Burchfield Penney members, $75 "not-yet" members) made payable to the Burchfield Penney Art Center to Mary Kozub, Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY 14222. Space is limited. For questions, please e-mail Kozub or call ext. 3156. For more information, visit www.burchfieldpenney.org.

Most programs are free for Burchfield Penney members. “Not-yet” members are asked to make a suggested donation of $10, except when additional ticket fees apply or events are free as noted in the event listings. Find more information at www.burchfieldpenney.org or call ext. 6011.