Holocaust survivor Nicholas Leibovic will share his powerful story in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom HaShoah, on Thursday, April 28, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. via Microsoft Teams. Holocaust Remembrance seeks both to commemorate the tragic history of the Holocaust and to reflect on the lessons it holds for our lives today.

Please join us to hear Mr. Leibovic’s amazing story.

All are welcome to attend. Join the event.

A special thanks to Ian Leberman, Amy Rosen-brand, and the Holocaust Resource Center, who made this event possible.

Please join us on Wednesday, May 11, to actively engage in the spring Retention Symposium from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall.

This seminar will provide updates regarding the work that is in progress to immediately improve persistence and retention while maintaining a long-term impact. Through presentations from Enrollment Management, Institutional Research, the associate dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and the senior adviser for student success and retention, participants will get clarity about the direction the college is heading to enhance academic and student support services as well as academic achievement and how they can assist in these efforts.

Additionally, interactive discussions will be led by individuals engaged in retention efforts including Title III First-Year Initiatives, CWP/UNC First-Year Learning Communities, Service Learning, Milligan’s Food Pantry, Men of Merit, and the Anne Frank Project.

The goal will be to share some strategic and practical goals and spend some time in functional and cross-unit groups to help apply how the goals and information discussed can be incorporated into action plans related to the work being done in departments.

Please register online for the Retention Symposium.

Cameron T. Herman, assistant professor of Africana studies and sociology, and Douglas L. Hoston Jr., SUNY PRODiG Fellow in the Social and Psychological Foundations of Education and Adult Education Department, have been selected for the summer 2022 Social Justice Faculty Externship program. Dr. Herman and Dr. Hoston will engage with community partners throughout the summer to support a community-based social justice project that addresses a system issue of inequity, while exploring and learning about the organization’s efforts to foster equity in our community. While completing the project, Dr. Herman and Dr. Hoston will also consider opportunities for additional integration of justice-oriented learning in the curriculum of their courses to extend the impacts of the externship to students through the classroom.

The Social Justice Faculty Externship is supported by the Equity and Campus Diversity Office and the Civic and Community Engagement Office and through the generous gift of an anonymous donor. Please join us in congratulating Drs. Herman and Hoston, who will present on their experience to the campus community in fall 2022. We hope you will join us to hear about their projects and impacts.

The Graduate Student Association, in collaboration with the Graduate School, will host the 10th annual Graduate Student Research Fair on Friday, May 13, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union. Students from each academic school will compete in the Buffalo State 3-Minute Capstone Contest Finals for cash prizes, and an array of posters will be displayed during the Graduate Student Poster Presentation.

Buffalo State 3-Minute Capstone Contest Finals
5:00 p.m. | Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall
Contestants will compete and present their master’s thesis or project research in a fun, creative forum for cash prizes.

Graduate School Awards Presentation
5:45 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 and Buffalo State Capstone Contest winners announced.

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.

Faculty and staff members are encouraged to attend and to urge their students to come and support their classmates. Refreshments will be served. Registering to attend is appreciated but not required.

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

The Graduate Student Association, in collaboration with the Graduate School, will host the 10th annual Graduate Student Research Fair today, May 13, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union. Students from each academic school will compete in the Buffalo State 3-Minute Capstone Contest Finals for cash prizes, and an array of posters will be displayed during the Graduate Student Poster Presentation.

Buffalo State 3-Minute Capstone Contest Finals
5:00 p.m. | Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall
Contestants will compete and present their master’s thesis or project research in a fun, creative forum for cash prizes.

Graduate School Awards Presentation
5:45 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 and Buffalo State Capstone Contest winners announced.

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.

Faculty and staff members are encouraged to attend and to urge their students to come and support their classmates. Refreshments will be served. Registering to attend is appreciated but not required.

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

I am pleased to announce that Sujit Suwal, assistant professor of chemistry, has received the President's Caring Bengal Award.

Dr. Suwal was nominated for the award by Victoire-Grace Karambizi, lead organizer and research technician, and Matthew Wrotny, senior undergraduate student in the chemistry program. I am so pleased to recognize Dr. Suwal, and I encourage the entire campus community to join me in thanking him for his exceptional effort to make Buffalo State College a great place to live, learn, and work. His 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.

Members of the campus community are invited to submit nominations for the President’s Caring Bengal Award by  5:00 p.m. Friday, May 13. Please visit the award website for more information about the award criteria and recipient selection process or to submit a nomination.

Award Description
Each of us knows a faculty member, staff member, or administrator who transforms the work and personal lives of their colleagues by supporting them with compassion, care, respect, and collegiality. These caring colleagues in our community can be found at every level of our institution, and although they create positive work experiences for each person they encounter, their contribution to our community sometimes goes unnoticed. To recognize these supportive colleagues in our community, each month faculty, staff, and administrators across all ranks, unions, and titles can be nominated by a colleague or student to receive the Caring Bengal Award.

The Faculty and Staff Recognition Committee, which includes faculty and staff representation from UUP, CSEA, the College Senate, and the Professional Staff Caucus, will review award nominations and select the award recipient each month.

Please contact Rebecca Eggleston, staff assistant in the Professional Development Center, with questions about the President’s Caring Bengal Award.

The Student Leadership and Engagement Office is pleased to announce the summer 2022 first-year and transfer student orientation schedule. This is our first in-person summer Orientation since the onset of the pandemic, and we are excited to return to fully in-person operations.

In-person sessions will commence Tuesday, July 12, and conclude Friday, August 19. In total, we will host seven in-person sessions. Transfer sessions will be offered in a one-day format, and first-year sessions will be offered in a two-day format.

Orientation sessions are scheduled as follows:

Transfer Students
July 12, 19, 26

Freshmen/First-Year Students
July 13 and 14
July 27 and 28

Special First-Year Sessions
EOP: July 21 and 22
Athletes: August 18 and 19

Student Registration for Orientation
The registration portal for Orientation will open Monday, May 16. Upon submitting their deposit, students will be sent an email with instructions and a registration link, which will allow them to self-register for their preferred session. (Please note that students identified as part of the special EOP or athlete Orientation sessions occurring this summer will be allowed to register only for those sessions.)

Students Unable to Attend Orientation
If you encounter a student this summer who has expressed an inability to attend the sessions listed above, please let them know that there may be a make-up opportunity closer to the start of the semester. Currently this information is not being advertised to the student population as we would prefer students to attend Orientation as early as possible.

Other Support Resources
Our asynchronous version of Orientation will once again be made available to incoming students on Flipgrid. Reminders to access the content will be sent out periodically to students who have officially registered for a summer Orientation session. Instructions will also be posted on the Orientation website. Content displayed on Flipgrid is meant to help acclimate students to the various campus departments and academic programs before Orientation. This is an effort to assist incoming students with making the most of their scheduled in-person session. This content will remain available to students throughout the semester. 

How You Can Help

• Volunteer to assist with summer Orientation. 
• Add items to the incoming student swag bag. 
• Staff a table during the summer Orientation student resource fair. 

If you are curious about what your department has planned for this summer’s Orientation, please connect with your departmental orientation committee member.

If you have questions or would like additional clarification, please email Shawnté Wilson, associate director of orientation and first-year retention programs.

The Student Leadership and Engagement Office is pleased to announce the summer 2022 first-year and transfer student orientation schedule. This is our first in-person summer Orientation since the onset of the pandemic, and we are excited to return to fully in-person operations.

In-person sessions will commence Tuesday, July 12, and conclude Friday, August 19. In total, we will host seven in-person sessions. Transfer sessions will be offered in a one-day format, and first-year sessions will be offered in a two-day format.

Orientation sessions are scheduled as follows:

Transfer Students
July 12, 19, 26

Freshmen/First-Year Students
July 13 and 14
July 27 and 28

Special First-Year Sessions
EOP: July 21 and 22
Athletes: August 18 and 19

Student Registration for Orientation
The registration portal for Orientation will open Monday, May 16. Upon submitting their deposit, students will be sent an email with instructions and a registration link, which will allow them to self-register for their preferred session. (Please note that students identified as part of the special EOP or athlete Orientation sessions occurring this summer will be allowed to register only for those sessions.)

Students Unable to Attend Orientation
If you encounter a student this summer who has expressed an inability to attend the sessions listed above, please let them know that there may be a make-up opportunity closer to the start of the semester. Currently this information is not being advertised to the student population as we would prefer students to attend Orientation as early as possible.

Other Support Resources
Our asynchronous version of Orientation will once again be made available to incoming students on Flipgrid. Reminders to access the content will be sent out periodically to students who have officially registered for a summer Orientation session. Instructions will also be posted on the Orientation website. Content displayed on Flipgrid is meant to help acclimate students to the various campus departments and academic programs before Orientation. This is an effort to assist incoming students with making the most of their scheduled in-person session. This content will remain available to students throughout the semester. 

How You Can Help

• Volunteer to assist with summer Orientation. 
• Add items to the incoming student swag bag. 
• Staff a table during the summer Orientation student resource fair. 

If you are curious about what your department has planned for this summer’s Orientation, please connect with your departmental orientation committee member.

If you have questions or would like additional clarification, please email Shawnté Wilson, associate director of orientation and first-year retention programs.

Buffalo State College’s Anne Frank Project will host its 14th annual social justice festival, AFP 2022: Healing through Stories, in person October 12–14. Please hold these dates and consider including in your fall 2022 syllabi. Consider proposing sessions crafted as one-third theory and two-thirds practice. Submit your proposal today. AFP staff members are available to collaborate with proposers seeking assistance with developing the practice portion of their sessions.

Remember, it was Anne Frank's wish to "repair the world." This year's festival is an opportunity for all of us to actively respond to that challenge. We need you and your healing stories now more than ever.

To learn more about the Anne Frank Project, please visit the AFP website.

If you have questions or need any help with your proposal, please contact Jonise Hall, festival coordinator.

The next Bengal Business Forum is scheduled for Thursday, May 26, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. This virtual meeting will provide updates on the budget and Strategic Resource Planning Process, spending control procedures, enterprise risk management, cybersecurity, and emergency management.

Buffalo State’s Bengal Business Forum provides an opportunity for members of the campus community to learn about and engage in relevant business and administrative matters at the college. It is a place for issues updates, information sharing, and in-depth discussion about financial, administrative, and operational topics.

All members of the campus community are welcome to attend. Please register to receive the Microsoft Teams link and the meeting agenda.

We look forward to seeing you at the May 26 Bengal Business Forum.