Finals Week for spring 2019 will take place Monday, May 13; Tuesday, May 14; Wednesday, May 15; and Thursday, May 16. In accordance with DOPS Policy I:16:01, the purpose of Finals Week is to provide a single class meeting during which faculty and students have an extended period of uninterrupted time to conduct appropriate end-of-course activities.

The Finals Week schedule is designed for classes that meet more than once a week during the semester. Classes (evening or day) that meet only once a week have sufficient time for final evaluation; therefore, they will follow their regular schedules (exams to be scheduled during Finals Week).

The following regulations govern Finals Week:

A. All instructors are expected to meet their classes at the scheduled time during Finals Week and to choose an appropriate activity that reflects the academic goals of the course and the intent of Finals Week, for example, an exam, review, critique of papers, course summation, or individual presentations or demonstrations.

B. Instructors will not schedule a final exam before Finals Week. Instructors may not change the date or time of their final class periods during Finals Week. In case of emergencies, instructors should confer with their appropriate dean and notify the Academic Affairs Office, 878-3838.

C. Finals are scheduled for one-hour-and-50-minute periods. Instructors are not to increase or decrease the scheduled finals time.

D. In case of emergencies that would close the school, finals scheduled for the time of the closing will be rescheduled, as appropriate.

E. Faculty members must post office hours during which they will be available to meet with students during Finals Week.

Finals Week for spring 2019 will take place Monday, May 13; Tuesday, May 14; Wednesday, May 15, and Thursday, May 16. In accordance with DOPS Policy I:16:01, the purpose of Finals Week is to provide a single class meeting during which faculty and students have an extended period of uninterrupted time to conduct appropriate end-of-course activities.

The Finals Week schedule is designed for classes that meet more than once a week during the semester. Classes (evening or day) that meet only once a week have sufficient time for final evaluation; therefore, they will follow their regular schedules (exams to be scheduled during Finals Week).

The following regulations govern Finals Week:

A. All instructors are expected to meet their classes at the scheduled time during Finals Week and to choose an appropriate activity that reflects the academic goals of the course and the intent of Finals Week, for example, an exam, review, critique of papers, course summation, or individual presentations or demonstrations.

B. Instructors will not schedule a final exam before Finals Week. Instructors may not change the date or time of their final class periods during Finals Week. In case of emergencies, instructors should confer with their appropriate dean and notify the Academic Affairs Office, 878-3838.

C. Finals are scheduled for one-hour-and-50-minute periods. Instructors are not to increase or decrease the scheduled finals time.

D. In case of emergencies that would close the school, finals scheduled for the time of the closing will be rescheduled, as appropriate.

E. Faculty members must post office hours during which they will be available to meet with students during Finals Week.

If you are interested in learning more about the SUNY Libraries Consortium negotiations with Elsevier in advance of the current contract’s December 2019 expiration and sharing your thoughts on the services provided by Elsevier, please attend a town hall meeting today, April 30, during Bengal Pause (12:15–1:30 p.m.) in Bulger Communication Center 214. If you are unable to attend Buffalo State’s town hall in person, you can virtually attend by Zoom meeting (log-in via computer) or by phone at (646) 558-8656 with meeting ID 105421828. 

These forums are intended to update campuses on the SUNY Libraries Consortium negotiations with Elsevier to maintain access to the ScienceDirect product, and to solicit feedback from the campuses on the value and impact of the Elsevier contract in our work. As many of you are probably aware, the University of California System could not reach agreement with the publisher, and similar situations have been playing out across the European Union. The current SUNY contract comes up for renewal in December. Buffalo State’s town hall is one of eight events being held across SUNY this spring.

The Graduate Student Association, in collaboration with the Graduate School, will host the sixth annual Graduate Student Research Fair on Friday, May 10, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union. This year, five students will compete in the 4-Minute Thesis Contest, and over 80 posters will be displayed during the Graduate Student Poster Presentation. New this year is the inclusion of posters from distance learners. Three students from Buffalo State's International Center for Studies in Creativity will present from Brazil, Florida, and the East Coast. The itinerary of the event is as follows:

4-Minute Thesis Contest
4:00 p.m. | Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall
Thesis completers present their research in a fun, creative forum.

Graduate School Awards Presentation
5:00 p.m. | Campbell Student Union Social Hall
Outstanding Master’s Project and Thesis awardees, as determined by the Graduate Advisory Council, and their advisers will be acknowledged.  

Graduate Student Poster Presentation
Following the awards | Campbell Student Union Social Hall
Poster presentation for graduate students to display and discuss their research with the campus and local community.

I encourage faculty members to attend and to urge their students to come and support their classmates.

Full details of each event are on the Graduate Student Association’s website.

Buffalo State is committed to providing equitable access to all students, faculty, and staff members. The campus has recently implemented two systems that will assist us in continuing our goal for equitable access. As a campus, we are responsible for ensuring that our content, images, and videos are compliant with the standards outlined within the current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA.

Siteimprove was implemented to test all Buffalo State web pages. This product evaluates the web content for compliance using WCAG standards. Reports generated with identified errors are then shared with content creators on campus.

Blackboard Ally, implemented on April 17, is a revolutionary product that focuses on making digital course content more accessible. Ally is embedded within Blackboard Learn to assist content creators in making files such as Word, PowerPoint, images, and PDFs more accessible within the course. Faculty members receive feedback on the accessibility of their content and step-by-step instructions on how to improve content accessibility. In addition, Ally allows students to choose alternative formats for their course content. Alternative formats include audio files, electronic braille, epub for e-book readers, and mobile devices and HTML for viewing within browsers. 

As we move toward achieving these standards of compliance, we encourage all primary web contacts, content creators, and faculty and staff members to participate in the available workshops offered on campus.

Buffalo State is committed to providing equitable access to all students, faculty, and staff members. The campus has recently implemented two systems that will assist us in continuing our goal for equitable access. As a campus, we are responsible for ensuring that our content, images, and videos are compliant with the standards outlined within the current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA.

Siteimprove was implemented to test all Buffalo State web pages. This product evaluates the web content for compliance using WCAG standards. Reports generated with identified errors are then shared with content creators on campus.

Blackboard Ally, implemented on April 17, is a revolutionary product that focuses on making digital course content more accessible. Ally is embedded within Blackboard Learn to assist content creators in making files such as Word, PowerPoint, images, and PDFs more accessible within the course. Faculty members receive feedback on the accessibility of their content and step-by-step instructions on how to improve content accessibility. In addition, Ally allows students to choose alternative formats for their course content. Alternative formats include audio files, electronic braille, epub for e-book readers, and mobile devices and HTML for viewing within browsers. 

As we move toward achieving these standards of compliance, we encourage all primary web contacts, content creators, and faculty and staff members to participate in the available workshops offered on campus.

The SUNY Pride Conference Committee cordially invites students, community members, resource professionals, junior and senior faculty members, and administrators to submit proposals for the seventh annual SUNY Pride Conference on Friday and Saturday, October 18 and 19, on the campus of SUNY Oneonta. The conference theme is "Celebrating Our Histories, Envisioning Our Futures." This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots that many recognize as the linchpin event that fundamentally changed the course of history for LGBTQIA+ people both in the United States and around the world.

The SUNY Pride Conference is meant to highlight and celebrate LGBTQIA+ experiences through fostered dialogue across academic or practical experiences, disciplinary focuses, and institutional perspectives as well as provide support and resources to those who attend. Today’s students entering college come with new attitudes and understandings around gender and sexuality. Despite progress made in areas of policy, education, and popular culture, much work remains to be done to give the best support and education to students in a nation and world full of uncertainty. This year’s theme serves to provide an avenue for different voices to be heard and allow for greater representation of individuals who are so often silenced.

Conference participants are encouraged to reflect on the ways that our histories—and herstories—need to be celebrated and continually uncovered from hidden corners of sociocultural days past as one way of embracing our individual and collective journeys. Participants are also encouraged to consider envisioning a future that none of us are guaranteed—futures that challenge us all to do better by our LGBTQIA+ ancestors and siblings, and our current and future selves.

The SUNY Pride Conference committee is excited to announce the return of the Professional Track, designed to help current professionals and educators who work with and serve the LGBTQIA+ community (teachers [K–12], faculty members, administrators, staff members, counselors, community leaders, advisers, etc.) share research, trends, and best practices for supporting students in the community and beyond. New this year is the opportunity for Professional Track presentations to include students in the audience. Please note on the submission form if you would like your presentation to count toward the Professional Track.

Student presenters should seek guidance from a faculty or staff member at their home institution. The faculty or staff member should mentor students through the process of writing the conference proposal, organizing a presentation on a specific theme, and presenting their scholarship to an audience.

Guidelines for Presentation Submission
All presentations should accomplish the following:

• Explore the SUNY Pride Conference theme through the analysis of research, best practices, lived experience, and activism.
• Promote audience engagement, personal and collective reflection, and robust discussion.
• Include a strongly articulated purpose, conceptual foundation, contextual background, and contributions to intersectional LGBTQIA+ scholarship and advocacy.

To submit a proposal, please complete the form on the conference website. Submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, September 10.

Please visit the conference website over the summer for more information and updates. Please contact Emily Phelps, chair of the SUNY Pride Conference Committee, with questions.

As the 2019 Faculty and Staff Appeal wraps up, I want to share the wonderful news that we’ve reached more than 90 percent of our $170,000 goal.

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the many worthwhile scholarships and funds supported by the appeal. I’d also like to thank the members of the 2019 Appeal Committee—Kelly Boos, Curtis Brickhouse, Carolyn Fusco, Maryruth Glogowski, Tamara Horstman-Riphahn, Megan Keogh, Thomas Koller, Lisa Krieger, Margaret Letzelter, Melissa Slisz, Lauren Turner, and Amitra Wall—for their hard work.

If you have yet to make a commitment, you still have until Friday, May 17, to do so. As you may know, many of our students are coming to campus with more financial challenges, more personal hardships, and greater responsibilities than they have in the past. This makes the Faculty and Staff Appeal especially crucial, so please consider making a one-time gift or payroll deduction.

The almost 800 funds cover everything from academic scholarships to emergency funds, including our new Back on Track fund. There are a variety of funds you may choose to support. The full list (PDF, 289 KB) is available on the Giving website. Every dollar given to the appeal makes a Buffalo State degree more attainable and our campus more welcoming.

Please drop off your contribution forms in the Institutional Advancement Office, Cleveland 304, ideally by May 17. But gifts will be accepted beyond the deadline. For more information, please contact appeal coordinator Claire Collier, 878-5206.

Tomorrow's Mexican Fiesta from noon to 1:30 p.m. has been moved to the Campbell Student Union lobby because of the weather forecast.

Today's Mexican Fiesta from noon to 1:30 p.m. has been moved to the Campbell Student Union lobby because of the weather forecast.