John Thompson, associate professor, Computer Information Systems, presented the paper “Online or On Campus?” at the 13th annual Technology, Colleges, and Community Worldwide Online Conference (TCC 2008) April 15–17. Two alumnae of the educational computing program—Alexis Knavel and Dina Ross—were coauthors. The international conference was held entirely online.
Elaine Polvinen, professor, Technology, presented her paper “What Comes First, the Virtual or the Real?” at the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes’ 10th annual conference, held at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, March 8 and 9.
Continuum: The MacKrell Collage Archive Project by Gerald Mead and A Collage Survey: Collected Works,curated by Gerald Mead, lecturer, Design, will be on view at the University at Buffalo Anderson Gallery April 25–June 1. An opening reception will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Friday, April 25.
Barbara J. Dray, assistant professor, Exceptional Education, was appointed as a delegate-at-large for the New York State Association for Bilingual Education in fall 2007. For the past three years, Dray has worked on programs for the association’s annual conference. This year’s 31st annual conference was held in Melville, New York (Long Island), March 13–16. Dray was chair of the program and worked closely with Rada Montroy to make the program a success. She secured keynote speaker Alfredo Artiles, who presented “Addressing Promises and Challenges of Response to Intervention Models for ELLs.”
Alissa de Wit-Paul, assistant professor, Interior Design, delivered a lecture on building sustainability and the Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System to the Rochester chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction on April 2.
Bruce G. Bryski, associate professor, Communication, has been named chief political analyst for WECK-AM 1230. He is also chief political analyst for WLVL-AM 1340. Both stations are owned by Culver Communications. Bryski is a frequent analyst on radio and television in Erie and Niagara counties.
Several works by Nancy Belfer, professor emerita, Design, were included or will be displayed in the following exhibitions: Structures and Pathways, a large textile wall quilt, was included in Materials: Hard and Soft, a national exhibition at the Center for the Visual Arts in Denton, Texas, January 26–March 20. A mixed-media work, View from the Valley, will be included in A Collage Survey: Collected Works, curated by Gerald Mead, lecturer, Design, on view with Continuum: The MacKrell Collage Archive Project by Gerald Mead, at the University at Buffalo Anderson Gallery April 25–June 1. Outer Planet with Woven Moon, a stitched and constructed textile, will be included in the national exhibition Fibers 2008 at the University Art Gallery of Eastern Michigan University, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, May 6–June 12. And an abstract wall quilt, Random Fields, will be included in Made in New York 2008, a statewide exhibition juried by John McQueen and Jen Pepper, at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in Auburn, New York, June 21–August 23.
R. Bruce Baum, professor, Exceptional Education, presented “Humor and Laughter: Bridges to Creativity across Cultures” to the Cyprus Creativity Association on February 21 and “Ten-Minute (or Less) Icebreakers, Energizers, and Team-Building Exercises for Educators and Trainers” at the First International American Creativity Association Conference in Singapore on February 26.
Zhang Jie, professor, Sociology, and director, Center for China Studies, published his article “Psychological Tensions Found in Suicide Notes: A Test for the Strain Theory of Suicide,” coauthored with David Lester, in theArchives of Suicide Research 12 (1): 67–73.
Susan Mary Paige, Lecturer, Exceptional Education, co-presented “‘Stop Talking Smart’ and Other Stories from the Working Class,” with Gillian Richardson, executive director of the Literacy Empowerment Action Program (LEAP) of WNY, at the LEAP Professional Development Seminar on Twenty-First-Century Literacy, in Buffalo on March 1.