Lisa Marie Anselmi, assistant professor, Anthropology, presented her paper “The Martin II Site: An Early Woodland Lithic Manufacturing Locality on the Niagara Frontier” at the 73rd annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, March 26–30, in Vancouver, British Columbia. While in Vancouver, she also conducted research on copper-based metals, wooden artifacts, and textiles at the Royal British Columbia Museum and the University of British Comumbia’s Museum of Anthropology.

Aimable Twagilimana, professor, English, and coordinator, African and African American Studies Interdisciplinary Unit, has won a Fulbright Scholarship to Senegal for 2008–2009. He will spend the academic year at the Cheikh Anta Diop University (the University of Dakar) teaching American literature and carrying out research in contemporary African literature, with special focus on the legacy of Léopold Sédar Senghor.

Gary Solar, chair and associate professor, Earth Sciences and Science Education, was nationally elected to a three-year term as a Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) councilor (2008–2011) for the Geosciences Division.

Ramona Santa Maria, lecturer, Computer Information Systems, gave a commentary on women in technology for an online podcast to Sonja Thompson, news editor for Tech Republic online magazine, part of the BNET Business Network (CNet and ZDNet). The individual podcast turned into a group podcast, and last week, Santa Maria participated in Tech Republic’s Special Report for Women in IT: Educational Opportunities. This special report highlights educational opportunities for females of all ages who are interested in technology. The podcast is available online. A paper by Santa Maria, “Urban High School Students Narrate the Possible Outcomes Associated with Learning Classroom Technology,” was accepted for publication by theInternational Journal of Technology, Knowledge and Society.

Michael Johnson, associate professor, Modern and Classical Languages, presented his paper “‘The Outer Rim of That Devilry’: The Shadow of That Hideous Strength” in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section of the 2007 Annual Conference of the Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 2–4.

Stephen Houseknecht, lecturer, Fine Arts, had a solo exhibition of his large-format inkjet prints from his ongoing Bomber Diptych Series at the Buffalo Arts Studio, in the Tri-Main Center, from January 12 through February 22. Brooke Fitzpatrick, gallery curator, selected the 12 exhibited prints. Houseknecht was awarded a New York Foundation of the Arts Special Opportunities Stipend to help support the solo exhibition. This project was funded by the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester with a Special Opportunity Stipend made in collaboration with the New York Foundation for the Arts. M&T Bank of Buffalo has purchased Houseknecht’s Thirty Seconds Over LeRoy; Bomber Diptych from the Albright-Knox Collectors Gallery. A private Buffalo collector purchased Untitled, Summer Barnstormer Series; Bomber Diptych, also from the Albright-Knox Collectors Gallery, in January.

Andrew Garrity, programmer/analyst, Computing and Technology Services, took first place for faculty/staff in the 11th annual Bengal 5K Run and Fun Walk on Saturday, March 15. Proceeds from the race benefit the Alumni Association’s Legacy Scholarship Fund. Legacy scholarships are awarded annually to Buffalo State students who are children and grandchildren of alumni.

The Health and Wellness Department, in collaboration with the Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo, the City of Buffalo Division for Senior Services, and the Erie County Department of Senior Services, implemented the Passport to Wellness for Older Adults: Walking for Health program. The Walking for Health program focused on the regular benefits of physical activity over a five-week period from February 15 to March 14. The program offered short and long walks in area malls every Friday. The Program Planning in Health/Wellness course (HEW 412), taught by Susan Baldwin, assistant professor, Health and Wellness, and its students prepared one to two age-appropriate walking and health presentations for each scheduled event and provided a hands-on warmup, assisted with a diabetes-prevention assessment, performed short and long walks with older adults, and conducted two fitness assessments (strength and blood pressure) throughout the event. Students conducted 101 blood pressure readings and 151 grip-strength measurements, which were well received by all participants. The students were extremely satisfied with this practical, hands-on learning experience transferring classroom knowledge and skills into real-world experience.

Joseph Territo, supervisor of grounds and manager of the Maud Gordon Holmes Arboretum, Campus Services, taught a class titled “Hazard Trees” for the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Monroe County’s 2008 Horticulture School on March 20. The class covered all aspects of hazardous trees and lessons learned from the October 2006 storm in Buffalo.

Constance Nowak, lecturer, Design, has been a set designer for the March of Dimes “Gourmet Gala” for the past 25 years. This year’s cooking station design in the theme of An American in Paris took first place for “Theme Design Excellence.” The event took place at the Adam’s Mark grand ballroom the weekend of March 15. The cooking station was an 8-foot-by-8-foot freestanding work area where celebrity chefs prepared items from the cocktail/dinner menu. Nowak’s chefs were Robin Wolfgang of Time Warner Cable and her husband, who dressed in period attire. The set included a replica of the Eiffel Tower, an impressionist-style painting, which Nowak created, and special lighting effects in the café setting. The film and soundtrack from An American in Paris played in the background, completing the ambience. The attention to detail has distinguished her sets as winning designs.

Nowak’s set designs have previously won awards for excellence in technical design and creative design. Nowak is working with colleagues from the Interior Design Department to have students design, plan, and construct one or more cooking station sets for next year’s event.