Kratus Award 2024-25

The Business Department is pleased to announce that we are accepting student-developed, original business plans for the 2024/25 Kratus Entrepreneurship Award. The purpose of the award is to provide a measure of financial assistance to budding entrepreneurs as they graduate from university and embark on building their businesses.

The awards are given every spring to two graduating seniors, one male and one female, in any major who have demonstrated the greatest potential for building their own business, demonstrated by currently owning or operating a business, or preparing to own and operate a business. You do not need to be a business student to apply.

Recipients are selected by a committee of three faculty members from the Business Department.

To apply for the award

Please follow the business plan from the Small Business Development Center (below). This must be a fully developed business plan in Word or PDF format, not just a PowerPoint presentation.

Email your business plans to Dr. Lorena Mathien no later than the end of the day, April 1, 2025.

You must also present a 5-minute pitch plus Q&A of your business plan on Tuesday, April 15, at 12:15 p.m. in Chase Hall 341.

• Amount: $1,500 each student
• Due Date: Monday, April 1
• Presentation Date: Tuesday, April 15, 12:15 p.m. in Chase Hall 341
• Award Notification: Monday, April 21
• Award Ceremony: Thursday, May 8, 12:15 p.m. in the Student Union Assembly Hall  

History of the Award

John and Tom Kratus were among the early graduates of the Buffalo State Business Program. John, Tom’s father, had been a successful businessman who decided to enter college at the same time as his son to pursue a business degree at Buffalo State. They both graduated with their business degrees in 1975. In 1977, John decided to move his business to the fast-growing area of Dallas, TX. Unfortunately, their success was short-lived. In 1984, John, at the age of 52, died suddenly from a heart attack. In 1986, at age 30, Tom died of leukemia. Despite this double tragedy, the rest of the family ran the business successfully until it was sold.

In the late 1980s, the Kratus family established a scholarship for business students at Buffalo State in honor of John and Tom and to thank the Business Department for their support from the business faculty while they were students. The Kratus Award is given annually to two students who best exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit that John and Tom possessed.

Kratus Award Format

Summary

• Business description
  • Name
  • Location and plan description
  • Product/Service
  • Management experience/expertise
• Business goals
• Summary of financial needs and application of funds
• Earnings projection

Market analysis

• Description of the total market and percentage you plan to capture
• Industry trends
• Target market
• Competition

Products or Services

• Description of product line or service
• Proprietary position
• Comparison with competitor’s products or services

Marketing strategy

• Overall strategy
• Pricing policy
• Method of selling, distributing, and servicing products or services

Management plan

• Form of business organization
• Officers, organizational chart, and responsibilities
• Staffing plan and number of employees

Financial data

• Two-year financial projections
  • Income statements (profit and loss statement)
  • Balance sheets
  • Cash flow statement
  • Capital expenditures
• Explanation of projections
• Explanation of use and effect of new funds (loans, etc.)

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar “Developing a unique live-cell imaging analysis technology for microbiology,” presented by Søren Busch on Monday, February 24, at 3:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 214. Busch is the CEO of BioSense Solutions in Denmark. Attendees are welcome to arrive at 2:30 p.m. to enjoy coffee and cookies leading up to the seminar.

Research Seminar Abstract: What happens when you tilt an inverted camera, and how can a new technology help answer questions in microbial science? Pioneering a new technology, we gathered engineers, biologists, software developers, and professors (scientific advisors) and created a unique space for innovation. With a focus on science and collaboration with external scientific groups, we managed to develop a platform with a broad usage in R&D. Seeing is believing and in microbial science the technology is used as a supportive tool to molecular approaches and to quantify bacteria and fungi in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Food microbiology, Crop Science, Fermentation and Pharmaceutical production.     

The Poetry Club will has its first meeting of the semester on Tuesday, February 25, at 12:30 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 318. All students, faculty and staff are welcome. We'll have some snacks and write some poetry together. Details of the Poetry Club meeting can be found on Bengal Connect.

This is a free event made possible through funds provided by SUNY Incremental Funding.  

When: March 25, 2025, from 10am-2pm

Where: Campbell Student Union Social Hall 

Student Accessibility Services, in collaboration with the Care Team and Counseling Center, are excited to offer this conference to our community. The featured speaker, Kendra Evans will discuss how students who learn and process information differently often struggle in traditional academic settings and how to effectively support and retain the increasing number of neurodivergent students. There will be a presentation from Amy Ruffino on providing faculty and staff a deeper understanding of the sensory challenges faced by neurodiverse students, and both Kendra and Amy will be joined for a panel discussion by Dr. Kathy Doody (Buffalo State University professor of Exceptional Education) and David Herring (Neurodiversity Network of WNY).  

For more information and to register: https://sas.buffalostate.edu/neurodiverse-ed-empowering-educators-supporting-students. 

Muriel A. Howard Presidential Award for the Promotion of Equity and Campus Diversity

This award recognizes individual faculty and staff who have gone beyond their usual duties to promote respect for diversity and individual differences. They have accomplished this through classroom discussions, curricular experiences, out-of-classroom activities, projects, discussions, or special mentorships that go beyond what is usually expected as a part of their regular job expectations or teaching assignment.

Special Programs Recognition Award

This award recognizes programs that have made a special effort to promote equity and diversity through student involvement, curricular development, and/or special projects and activities that go above and beyond what is usually expected as part of the regular function of the program creator. This award honors the nominee who recognizes an opportunity to share the value of diversity on campus and carries out the same. 

We welcome nominations from students, faculty, and staff so that we might acknowledge members of our community who live the values of respect for diversity and advocacy for social justice at an awards reception on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Award criteria and nomination forms for both awards can be found here. The application deadline for each award is March 21, 2025.

Please join us for this brief workshop March 4 at 12:15pm in Butler Library 318. Learn how E. H. Butler Library is creating interactive library research modules in Brightspace. We currently offer live modules on APA, Literature Reviews, Popular vs Scholarly Sources, & Using the Butler Library ALL-Search. These modules include embedded videos and interactive quizzing. The quizzing can be connected to the grade book or exist as a non-graded assessment. We are piloting these modules in several courses and can be available for your course. Join us to find out how these modules can assist your students in traditional and online courses. Please register to attend. For more information please visit our LibGuide.

The Career and Professional Engagement Office, like several other campus departments, has made updates to our website. If you have any links saved for student use, please double-check that they’re still active, as some page names have been modified. Don’t hesitate to reach out to our office if you have any questions.

The Spring 2025 “Conversations in and out of the Disciplines” series kicks off this Friday, February 28, as Naila Ansari Catilo, Assistant Professor of Theater, presents “The Power of Joy: A Radical Act of Resistance and Healing in the Face of Trauma.” The talk, followed by a brief Q&A, will begin at 3:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 320. A short wine and cheese reception will follow. Everyone is welcome.

Please also mark your calendars for Friday, May 9, when Mehwish Sarwari and Patrick McGovern, from Government, Planning, and Philosophy, will present "Blue Helmets as Political Regime Influencers: The Impact of Democratic Peacekeeping Personnel on Democratization in Conflict-affected States." Their talk will also be in Ketchum Hall 320 at 3:00 p.m.

The “Conversations” series was started 17 years ago by Ann Colley, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emerita of English, to “celebrate and draw attention to the research being done in various departments at Buffalo State University.” Over this time, colleagues from Anthropology, Art Conservation, Art History, Biology, Chemistry, English, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, and Secondary Education, among others, have shared their work with the Buffalo State and Buffalo communities.

The Office of Student Care and Support, under the Dean of Students, is collaborating with various campus offices and departments to develop culturally inclusive health and wellness programs. These initiatives will be accessible to students, staff, faculty and entire campus community.

Wellness Wednesdays aims to promote mental, physical, emotional wellbeing for students, faculty, and staff while fostering diversity, community engagement, and sustainability, fitness, nutrition, and other health and wellness issues.

Wellness Wednesdays began February 19, 2025, and will occur EVERY Wednesday from 5:30-6:30 pm in Room 400H, Campbell Student Union. Explore new topics each week!

If you would like to collaborate in any way, please email meadejl@buffalostate.edu 

Save the Date: Celebration of Life 2025

The Office of Student Care and Support under the Dean of Students in collaboration with the Music Department is pleased to announce that our Celebration of Life memorial event will be held again this year. Since its inception in 2001, this gathering has become a vital tradition for our campus, offering a time for reflection, remembrance, and unity.

Each year, we come together to honor the members of our community who have passed away, celebrating their lives and the impact they had on making Buffalo State a compassionate and respectful place. This non-denominational, spiritual program provides an opportunity for us to grieve collectively and to find solace in one another's company.

Date: Monday, April 21, 2025
Time: 2-3 pm
Location: Social Hall, Campbell Student Union

We invite members of our campus community to participate in this meaningful event. If you are interested in reading or contributing to the program, or if you would like to collaborate in any capacity, please reach out to meadejl@buffalostate.edu. We need at least FOUR readers!

Your involvement will be invaluable in creating a heartfelt and memorable tribute.

For more details or to express your interest in participating, please contact meadejl@buffalostate.edu.