I’m happy to report that the May 31 Bengalathon 2020, which aired on WBBZ-TV and livestreamed on the Buffalo State Alumni Association Facebook page, was a roaring success. This is due to the efforts of many of you.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to shift the format of our traditional Bengala—Buffalo State’s largest fundraiser that has supported students for the past 23 years—to a virtual format. This, of course, was a new experience for us all, but it turned out beautifully.

The two-hour Stand for a Student event, designed to provide emergency financial assistance and scholarships for our students, raised $275,000. The money will help students who are facing unseen financial difficulties, students who may have had to leave school if not for access to this emergency fund.

I’m grateful to the 160 donors who contributed directly to the fund or who bid on one of the many auction items available during the evening.

However, the Bengalathon wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of those who worked behind the scenes to make it happen.

I would specifically like to thank the Bengalathon chairs, Buffalo State College Foundation board member Robert Lamendola and his wife, Teresa, and James Finnerty, vice president for institutional advancement, for their tremendous leadership, along with the entire Development, Alumni Engagement, and Marketing and Communications teams. They worked together to support Alexis Greinert, development coordinator; Michael Lewis, events management director; and Andrew Binder, operations director for the Performing Arts Center.

Finally, I’d like to recognize the stellar work of the on-campus members of the Bengala Planning Committee: Rock Doyle, assistant vice president for health and wellness; Carlos Jones, interim dean of the School of Arts and Humanities; Amy McMillan, director of the Muriel A. Howard Honors Program; and Bhakti Sharma, associate professor of interior design.

The success of the 2020 Bengalathon demonstrates the strides Buffalo State can make when we search for creative solutions and combine forces for the greater good. Thank you!

Late last week, Buffalo State College submitted an overview to SUNY System Administration regarding possible options to restart on-campus operations and activities this fall. Within the submission, we outlined the detailed work of the Fall 2020 Scenario Planning Team and presented three scenarios that remain under consideration. While a final decision about academic operations for the fall semester will be determined in consultation with SUNY, Governor Cuomo, and the Western New York regional reopening team, I did want to share a brief overview of the scenarios that were advanced for review.

Under all three scenarios, the planning team provided thoughtful considerations for health and safety, campus operations, academic continuity, student relations continuity, business continuity, economic impact, and community impact. All scenarios also assume the need for all members of the campus community to wear face coverings or masks when adequate physical distancing is not feasible.

Scenario 1: Robust In-Person Instruction and Operations with Social Distancing
Under this scenario, in-person instruction would be offered to the fullest extent possible while maintaining social distancing in the classrooms. Although some class schedules would have to be adjusted to limit the use of small classroom spaces where physical distancing will be difficult, this scenario would offer students an overall campus experience closer to “normal.” Access to in-person campus services and student supports would be available under this scenario with precautions taken to protect students and staff. Accommodations and adjustments would also be made for food service and residence hall operations to ensure safety, but offerings in these areas would be broad and provide a more signature campus experience.  

Scenario 2: Hybrid Instruction/Targeted Curriculum
This scenario would prioritize on-campus instruction for courses, labs, studios, and practicums where in-person interactions and hands-on experience are critical to student learning. Core and signature experience courses could also be targeted and prioritized for in-person instruction, while other classes may be offered in a true hybrid format, with lectures offered online and supplemental instruction in person in smaller groups. And classes that can effectively be delivered 100 percent online would remain remote to help reduce density on campus. In this scenario, other density-reduction efforts would be implemented, but core operations and support programs would be available to students—albeit in a mix of virtual and in-person formats with social distancing. Residence halls would also operate in this scenario, but occupancy would likely be limited to some degree to support density reduction.

Scenario 3: Remote Instruction
Although this scenario is not preferred, fully remote and online instruction is something the campus must be prepared to offer this fall. If remote instruction is again our reality, the fall would look very similar to what we experienced in the second half of the spring semester. Nearly all support services would be virtual, residence hall occupancy would be limited to only those students with extenuating circumstances, and a limited number of courses would be offered in person to preserve necessary student learning outcomes. This option also serves as a contingency for scenarios 1 and 2 in the event the pandemic surges during the semester, and a return to full remote instruction is deemed necessary.

Once the campus receives feedback on its submission to SUNY System Administration, I intend to provide the campus community with an update on our preparations for the fall semester as we continue to prioritize keeping all members of our campus community healthy and safe. Thank you for your continued and tireless efforts to support Buffalo State and our students. Be well.

Please join me in sharing bittersweet best wishes and many thanks to Maryruth Glogowski, special assistant to the CIO, who will retire from Buffalo State College on June 30, 2020. Please join us for a digital farewell on Monday, June 22, between 3:30 and 4:15 p.m. through Zoom. Please sign up to be added to the Zoom invitation list.

Ms. Glogowski's service to the college spans over 45 exceptional years. She started her career in 1975 in Butler Library as a science reference librarian and has spent many years giving her time, talent, and support to the college.

Within the Information Technology division, Ms. Glogowski has served as associate vice president for operations management, associate vice president for information services and systems, and associate vice president for library and instructional technology. Under Academic Affairs, she served as assistant vice president for library and instructional technology, library director, and director of instructional technology. Before her appointment as library director, she attained the rank of full librarian.

Ms. Glogowski has secured many grants, presented at numerous conferences, and published three books and 10 journal articles in the field of information science. Her leadership in the library brought about the college’s first website. She served as chair of the SUNY Council of Library Directors, was an officer on the board of Nylink, served as a delegate for the OCLC Members Council, and chaired the Western New York Library Resources Council board of directors. She was active in the ACE National Network for Women Leaders in Higher Education, where she served on the board for seven years, two of them as state coordinator.

She is also a staunch supporter of many community organizations, currently serving on the board of Project Flight and enjoying the Burchfield Penney Art Center as a loyal patron.

In her role as special assistant to the CIO, Ms. Glogowski has spent countless hours training staff, sharing her institutional knowledge, and supporting the CIO and VP division. We are indebted to her for her service and her love of Buffalo State.

As she makes her transition from the college, please direct any questions to Katie Malik-Willard, executive assistant to the CIO and vice president for enrollment, marketing, and communications. And please join us on June 22.

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Crystal J. Rodriguez as Buffalo State College’s next chief diversity officer. Ms. Rodriguez will also retain her role as my chief of staff, a position she has held since October 2018. She will assume her CDO responsibilities on Monday, June 15.

Ms. Rodriguez is uniquely and distinctively prepared to serve as the college’s next chief diversity officer. From her previous professional experience as the City of Buffalo’s first chief diversity officer to her distinguished legal credentials, I am grateful that she has accepted this new leadership role as we continue to nurture and elevate equity and diversity at Buffalo State. 

As the City of Buffalo’s chief diversity officer from 2015 to 2018, Ms. Rodriguez developed the city’s Opportunity Pledge and spearheaded Mayor Byron Brown’s Opportunity Agenda, which focused on embracing racial equity, diversity, and inclusion and ensuring that opportunities created by the recent economic renaissance in the city could 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).

Ms. Rodriguez takes over Buffalo State’s equity and diversity efforts after the departure of Karen Clinton Jones, who after eight years of dedicated service to Buffalo State will join Binghamton University this summer as vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Volunteers are needed for a new retention initiative called "Connection Calls." We know that the future of our Buffalo State Bengal community is at risk and unknown. While our students are not here right now, there is something we can intentionally do to reassure them we are here to support them—we can simply connect. Our community is good at meeting students “where they are.” Let’s reach out and reconnect with them.

Please help your Bengal community by volunteering to participate in Connection Calls, which will consist of asking students three questions. We will simply take our list of all students who are currently enrolled and divide that list by the number of volunteers we receive. The more volunteers we get, the smaller the call lists will be. The calls you volunteer to make will guarantee that every student of ours is reached.

If you are willing to serve, please complete this Qualtrics survey, and we will be in touch with you shortly.

Thank you for your commitment to our Buffalo State Bengal community!

The Academic Success Collaborative

“If we are successful in retention during this unprecedented time, it will be because of the relationships that were already developed.”
—The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 14, 2020

I am pleased to announce that Carol DeNysschen, professor and chair of the Health, Nutrition, and Dietetics Department, has received the President's Caring Bengal Award.

Dr. DeNysschen was nominated for the award by Bhakti Sharma, associate professor in the Art and Design Department. I am so pleased to recognize Dr. DeNysschen, and I encourage the entire campus community to join me in thanking her for her exceptional effort to make Buffalo State a great place to live, learn, and work. Her award profile can be viewed on the Professional Development website.

I announced the creation and implementation of the President's Caring Bengal Award in December 2017 to recognize supportive colleagues in our Buffalo State community who not only transform the lives of our students but also help create a caring and collegial environment for our faculty, staff, and administrators.

Nominations for the Caring Bengal Award will not be collected until September 2020. For more information about the award criteria and recipient selection process, or to submit a nomination, please visit the Professional Development website.

I am pleased to announce that Sandra Washington-Copeland, adviser and instructor in the School of Education's Teacher Diversity Pipeline program, has received the President's Caring Bengal Award.

Dr. Washington-Copeland was nominated for the award by Shelly Inniss-Jackson, adviser for the Educational Opportunity Program, and students in the Teacher Diversity Pipeline program, including Marc D. Adams, Leslie Lawrence, Deliris Rodriguez, Naeemah Wilson Simmons, and Phi Phyoe Thu. I am so pleased to recognize Dr. Washington-Copeland, and I encourage the entire campus community to join me in thanking her for her exceptional effort to make Buffalo State a great place to live, learn, and work. Her award profile can be viewed on the Professional Development website.

I announced the creation and implementation of the President's Caring Bengal Award in December 2017 to recognize supportive colleagues in our Buffalo State community who not only transform the lives of our students but also help create a caring and collegial environment for our faculty, staff, and administrators.

Nominations for the Caring Bengal Award will not be collected until September 2020. For more information about the award criteria and recipient selection process, or to submit a nomination, please visit the Professional Development website.

The academic obligation for 2020–2021 at Buffalo State College commences Monday, August 24, 2020, and ends Monday, May 31, 2021.

I am pleased to announce that the Creative Studies Department will change its name to Creativity and Change Leadership to better reflect the mission and focus of the department. This change will be effective in fall 2020 and should be reflected in official documents.

As the newly appointed chief diversity officer and someone who has worked in this space for many years, I realize that I am expected to know exactly what to say regarding the social and racial unrest following the tragic and senseless deaths of black men and women at the hands of law enforcement officers. I must admit that I have tried to write this several times, and my words have been plagued by anger, sadness, rage, frustration, and even grief.

From the brutal killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, and too many others before them, to the disgusting racism directed at Christian Cooper and others just for being black, these videos haunt our thoughts and pervade our sensibilities with horrific images reminiscent of the Jim Crow era. In the words of actor Will Smith, “Racism is not getting worse; it’s getting filmed.” These videos also force us to admit that racism is still a perpetual affliction in America today, reminding us that bias and prejudice can be found at every turn. 

Our community is exhausted. Along with the daily fatigue that comes with being a woman of color—a black woman in America—I have grown weary of seeing my brothers and sisters killed, beaten, or harassed simply because of the color of our skin. I am beyond tired of reading statements recognizing the systemic and institutional racism in which the same banalities are recited time and time again, with only the names of the victims and the cities changed.

So in the midst of all this unrest, here I am, the newly appointed chief diversity officer for Buffalo State College, wondering what to say to our wonderfully diverse community–a community that is at once afraid, concerned, eager to help, ready for change, unsure of what to do, and yes, even those who are seemingly unaffected. Here is what I can say with certainty: an inclusive and welcoming Buffalo State College is a shared responsibility. We are all expected to commit to being and bringing our best selves to our work every day, and especially during this time. To quote President Conway-Turner, “This racist storm is not a new one, but we must remain calm and thoughtfully plot our course of action in response to the events before us.”

At Buffalo State, we are well positioned to weather this storm. Diversity is infused in all we do. Inclusion, while embraced, is still a challenge, but one that must be met. Equity is what we strive for. Everyone is valued. Make no mistake about it—Black Lives Matter here. I am proud to continue the work of Dr. Karen Clinton Jones, under whose leadership much was accomplished. I am also honored to have been chosen by President Conway-Turner, who is proud of the many things for which our campus has been recognized:

• For seven years in a row, Buffalo State has been recognized as a national leader in diversity and inclusion as a recipient of INSIGHT into Diversity’s Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award. 
• Last year, Buffalo State was named a pilot institution for SUNY’s Promoting Recruitment, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Growth (PRODI-G) initiative, bring three new faculty members to campus from underrepresented groups.
• In coordination with PRODI-G and in response to student interest, we launched a bachelor’s degree program in Africana studies in 2019. The new program is composed of 14 courses in political science, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and English, including African American Literature to 1940, the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Race and Progress, and Hip-Hop Culture.
• We celebrate diversity through our Diversity Dialogue Speaker Series;  the Beyond Boundaries: Dare to Be Diverse film series; the Anne Frank Project and its annual social justice festival; and our inclusive student clubs such as Pride Alliance, Caribbean Students Organization, and Adelante Estudiantes Latinos, just to name a few.
• Our University Police Department values diversity, is trained and implements fair and impartial policing practices, and works in lockstep with the campus under our shared community policing philosophy.
• We are uniquely positioned in SUNY and in New York State as a majority-minority institution with African American, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students making up nearly 55 percent of our undergraduate population.
• Buffalo State ranked 32nd nationally (out of 1,458 colleges and universities) in CollegeNET’s 2019 Social Mobility Index, which ranks four-year colleges according to how effectively they enroll economically disadvantaged students and graduate them into well-paying jobs.
• And most recently, President Conway-Turner established the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship at Buffalo State to lift up future African American leaders who support racial justice and equity efforts in their communities.

While we have much to celebrate and build upon at Buffalo State, we must recognize and be committed to the hard work that still needs to be done. Difficult conversations will need to take place, and we will all have to take part in them, as individuals and as an institution. We can no longer turn a blind eye to circumstances as they are. We must work collaboratively to create circumstances as they should be. 

These last couple of weeks have been filled with utter trauma and pain, and the protests and riots are manifestations of such. As campus leaders and members, we are obligated speak out against the unjust, ruthless, and inhumane atrocities that we are bearing witness to today. Additionally, we must stand with members of our campus community who are outraged by what is playing out on the world stage.

One of my favorite quotes belongs to the prominent abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer William Lloyd Garrison, who said, “I have need to be all on fire, for I have mountains of ice around me to melt.” In my new role as chief diversity officer, I will work tirelessly, together with others on campus, to melt the mountains of racism, inequity, and discrimination, taking advantage of the diversity we have, to make our campus community more welcoming and inclusive. I can only do this with your help. I look forward to joining together with you in this important work.

With thoughts of comfort and strength for us all, 

Crystal J. Rodriguez, Esq., LL.M.
Chief of Staff to the President and Chief Diversity Officer