From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate will be held Friday, December 8, at 2:00 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 2023–2024 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  Senate SharePoint site.

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar “How Can We Improve Our Immunity against Infections as We Grow Older? Targeting Neutrophil Responses against Pneumococcal Pneumonia,” presented by Elsa Bou Ghanem, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology in the University of Buffalo's Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, on Monday, December 4, at 3:00 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 151. Attendees are welcome to arrive at 2:30 p.m. to enjoy coffee and cookies before the seminar.

Abstract
Elsa Bou Ghanem’s particular interest are polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) or neutrophil responses. PMNs are innate immune cells that are key determinants of disease following infection because their initial presence is required to control bacterial numbers, but their persistence in the lungs is detrimental to the host. PMN responses are dysregulated in aging; however, the pathways driving this are not well elucidated. Dr. Ghanem and her team found that in young hosts, resistance to infection, PMN antibacterial function as well as pulmonary recruitment and resolution following pneumococcal pneumonia is controlled by the extracellular adenosine (EAD) pathway. EAD is produced by the sequential action of two exonucleosidases, CD39 and CD73, and can signal via four known adenosine receptors, that can be pro- or anti-inflammatory. Interestingly, they found that pneumococci can modulate host inflammatory responses by targeting the expression of EAD pathway components.

The Honorary Degree Committee is calling for recommendations from campus constituents for future honorary degree recipients. Please complete the survey to recommend a candidate. The committee is asking for recommendations before Monday, January 1, 2024.

The honorary doctorate is the highest form of recognition offered by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (“SUNY Trustees”) to persons of exceptional distinction.

Purposes of Honorary Degrees

1. To recognize excellence in the fields of the degrees authorized at SUNY campuses as well as business, philanthropy, public affairs, and public service, which exemplify SUNY’s mission.

2. To honor meritorious and outstanding service to SUNY, the State of New York, the United States, or humanity at large.

3. To recognize those whose lives and significant achievements serve as examples of SUNY’s aspirations for its diverse student body.

4. To elevate SUNY in the eyes of the world by honoring individuals who are widely known and highly regarded for achievements in their respective fields of endeavor.

Criteria

1. The basis for the selection of a degree recipient shall be consistent with the Purposes of Honorary Degrees stated above.

2. The nominee must be distinguished, and the person’s achievements must be both relevant and appropriate to the nominating campus. Eligibility for nomination is restricted to persons of state, national, or international stature.

3. The nominee should have a connection with the campus or SUNY as a whole. The nominee may be a graduate of SUNY or may have participated in campus programs, partnered in scholarly or creative activity with its faculty or students, or assisted the campus with programmatic development. Furthermore, the connection may be established through national or international prominence in a particular discipline in which the campus has a program. Alternatively, candidates may have achieved national or international prominence in their field.

4. Substantive service to SUNY or the particular campus is not sufficient justification for an honorary degree if the individual does not meet the other criteria for honorary degrees. Under those circumstances, a campus award is recommended.

The SUNY Center for Professional Development (CPD) and its partners will host an awareness campaign highlighting the important connection between lifelong learning, personal growth, and transformative organizational success December 4–8. As a member of SUNY CPD, Buffalo State can participate in webinars are no cost. Webinars encompass the areas of personal, professional, and technical development while also delving into the world of executive leadership. Not only is being strategically well-rounded a great personal goal; it can also help you with your professional journey.

The following webinars take place daily from noon to 1:00 p.m.:

• Time Management: Take Back Your Day! - December 4
• Navigating Networking Anxiety: Overcoming Awkwardness and Building Bridges in Your Professional Community - December 5
• How to Utilize Mindfulness Practices to Improve Mental Wellness - December 6
• Chat GPT: How to Use It in Your Job - December 7
• Tips and Tricks for Excel - December 8

For additional details about the webinar series, featured speakers, or webinar descriptions, or to register, please visit the SUNY CPD webinar website. Registration is required for each daily event. Come and join us for one (or all) of the professional development webinars! 

The Campbell Student Union will modify its hours from December 14, 2023, to January 26, 2024.

Winter Break Schedule
December 14: 8:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.
December 15: 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (Bengal Kitchen and retail closes at 2:00 p.m.)
December 16–17: CLOSED

December 18–22: 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
December 23–24: CLOSED

December 25: CLOSED FOR HOLIDAY
December 26–28: 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
December 29: 8:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
December 30–31: CLOSED

January 1: New Year's Day: CLOSED FOR HOLIDAY
January 2–4: 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
January 5: 8:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
January 6–7: CLOSED

January 8–11: 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
January 12: 8:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
January 13–14: CLOSED

January 15: CLOSED FOR HOLIDAY
January 16–18: 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
January 19: 8:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
January 20–21: CLOSED

January 22–25: 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
January 26: Return to normal hours (Spring Orientation)

Please visit the Campbell Student Union website for more information regarding space requests, building policies, rental fees, and availability.

The Academic Affairs Office is pleased to announce the launch of its new Commencement website. The redesigned website provides graduates, their families, faculty, staff, and alumni with streamlined information that is user friendly with enticing imagery.

The website serves as the center of activity for all your Commencement needs. Plans are currently underway for the 152nd Commencement, to take place Saturday, May 18, 2024, in the Sports Arena. Please mark your calendars. We look forward to seeing you there.

J-Term and spring 2024 courses are now available for instructors in Brightspace. Each semester, the campus student information system (Banner) will update Brightspace with courses and student enrollments. Knowledge Base articles and tickets to request services such as course merges can be found in the IT portal:

Updates to Gradebook Calculation Settings

Merged and Cross-listed Rosters in Brightspace

Request Course Merge

Copying a Course in Brightspace

Make a Brightspace Course Active for Students

Pinning Courses in Brightspace

Have other questions or need assistance?

• Please direct any questions about Brightspace functionality to SUNY Online.
  If you need on-campus assistance from Instructional Design and Distance Learning, please submit a ticket through the IT portal.
• Check for Brightspace workshops on campus in the Workshop Registration System.
• Book an individual online appointment.

We give to SEFA because it's important to help others. There are so many organizations to donate to, and everyone at one time or another has had some kind of interaction with them, if not for yourself, a family member, friend, your pets, etc. Help others today.
—Tracey and Michael Anderson

We warmly invite you to share your reasons for giving, and we’ll feature them in the Daily until the end of the SEFA Campaign on December 14. Please send your thoughts to campaign co-chairs Wendy Paterson, dean of the School of Education, or Maria C. Garrity, senior systems programmer in Information Technology. Let’s maintain our momentum, as together, we can achieve this! To donate, please go to the e-pledge system and click “Forgot user ID or password” to begin the process, even if you are rolling over your pledge from last year, because it is not automatic. This instructional video and documentation can further guide you. If you prefer to donate by cash or check please complete the paper form (PDF, 4 MB) and submit it to the School of Education, Bacon Hall 306, or to your departmental ambassador. The list of charitable agencies (PDF, 10 MB) is available online. Thank you.

The Friends of the Buffalo State Maud Gordon Holmes Arboretum will hold its annual holiday party on Monday, December 4, in the Science and Mathematics Complex atrium from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. The party will include an update on the recent Big Dig—including a rolling photo show of the many volunteers digging and planting this past November. The Friends’ leadership will also provide plans for 2024. The event will include holiday refreshments and an opportunity to buy the arboretum’s guidebook, The Street Life of Trees: An Urban Guide. Everyone is welcome. For more information, please contact Susan McCartney, director of the Small Business Development Center.

Both the summer 2024 master schedule and the summer 2024 deadline calendar (PDF, 170 KB) have been posted online on the Registrar’s Office Courses web page. The summer 2024 addendum begins today, December 4. Students will be able to search for courses directly in Banner and Schedule Planner beginning March 6, 2024.