Buffalo State is a proud home to many immigrant and refugee students. Please consider joining us for "You Are Kin, You Are Welcome Here: Using the AHLAN Manual to Build Resettlement Partnerships," a webinar focused on continuing to create a welcoming campus environment, on Wednesday, March 13, from 2:00 to 2:45 p.m. This webinar is free to the campus community through Buffalo State's membership in the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU). 

Featured presenters are Sonalini Sapra, Ph.D., associate director of the Center for Principled Problem Solving and Excellence in Teaching at Guilford College, and Christian Matheis, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor for justice and policy studies at Guilford College.

The AHLAN Manual is a premier implementation guide for making higher education institutions welcoming to refugees. This comprehensive resource was published in October 2023 through a partnership with Every Campus a Refuge, Welcoming America, and Guilford College. The manual offers step-by-step to-do lists for strengthening and expanding campus-community capacity for refugee welcome and inclusion. You will learn how to apply the information and strategies in the free open-access manual and make connections with the growing network of resettlement campus stakeholders, partners, and champions.

Please register for the CUMU webinar online.

The Buffalo State Humanities and Philosophy Club provides students of any major an opportunity to demonstrate and refine their critical thinking skills, analytical and evaluation skills, communication skills, and creativity through workshops and events that are related to the humanities.

The club offers opportunities to engage in debates and conversations related to the humanities and promotes an understanding of culture and identity.

Events will be posted on Bengal Connect. Occasional meetings will be planned and will generally allow for remote participation upon request.

The Buffalo State Humanities and Philosophy Club can be reached by email.

Entrepreneurs and students, please join us for an enlightening panel discussion featuring esteemed alumni and industry experts on Tuesday, March 5, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 214. These successful professionals have graciously agreed to share their experiences, lessons learned, and valuable advice.

Panel Members

• Sheldon Anderson, '14, '17, Public Flower
• Therese Deutschlander, '03, Thin Ice
• Daniel Haick, '02, '05, Buffalo Public Schools and Buffalo State University
• Steven Harvey, My College Max
• James Wangelin, '12, Wangelin Development and Towne Housing Real Estate 

The Dr. Katherine S. Conway-Turner Civic and Community Engagement Office's (CCE) Civic Engagement Series 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.

This semester we have several service projects and programs for you to choose from, and you can find them all on the CCE's Bengal Connect page. We will be working with Provision 139, Candice's Mobile Pantry, Milligan's Food Pantry, the Buffalo State Meal Delivery Team/FeedMore, Compass House, and Justice for Migrant Families. Complete with a presentation about the partnering organizations, a service project, and reflection activity, participants will receive credit toward the President's Certificate for Community Engagement for their participation and completion of the reflection survey.

Our next two programs are in collaboration with Global Engagement:

Tuesday, March 5
DIY Educational Dental Hygiene Activity Packs for Compass House
Supporting United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3
12:15-1:30 p.m.
Campbell Student Union Lobby

Thursday, March 7
DIY Reusable T-Shirt Bags for Provision 139
Supporting United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2
12:15-1:30 p.m.
Campbell Student Union Lobby

Join us to make a difference in our community!

The Buffalo State Pedagogical Institute is a week of professional collaboration that develops instructional skills and integrates campus resources. The 2024 institute is scheduled for May 20-23. Faculty and staff members are encouraged to offer a presentation or host a discussion in an area of professional expertise for colleagues across campus. Sessions are typically 45-90 minutes but can be longer. If you are interested in presenting, please submit a brief proposal to Daniel Blum, lecturer in the History and Social Studies Education Department, by Friday, March 15. Questions and requests for more information are welcome as well.

Please join us for a loving-kindness meditation, facilitated by Berg Miller, assistant professor of social work, on Wednesday, March 13, from 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. via Microsoft Teams. 

Loving-kindness meditation (sometimes called "metta" meditation) is a great way to cultivate one's capacity for responding to others from a place of calm. It involves mentally sending goodwill and warmth toward a series of people that you choose. Join us for a meditation to help ground yourself so that you might be more present in your interactions for the rest of the day.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

Last week's Totality Tuesday focused on the eclipse experience. This week, we are focusing on eye safety. There's an easy rule that we follow every day. Don't look at the Sun without proper eye protection!

During a solar eclipse, looking at the Sun isn't any more dangerous than on any other day. The danger is that people know an eclipse is happening and might try to view it without proper protection. We therefore want to make sure that everyone has proper eye protection for April 8. For most of us, that eye protection will be eclipse glasses or eclipse viewers. Anyone using a telescope or binoculars also needs to use the correct solar filters or they will literally burn their eyes. Think about using a magnifying glass to focus the Sun's light and burning a piece of paper. The same thing would happen to your eye with binoculars or a telescope without proper filters.

Eclipse glasses and other filters are necessary because of the Sun's brightness and because of ultraviolet radiation. Sunglasses are not dark enough, even if you stack up two or more of them! Other material like Mylar balloons or exposed film is also not safe. Welder's glass is safe, but only for number 14 glass and darker.

Before using them, make sure that your eclipse glasses aren't wrinkled or punctured.

For younger kids who might not keep the glasses on their face, an activity using a paper plate to make it harder to look at the Sun can be found online.

Next week, we will discuss other safe ways to view a solar eclipse without looking toward the Sun.

Question of the Week:  Where can I get eclipse glasses?

Answer: Thanks in part to our Eclipse Fest sponsor Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium and Buffalo State University will be providing eclipse glasses to all Buffalo State students, faculty, and staff. We will also be selling Buffalo-branded pairs starting in early March. Visit the Buffalo State Eclipse website for more information.

Question of the Week 2: Are my eclipse glasses from 2017 still good?

Answer: Yes. As long as they are not wrinkled or punctured, they are still good.

For information about Buffalo State's eclipse events, visit the Buffalo State Eclipse website. Questions? Email eclipse@buffalostate.edu.

Marchers and volunteers are cordially invited to participate in Commencement on May 18 to support the Class of 2024 as the campus community celebrates our graduates' achievements. Please consider honoring our graduates by marching in the procession or serving as a volunteer to help with the graduate lineup and processional, assist in the Robing Room, distribute programs, take tickets, or help with other duties.

CEREMONIES BY ACADEMIC SCHOOL

9:00 a.m. School of the Professions Ceremony
Bachelor's, Master's, and Advanced Graduate Certificates

1:00 p.m. School of Arts and Sciences Ceremony
Bachelor's, Master's, and Advanced Graduate Certificates

5:00 p.m. School of Education including Individualized and Multidisciplinary Studies Ceremony
Bachelor's, Master's, and Advanced Graduate Certificates

To register or to learn more, please visit the Marchers or Volunteers section of the Commencement website. Marcher registration also includes all platform party members and administrators. Marchers and volunteers may participate in more than one ceremony. Commencement rehearsals are scheduled to ensure that ceremonies run smoothly and that all participants are knowledgeable in their roles and responsibilities.

Regalia rentals are available to order through the Barnes & Noble at Buffalo State Bookstore until Friday, April 5. Rental pricing and loan request information are provided in the Regalia section of the Marchers web page. A limited inventory of doctoral and master's gowns, caps, and hoods may be available for loan through the Academic Affairs Office until Monday, May 6. Please contact Ann Delmont, administrative assistant 2, for more information or to place your order.

We look forward to seeing you at Commencement!

Interested in online teaching and learning? The SUNY Online Summit on February 28 and 29 is for online faculty, instructional designers, student support professionals, and administration and leadership. 

This year's summit will host the sessions Digital Transformation and Student Success, Innovative Online Course Design, Artificial Intelligence, Building Quality Online Bachelor's Programs, an Online Learners Panel, and Distance Learning Regulations. 

Featured Speakers and Presentations
Wednesday, February 28
The SUNY Online Summit welcomes Melur K. "Ram" Ramasubramanian, SUNY executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost, and president of the SUNY Research Foundation, who will deliver opening remarks. Day 1 will conclude with a workshop for participants to explore the methods, approaches, and strategies for online teaching and learning with artificial intelligence.

Thursday, February 29
The SUNY FACT² Task Group on Optimizing AI for Teaching and Learning kicks off Day 2 with a panel discussion of its report on AI. Summit participants always look forward to our SUNY Online Students Panel. Hear directly from SUNY students about their experiences!

View the full program and register for this free SUNY conference.

The Women and Gender Studies Interdisciplinary Unit invites you to attend the panel discussion "Gender and STEM: Inspiring the Next Generation" on Tuesday, March 12, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 217.

This panel will feature Buffalo State faculty, staff, and students who will discuss the experiences, progress, and continuing challenges faced by cis and trans women and gender-nonconforming people in the STEM fields. Our distinguished guests include Saziye Bayram, associate professor of mathematics; Jiuan Jiuan Chen, associate professor of art conservation; Jen (Fox) Connelly, associate director of the planetarium; Kit Hastings, field and lab research technician with the Great Lakes Center; Amy McMillan, director of the Honors Program, and several Buffalo State STEM students.

We strongly encourage you to invite your students to attend this event. They will learn about the challenges and rewards that women, trans, and non-binary people experience in STEM and be inspired to explore new career pathways as we build a more inclusive STEM experience.

Drinks and refreshments will be served. Please register in advance so that we can get a head count of our guests.

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Please note: The location for this event (originally Bulger Communication Center 214) has been changed to Bulger Communication Center 217.