Nancy A. Chicola, chair and associate professor, Elementary Education and Reading, and Leslie Day, lecturer and director of the Professional Development Schools Consortium, Elementary Education and Reading, were among seven education faculty members and six students on hand to receive the National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) award for Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement at the 2011 Professional Development Schools National Conference in New Orleans on March 10.

This honor was the result of the work of Buffalo State’s Professional Development School (PDS) Consortium in meeting the NAPDS Nine Essentials through the clinically rich programs based in 45 schools throughout Western New York. The vision and strategic planning efforts of the PDS Consortium reflect a commitment to school and community partnerships that support the schools, learners, and teachers in extending and refining the PDS culture and building exemplary partnerships between the schools and their university partners.

Jeffrey Zacko-Smith, assistant professor, Creative Studies, was asked to serve, for a second time, as feature editor of the Academic Exchange Quarterly Expanded Edition on 21st Century Leadership (winter 2011). This issue, which will focus on contemporary leadership theory and practice, will emphasize leadership education. Anyone who has questions or who is interested in submitting an article should contact Zacko-Smith by July 2011.

Zhang Jie, professor, Sociology, and director, Center for China Studies, published “Validity of Proxy Data Obtained by Different Psychological Autopsy Information Reconstruction Techniques” with coauthor Le Fang in the Journal of International Medical Research 38 (3): 833-843. Le Fang was a visiting student at Buffalo State in 2009.

Zhang Jie, professor, Sociology, and director, Center for China Studies, published a review of the book Suicide and Justice: A Chinese Perspective by Wu Fei (2010) in the China Quarterly 202 (June): 455–456.

John Thompson, associate professor, Computer Information Systems, presented an online session, “Best Practices in Online Discussions: Insights from 10 Years’ Experience Teaching Online Courses,” for Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Distance Education Virtual Conference on February 24. He also presented a concurrent session, “Desktop Videoconferencing: Meet and Teach from Your Desktop Computer,” at the FETC Conference in Orlando, Florida, on February 2. In January, he facilitated an online workshop, “Dynamic Collaboration, Discussion, and Facilitation Practices,” for the Sloan Consortium.

Carolyn Guzski, assistant professor, Music, presented the paper “American Ballet at the Metropolitan” at the Dialogues en Mouvement/Moving Dialogues conference, which was held February 16–19. It was sponsored by the Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.

Zhang Jie, professor, Sociology, and director, Center for China Studies, published his article “Perfectionism and Depression among College Students” coauthored with Yuyu Wang and Shasha Liu in Innovation 2010:111–115. Yuyu Wang was a visiting student at Buffalo State in 2009.
 

Kristen J. Catalano, assistant director, Student Life, was unanimously elected to a three-year term on the board of directors for the Pediatric Digestion and Motility Disorders Society (PEDS), Inc. The mission of PEDS, which was founded in 1989, is to raise funds for the research, diagnosis, and treatment of pediatric gastrointestinal motility and related disorders, while supporting efforts to find a cure.

Greg Ebert, professor, Chemistry, presented a paper “2-Phenylpyridine: An Extractable Electron Carrier Used in Organocopper Synthesis” at the 2010 International Pacific Basin Chemical Conference held in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Bruce G. Bryski, associate professor, Communication Department, made four media appearances as a political analyst and media critic (WBEN 930 AM and WECK 1230 AM radio). He also was contacted by YNN television to discuss the recent resignation of Congressman Christopher Lee and his possible replacement in an upcoming special congressional election for the 26th Congressional District.