Buffalo State University, as a part of SUNY Alliance, has received funding from the National Science Foundation to support underrepresented students in STEM through undergraduate research and enrichment programs. The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program is designed to increase the number of underrepresented students pursuing and completing STEM degrees, ultimately helping to diversify the STEM workforce. The program focuses on transforming undergraduate STEM education through innovative, evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies, as well as providing research opportunities for eligible students.

We invite all underrepresented students in STEM to attend an LSAMP Orientation Meeting on Friday, April 11, from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. in Technology Building 160. During the session, we will discuss eligibility criteria and available opportunities. Qualified students will be eligible for funding to support their research. Please encourage students to visit the LSAMP website and to register for the meeting. Thank you for your support!

The NYS Deferred Compensation Plan is pleased to partner with the NYS Retirement System to conduct a NYS Pension online seminar this month. In addition, April is Financial Literacy Month. It is a perfect time to establish fresh financial habits and grow your financial knowledge. Mark Wallace, Deferred Compensation Plan campus rep, will conduct several webinars to assist and educate employees about NYSDCP and approaching retirement. Individual assistance is available for those unable to attend. Schedule an individual appointment with Mark Wallace or reach him at (716) 903-7253.

NYSDCP Countdown to Retirement Webinar

Thursday, April 10, Noon

Find out about important considerations for those approaching retirement. We will discuss longevity, income sources, asset consolidation, and withdrawals/required minimum distributions.

NYSDCP Hosts the NY State and Local Retirement System (Pension)

Thursday, April 17, Noon

The NYS Deferred Comp is joined by the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) to give an educational presentation on the basics of the Pension and how it will help provide for your future. There will be Q&A sessions throughout the webinar. Registration required.

NYSDCP Economic Update Webinar

Thursday, April 24, Noon

While the economy remains on solid footing in early 2025, there are uncertainties for the outlook led by potential policy changes and geopolitics. See how the economic picture is expected to unfold in the year ahead with an update on current economic trends.

Medicare Essentials

Tuesday, April 29, Noon

As you move closer to retirement, you will need to understand the key details about Medicare. In this presentation, you will learn what your choices are, when to enroll, and what Medicare covers and what it does not cover.

All professional staff are invited to join the Professional Staff Caucus for a double-feature presentation, "Moons: Worlds of Mystery" followed by "The Current Night Sky," at the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium on Thursday, April 10. We will meet in the Science and Mathematics Complex (SAMC) atrium right outside the planetarium at 4:30 p.m., with the showing starting soon after and lasting approximately one hour. Seating is limited to the first 48 participants to register, so please sign up today! We will have a social hour afterwards at a local establishment—more information to follow.

This event is coordinated by the Community and Collaboration Development Committee of the Professional Staff Caucus.

A philosophy colloquia, “Moral Disagreeball: How to Disagree Productively,” will be presented on Thursday, April 17, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in Bacon Hall 117. The colloquia features Glasha Zinenko, a junior Honors student majoring in philosophy and English, with commentator Domenico Bindig, a junior art history major. All are welcome to attend.

Join the Health, Nutrition, and Dietetics Department for an unforgettable culinary journey at "Taste the World: A Cultural Cooking Event" on Monday, April 28, from 11:00 a.m. to noon at Caudell Hall Kitchen Room 218. Experience diverse flavors and taste traditional dishes from around the globe. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to explore cultures through food! Come hungry, leave inspired!

RSVP by April 11.

The Banner Legend is a great reference document when reviewing the master schedule. This is the table of contents: 

• Instructional Methods
• Restrictions or Reservations
• Section Notes
• Days of Week
• Course Prefixes
• Building Designations
• Class Schedule Search Headings as They Appear in Banner Self-Service
• Class Schedule Column Headings as They Appear on the Online Master Schedule on the Registrar's Office Website
• Advising Codes

It can be found on the Registrar's Office Registration page.

The College Writing Program is proud to welcome Dr. Carmen Kynard for a keynote address and teaching workshop on Friday, April 18. Dr. Kynard’s keynote entitled “‘Mama Said Knock You Out’: Lessons from Classrooms on the Black Radical Traditions of Refusal and Creative Escape,” is open to the public at 11:00 a.m. All Buffalo State students, faculty members, and staff are invited to attend this important talk. For details and location, RSVP to the keynote on the Bengal Connect event page.

Dr. Kynard also will lead a workshop for Buffalo State faculty members, staff, and graduate students at 1:30 p.m. called “Black Language, Black Rhetorics, and the Racial Politics of Communication (‘Walk It Like I Talk It/ Write It Like I Talk It’).” RSVP for the teaching workshop for more details and location. 

Dr. Carmen Kynard is the Lillian Radford chair in rhetoric and composition and professor of English at Texas Christian University. She interrogates race, Black feminisms, AfroDigital/Black languages and cultures, and the politics of schooling with an emphasis on composition, rhetoric, and literacies studies. Dr. Kynard has taught high school in the New York City public schools/Coalition of Essential Schools, served as a writing program administrator, and worked as a teacher educator. She has led numerous professional development projects on language, literacy, and learning and has published in Harvard Educational Review, Changing English, College Composition and Communication, College English, Computers and Composition, Reading Research Quarterly, Literacy and Composition Studies, and more. Her award-winning book, Vernacular Insurrections: Race, Black Protest, and the New Century in Composition-Literacy Studies, makes Black Freedom a twenty-first century literacy movement. Her current projects focus on young Black women and gender-expansive folx in college, Black Feminist rhetorics, and anti-racist/anti-colonial pedagogies.

This event is brought to Buffalo State's campus by the College Writing Program and funded by the Faculty-Student Association. Please contact the College Writing Program or Mary Beth Sullivan with questions.

The State of New York/United University Professions Joint Labor-Management Committees have announced that $50,359.45 has been allocated to SUNY Buffalo State for Individual Development Awards for the new program period of July 2, 2024, through July 1, 2025.

This award program is intended to assist employees in the UUP bargaining unit in developing their full professional potential and preparing for advancement by funding professional development activities.

Information on eligibility requirements, types of projects or activities funded, funding priorities, and expenditure limitations along with the application and instructions are available on the Human Resource Management website.

The maximum amount that can be awarded for each employee under this program is $2,000. Employees may be funded for up to two projects or activities, not to exceed a total of $2,000. The funded activity must take place between July 2, 2024, and July 1, 2025. 

Applications for this award period must be received at uupida@buffalostate.edu no later than April 7, 2025. Award notifications will be sent by email on or around July 1, 2025.

Individual Development Awards committee members are Lisa Marie Anselmi and Jude Jayatilleke, representing UUP, and Erika Grande and Charles Lyons, representing management. If you have any questions regarding the awards, please email uupida@buffalostate.edu.

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar “From Buffalo State through Nutrition Educator and Dietitian to Family Medicine – A Career Journey,” presented by Dr. Alexander Ford on Monday, April 7, at 3:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 214. Attendees are welcome to arrive at 2:30 p.m. to enjoy coffee and cookies leading up to the seminar.

Research Seminar Abstract: Ford is a native of Albany, New York, and has volunteered with 4th Family Inc. for more than 10 years. He attended Christian Brothers Academy and then enrolled at Buffalo State University, where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science in dietetics. After graduating, he returned to Albany, interested in wellness and preventive medicine. He worked as a registered dietitian while completing his remaining coursework to attend medical school and become a physician. While working and studying, Ford volunteered as a nutrition educator at 4th Family.

Dr. Ford has worked with Albany Damien Center (ADC) as the Community Nutrition Educator. He oversaw ADC’s Smart Meals nutrition program and developed educational materials to inform people about good nutrition. Eager to understand nutrition policy and better serve his community, Dr. Ford then worked as a Public Health Nutritionist for the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). After a year at NYSDOH, Dr. Ford left to matriculate at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). Dr. Ford graduated with his doctorate in 2020 from their Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program. Dr. Ford’s objective in medical school was to merge his nutritional expertise with his medical education and give people the knowledge to feel empowered to manage their health.

Nominations are now being accepted through a form on the CCE website for the Celebration of Community Engagement Awards.

These awards recognize students, faculty, staff, and community partners who make a difference through civic and community engagement initiatives throughout the academic year. 

As you are reviewing your students’ Spring community-engaged learning projects, consider nominating outstanding students and community partners now, while the details of the project are still on the top of your mind.

Nominations will be accepted through Monday, April 28, 2025.