Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members are invited to join the Career Development Center for the annual Western New York Law School Fair on Monday, September 24, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Buffalo Marriott Niagara. This free event is a great opportunity for those interested in attending law school to meet with admissions recruiters from more than 70 programs across the country. 

For a list of participating schools, or to register for the event, please visit the Career Development Center events page.

As required under the Higher Education Opportunity Act, this message shall serve as official notification to the campus community regarding illegal file sharing and copyright infringement.

Do you use your campus computer to share music, movies, or software over the web? Did you know that you may be violating federal copyright law?

Copyright infringement carries both civil and criminal penalties. In general, anyone found liable for civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or "statutory" damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. For "willful" infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys' fees. Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense. For more information, please see the U.S. Copyright Office website, especially its FAQs.

Although there are legitimate uses for file sharing and peer-to-peer technologies, please be aware that the campus Policy on the Use of Electronic Resources prohibits the use of the network for copyright infringement or software piracy. When you log in to a machine on the campus network or connect to the campus wireless, you are responsible for the use of your computer and your connection. Please see the RITE website for guidelines regarding the use of the campus secure wireless network.

If we receive a complaint identifying your computer as sharing copyrighted materials, we’ll meet with you to help you remove the offending materials and software. Repeat complaints will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Clear violations of the Electronic Resources policy that are not promptly remedied may result in termination of network access for the person(s) at fault and referral for disciplinary actions as appropriate.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) websites have information about their current activities and some background on why they are working to prevent the theft of creative content. Please see the RITE website for more information on peer-to-peer file sharing and copyright infringement.

There are legal alternatives. Several legal sources of online content can be found on the Educause website.

Please know that we are here to assist you. We hope you have a productive semester.

I cordially invite the campus community to attend the Jacqueline Vito LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony on Thursday, September 27, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony; light refreshments will be provided. Guests are encouraged to stay and tour the new facility, located on the corner of Rockwell Road and Rees Street, accessible from Grant Street. To attend, please call (716) 878-5115 by Saturday, September 15.

The Equity and Campus Diversity Office encourages all faculty, staff, and administrators to take part in relevant professional and leadership development opportunities throughout the academic year. We have created this calendar of events (PDF, 246 KB) as a central source of information for trainings, workshops, presentations, and other opportunities for professional development on campus. Please bookmark the calendar and check it periodically throughout the semester. Individual events will also continue to be announced in the Daily Bulletin.

One of the most exciting features of the new Bengal Success Portal is the Student Progress Report. This early intervention tool enables faculty members to inform advisers and students about signs of academic difficulty early on in the term. Advisers can then take steps to reach out to students so that they can make positive changes to their academic habits while there is still time to turn things around.  

The Student Progress Report has been deployed to all instructors and will remain open until Wednesday, September 26. An e-mail notification with the link has been sent to all faculty members. Instructors are able to view their class lists and mark whether a student has encountered an issue or award students “kudos” for a job well done. Students will receive e-mails, and students' advisers will be made aware of this feedback as well. If a cause for concern is identified, students will know that actions need to be taken. By the same token, advisers can then conduct proactive outreach to assist students in helping them to meet their academic goals.

Instructors, please complete the Student Progress Report. Your feedback just might be that extra little “nudge” that students need to put them on the path to success!

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Crystal J. Rodriguez as Buffalo State’s next chief of staff in the President’s Office. Ms. Rodriguez, who will officially join the Buffalo State community on October 10, 2018, currently serves as chief diversity officer for the City of Buffalo, a position she has held since 2016.

Ms. Rodriguez has served as a member of Mayor Byron Brown’s staff for nearly 12 years, first as his executive assistant and eventually rising to a cabinet-level position as the city’s first chief diversity officer. Her unique work experience and professional credentials—which include a pair of law degrees from the University at Buffalo—along with her passion for advancing our wonderful city, make Ms. Rodriguez an excellent fit for this position and our campus community. Please join me in welcoming her to Buffalo State.

I invite you to read more about Ms. Rodriguez’s background in the biography below.

About Crystal J. Rodriguez  
As the City of Buffalo’s chief diversity officer, Ms. Rodriguez developed the city’s Opportunity Pledge and spearheaded Mayor Brown’s Opportunity Agenda, which focuses on embracing racial equity, diversity, and inclusion and ensuring that opportunities created by the recent economic renaissance in the city can be shared by all. She also led an overhaul of the city’s Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MBE/WBE) policies and procedures, and initiated work on the first phase of the Buffalo Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative.

From 2008 to 2016, Ms. Rodriguez served as executive director of the City of Buffalo’s Commission on Citizens’ Rights and Community Relations. In this role, she developed and revitalized the department around a mission-focused strategic plan, connecting citizens directly to agencies best suited to address their concerns. She also designed and implemented programs based on social and community climate topics, such as race relations, anti-bullying initiatives, and community-police interactions.

In 2007, Ms. Rodriguez started her career in city government as the executive assistant to the mayor, maintaining the mayor’s schedule, fielding invitations for community meetings, drafting internal and external communications for the mayor, and managing secretarial staff in the executive offices.

Ms. Rodriguez has also held positions as a legal fellow and law clerk for the New York State Unified Court System (2007–2008) and as an adjunct faculty member at the University at Buffalo (2006–2011).

She earned a B.A. in social sciences from California State University San Marcos (2003) and a J.D. and LL.M. from the University at Buffalo School of Law (2007).

Faculty, staff, and administrators are invited to engage in discussions about diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education with Caryl Loney-McFarlane, diversity and inclusion staff fellow at Princeton University and an independent higher education diversity consultant, on Thursday, October 11. Dr. Loney-McFarlane will present on the three topics listed below. Please click the topic title to see more information and to register.

From community colleges to the most elite institutions to the largest public universities, higher education is leading the nation’s focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in its many configurations, with varying definitions and focuses. Yet our nation’s racial divisions seem more ingrained than previously acknowledged, and student groups on campuses across the country continue to demand change, even on campuses with highly diverse student populations. How do the national climate and the campus climate intersect? Come and participate in engaging discussions and presentations looking briefly at the American sociohistorical climate, diversity demographics from universities across the nation, and promising practices in improving campus climate, all presented and facilitated through engaging narrative.

Inclusivity/Exclusivity: Diversity in Higher Education
Audience: Staff, faculty, and administrators
10:00–11:00 a.m.
Bulger Communication Center 424 (formerly West 2)

Implicit Bias and Inclusive Pedagogies' Impact on Student Success
Audience: Faculty
12:15–1:30 p.m.
Caudell Hall 222

Supporting a Diverse Student Population
Audience: Staff
3:30–4:45 p.m.
Classroom Building C122

About Caryl Loney-McFarlane
Caryl Loney-McFarlane is an independent higher education diversity, strategic, and organizational planning consultant currently working with various universities and organizations on the micro and macro levels, aiding in organizational collaborations, grant development, program creation, and mentoring initiatives. She completed her doctorate in literatures in English at Rutgers University in 2007. Her graduate work focused on twentieth-century African diaspora literature with a concentration on the novels of Toni Morrison. Currently, her independent scholarship focuses on racism in American history and its intersection with and impact on our present-day interactions and relationships. Dr. Loney-McFarlane is the former senior program officer of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, where she directed six higher-education programs for underrepresented populations. Both in her current work as a diversity consultant and through the various mentoring relationships and programs she facilitates, she seeks to aid her clients and students in their efforts to diversify their institutions and address structural and individual racism.

After many years of hearing from our students and Professor Drew Kahn about how their yearly trips to Rwanda were truly transformative, I had an opportunity to see this amazing country with my own eyes...

Please follow my blog at http://kateconwayturner.tumblr.com.

We are pleased to announce the call for applications for the second cohort of the Faculty Fellowship Program, created by the SUNY Performance Improvement Funds (PIF) grant received by Buffalo State to assist in our efforts to centralize and support approved applied learning (AAL) on campus. Applied learning refers to an educational approach whereby students learn by engaging in direct application of skills, theories, and models. To be "approved," the activity or course must meet the five criteria as defined by SUNY.

Full-time and part-time faculty are encouraged to apply for the 2019–2020 Approved Applied Learning Faculty Fellowship Cohort.

Faculty fellows will receive $500 for the following responsibilities:

• Completing a two-day mini-conference on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 (8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.), and Wednesday, January 23, 2019 (8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.)

Participants will receive an additional $500 for the following responsibilities:

• Implementing the AAL activity in either the spring or summer 2019 semester
• Completing an AAL project or activity outline (content and assessment) and uploading it to the AAL Blackboard organization
• Participating in at least two follow-up meetings during spring 2019
• Being an active participant as an approved applied learning fellow (for example, presenting to the campus, contributing to the website, or designing and offering a workshop)
• Completing and distributing assessment surveys

Applications are due by Friday, October 26. If you have questions about the program, please contact Stephanie Zuckerman-Aviles, director of the Career Development Center.

Please join me in attending the 10th annual Anne Frank Project social justice festival today and tomorrow in venues throughout the campus. Sessions are highly interactive and will be of interest to students, faculty, and staff alike. The full schedule can be found on the AFP website.