Join us this Thursday, February 13, at noon for the Cultural Café, a monthly event that brings together members of the Buffalo State University community over conversation, culture, and tea and healthy veggies. The program will begin at 12:15 p.m. on the first floor of E. H. Butler Library. Help us welcome the 16 new international students who are calling Buffalo State home. This is a great opportunity to meet new people and find common ground with other internationally minded members of the community in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. This event is sponsored by Butler Library and Global Engagement.

The Undergraduate Research Small Grants program provides up to $400 to assist undergraduate students in carrying out a research, scholarly, or creative activity during the academic year. Up to $600 may be requested for a single project that involves two or more students. Funding is intended to help defray the costs to conduct the project and is limited to equipment, supplies, and domestic travel expenses. Award recipients will be required to participate in the Student Research and Creativity Conference (SRCC) at Buffalo State on Friday, May 2, 2025.

The spring 2025 deadline for submission of the student portion of the SGA online application is Wednesday, February 26; the faculty mentor approval is due by Friday, February 28. 

For more information on this and other opportunities for students, visit the experiential learning website.

From the Chair of the Buffalo State Senate

The next meeting of the 2024–2025 Buffalo State Senate will be held tomorrow, February 14, at 3:00 p.m. in Newman Lecture Hall, Bulger Communication Center 215. Ken Fujiuchi, head of information commons in Butler Library, serves as chair of the Senate for the 2024–2025 academic year.

We encourage everyone to visit the Senate website to catch up on Senate news, find podcasts and minutes of past meetings, review reports and resolutions, and more. Documents for the upcoming meeting can be found on the SharePoint site.

In addition to other reports, the Bylaws and Elections Committee will share proposed technical/terminological changes to the Handbook and College Faculty Bylaws. Proposed changes are included in the packet on SharePoint.

Join us today, Thursday, February 13, at noon for the Cultural Café, a monthly event that brings together members of the Buffalo State University community over conversation, culture, and tea and healthy veggies. The program will begin at 12:15 p.m. on the first floor of E. H. Butler Library. Help us welcome the 16 new international students who are calling Buffalo State home. This is a great opportunity to meet new people and find common ground with other internationally minded members of the community in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. This event is sponsored by the Butler Library and Global Engagement.

The campus community is invited to attend a documentary screening and panel discussion on Tuesday, February 25, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 214. "My Brother Lost in Time: A Bipolar Life" depicts the emotional journey of two brothers navigating the challenges of mental illness. Created by Buffalo State Psychology Department alumnus and local attorney Dan Lukasik, this brief documentary explores the filmmaker’s relationship with his brother who struggled with untreated mental illness before his death from an opioid overdose. The screening is sponsored by the Psychology Department, Social Work Department, and NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) student organization and is supported by the Grant Allocation Committee.

Our campus web host Acquia will be performing scheduled maintenance, including security updates, for our platform starting on Monday, February 17, 2025, at 11:00 p.m. and concluding Tuesday morning by 7:00 a.m. Of note, our version of PHP will be updated to 8.3.16. Websites may experience a momentary interruption as PHP restarts to accommodate this release. Please contact Melissa Meehan, web director, with any questions. 

The History and Social Studies Education Department and Africana Studies Unit, in celebration of Black History Month, present “Fighting Jim Crow in Britain: A Transatlantic Interpretation of the Battle of Bamber Bridge (1943).”

Professor Alan Rice (Director of Institute for Black Atlantic Research, UCLan, Preston, UK) 

Thursday, February 20, at 12:30 p.m.

Bulger Communication Center 214

All are welcome.

As part of the SUNY Transformation Fund initiative, this webinar series will provide a platform for campuses to exchange best practices and learn from each other's experiences. Each session will feature expert speakers and interactive discussions, offering participants valuable insights and actionable strategies to support student success across SUNY campuses.

March 5 - Student Basic Needs Support (Erie Community College): Understand the importance of addressing students' basic needs, such as food and housing, the SNAP gap, and mental health peer programs to promote overall well-being and academic success.

April 23 - Proactive Advising (SUNY Cortland): Gain insights into proactive advising techniques that help identify and address student challenges early, preventing potential barriers to success.

For additional details about the webinar series, featured speakers, and webinar descriptions, please visit the webinar schedule.

A complete playlist can be found on the SUNY CPD YouTube Channel.

Graduating student award listings for publication in the 2025 Commencement booklet are due by Monday, March 31. The commemorative booklet will be distributed during the annual Commencement ceremonies on May 17 and will be posted on the Commencement website on Commencement day.

Instructions for submitting awards including an Excel spreadsheet for you to complete were emailed to academic departments, programs, and offices on February 17. Please submit your listings for bachelor’s, master’s, and advanced graduate certificate awards.

Contact Kimberly Jackson, deputy director of commencement operations and ceremonial events in Academic Affairs, with questions about submitting student awards.

Governor Kathy Hochul has directed that flags on state government buildings be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset Wednesday, February 19, in honor of Binghamton firefighter John R. Gaudet, who was fatally injured in the line of duty while responding to a fire on February 12. 

More information is available on the governor’s website.