The Dr. Katherine S. Conway-Turner Civic and Community Engagement Office (CCE) and Roar 2 Success invite students, faculty, and staff members to attend the Community Engagement Series (CES) on Thursday, April 25, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Bengal Hall 118. The CES is an opportunity for Buffalo State students, faculty, and staff members to learn about social justice issues on a local and national level, engage in on-campus service projects, and become aware of volunteer opportunities. Complete with a presentation by the community partner, the service project is focused on learning about immigration and human rights while contributing to a worthy cause by making DIY laundry soap for Justice for Migrant Families (JFMF) dignity bags.

Participants will earn credits toward the President's Certificate for Community Engagement. Expect music, snacks, and raffles as you participate in a service project and program designed to promote social justice on local and national fronts.

Also, don't forget to participate in the JFMF collection drive that runs through Tuesday, April 23. Details are available on the CCE Bengal Connect page. Please contact the CCE with questions.

The Dr. Katherine S. Conway-Turner Civic and Community Engagement Office (CCE) and Buffalo State Greek life student organizations invite students, faculty, and staff members to attend the Community Engagement Series (CES) today, April 18, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in the west lobby of Butler Library. The CES is an opportunity for Buffalo State students, faculty, and staff members to learn about social justice issues on a local and national level, engage in on-campus service projects, and become aware of volunteer opportunities with partnering community organizations. This service project is focused on learning about food access and food security while contributing to a worthy cause by making DIY T-shirt bags for Candice's Mobile Food Pantry. LeCandice Durham, the pantry's director, and her team will be on site to answer questions and meet the volunteers.

Participants will earn credits toward the President's Certificate for Community Engagement! Find more details available on the CCE Bengal Connect page. Please contact the CCE with questions.

Join us to learn how E. H. Butler Library is creating interactive library research modules on APA, Chicago Style, Popular vs Scholarly Sources, and Using the Butler Library ALL-Search during this workshop on Tuesday, April 23, from 12:15 to 1:00 p.m. in Butler Library 318 (or online). These are being built as Brightspace modules that include embedded videos and quizzing. Learn how students can earn badges for each module. Find out how these modules can assist your students in traditional and online courses. This workshop is being offered in person and online. Please register to attend. Contact Chris Hulsman, electronic and educational resources librarian, with questions.

Faculty members are invited to support former students and attend events during the Class of 2020 Celebration, hosted by the Alumni Engagement Office, on Friday and Saturday, May 24 and 25.

Questions and RSVPs may be directed to Katelyn Brickhouse, director of alumni engagement.

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Friday, May 24

School Receptions
Join 2020 grads as they network and reconnect with educators from their schools.

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES RECEPTION
4:00-6:00 p.m.
Science and Mathematics Complex, First-Floor Lobby

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION RECEPTION
4:00-6:00 p.m.
Bacon Hall 115

SCHOOL OF THE PROFESSIONS RECEPTION
4:00-6:00 p.m.
Technology Building, First-Floor Lobby

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Saturday, May 25

Class of 2020 Reunion: Stage Crossing and Reception
1:00-3:00 p.m.
Campbell Student Union Social Hall

Grads will "cross the stage" in front of family, friends, and classmates at this event.

Departments with participating students will be contacted via email on Friday, April 26.

Please join the Beyond Boundaries Screening and Discussion Series for a presentation of the documentary Esther Newton Made Me Gay (2022) on Thursday, April 25, at 7:00 p.m. in the Upton Hall 230 screening room. A discussion with special guests Esther Newton and director Jean Carlomusto will follow the film.

Hear the compelling story of cultural anthropologist Esther Newton and her awakening to gay life in the 1950s, followed by the women's liberation movement, lesbian-feminism, drag culture, and forging a butch identity, which for her is now in conversation with trans-masculinity. Keenly attuned to the cultural and societal forces that shaped her life, Ms. Newton guides us through an anthropology of herself.

The tone of this film is light and fluid, guided by Ms. Newton's love for a sport competitive dog agility that pairs her aging butch body with her beloved dog teammate on an obstacle course that is constantly changing.

Watch the trailer.

Beyond Boundaries is sponsored by the Buffalo State Center for Social Justice, Equity and Campus Diversity Office, Women and Gender Studies Interdisciplinary Unit, Communication Department, and Burchfield Penney Art Center. This screening is free and open to the public. The series is curated by Ruth Goldman and Meg Knowles, associate professors of communication.

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar "An Empiricist's Guide to Using Ecological Theory," presented by Tess Grainger, assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, today, April 22, at 3:00 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 151. Attendees are welcome to enjoy coffee and cookies during the seminar.

Abstract
Although the benefits of feedback between theoretical and empirical research is widely acknowledged, this link is still not as strong as it could be in ecological research. This is in part because theory can feel inaccessible to empiricists. In this talk, Dr. Grainger will discuss the origins of this barrier and ways to overcome it by focusing on four specific ways to use theory to motivate empirical work: adopt a theoretical framework, test theoretical predictions, use mathematical equations, and test theoretical assumptions. She will then present her research on coexistence and rapid evolution framed within the context of these four approaches. She hopes that helping to empower empiricists to embrace theory in their work will move the field closer to a full integration of theoretical and empirical research.

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar "An Empiricist's Guide to Using Ecological Theory," presented by Tess Grainger, assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph, on Monday, April 22, at 3:00 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 151. Attendees are welcome to enjoy coffee and cookies during the seminar.

Abstract
Although the benefits of feedback between theoretical and empirical research is widely acknowledged, this link is still not as strong as it could be in ecological research. This is in part because theory can feel inaccessible to empiricists. In this talk, Dr. Grainger will discuss the origins of this barrier and ways to overcome it by focusing on four specific ways to use theory to motivate empirical work: adopt a theoretical framework, test theoretical predictions, use mathematical equations, and test theoretical assumptions. She will then present her research on coexistence and rapid evolution framed within the context of these four approaches. She hopes that helping to empower empiricists to embrace theory in their work will move the field closer to a full integration of theoretical and empirical research.

The Great Lakes Center is pleased to release the spring 2024 newsletter (PDF, 809 KB). This issue features our research into round goby density in the Great Lakes, a new record of New Zealand mud snail in Lake Huron, and our collaboration with Swiss researchers on quagga mussels in Europe. We introduce our newest research scientist and a new Great Lakes Faculty Scholars Program. We also have a guest article from some of our GLES graduate students, and a GLES student spotlight.

Each article is also posted separately in our news section:

Newsletter #24: Use of videography to assess round goby densities in the Great Lakes

Newsletter #24: The New Zealand mud snail newly detected in Lake Huron

Newsletter #24: Collaboration on quagga mussel study in Europe

Newsletter #24: Our new Research Scientist

Newsletter #24: Great Lakes Faculty Scholars Program

Newsletter #24: Using soil type and LiDAR to map Eastern hemlock trees

Newsletter #24: GLES student spotlight: Lindsay Piotrowski

If you'd like to be on the mailing list for future editions of the newsletter, please email the GLC.

The Buffalo State Theater Department and Casting Hall Productions proudly present Little Shop of Horrors in Upton Hall's Warren Enters Theatre.

One of the longest-running off-Broadway shows, Little Shop of Horrors has devoured the hearts of theater-goers for over 30 years. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (Disney's The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin) are the creative geniuses behind what has become one of the most popular shows in the world.

Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960s doo-wop sci-fi horror musical based on the film of the same name. Seymour Krelborn is a meek and dejected assistant at a floral shop who happens upon a strange plant, which he affectionately names "Audrey II" after his crush at the shop. Little does he know that this strange and unusual plant will develop a soulful R&B voice, a potty mouth, and an unquenchable thirst for human blood. As Audrey II grows bigger and meaner, the carnivorous plant promises limitless fame and fortune to Seymour, as long as he continues providing a fresh supply of blood. Just when it's too late, Seymour discovers Audrey II's extraterrestrial origins and his true drive for world domination.

Directed and choreographed by Bobby Cooke; assistant director - Jake Grear, '23; musical direction - Kathleen Dunne, '23.

Performances: April 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 at 8:00 p.m.; April 27 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online.

See photos from the dress rehearsal.

Please join us for this year's Celebration of Life Memorial Service on Monday, April 22, at 12:15 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Assembly Halls (third floor). 

Since 2001, Buffalo State students, faculty, and staff members have come together to celebrate the lives and memories of those who have passed away during the last year. This event is a meaningful tradition at Buffalo State that provides a forum to remember those members of our Buffalo State community who are no longer with us.

This nondenominational, spiritual celebration honors their lives through music, readings, and the lighting of candles. The name of each fallen Bengal will be read aloud, following the ringing of our memorial bell.

The Celebration of Life Memorial service is coordinated by the Dean of Students Office.

If you are aware of a campus member who has passed away in the last year, please email Juliet Meade, assistant director of student care and support, with the relevant information.

Thank you.