Consultants from Voya Financial will be on campus for individual consultations with Buffalo State faculty and staff members between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 416 on the following dates:

• Wednesday, October 18 (George Dougherty)
• Tuesday, October 24 (Gary and Matt Witten)

Space is limited! Please email Molly Pecoraro or call (716) 626-3928 to schedule an appointment.

Discuss your financial situation with an experienced Voya consultant to help you plan for your future and pursue your financial goals. Take this opportunity to review your retirement savings or to increase or start a tax-deferred annuity.

Get answers to these questions and more:

• Am I invested in the right mix of investments to help meet my goals?
• Am I saving enough to create the retirement income I need?
• How do I take income from my retirement account once I stop working?

Space is limited; sign up today.

Buffalo State University's Anne Frank Project is hosting its 15th annual Social Justice Festival: Ideas+Action=Justice on campus today! Please join us for two days of diverse workshops and exhibits that will actively engage participants in kinesthetic learning opportunities on ways to respond versus react. View the schedule of events on the new AFP website and register today. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to volunteer and receive a free shirt.

AFP 2023 Highlights

AFP 2023 Donn Youngstrom featured presenter: Autumn Rose Williams - Indigenous awareness, self-love, and empowerment.
Wednesday, October 4, 10:00 a.m. to noon, Campbell Student Union Social Hall

A Long Talk about the Uncomfortable Truth
Wednesday, October 4, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., Campbell Student Union Social Hall

Sophia's Legacy: Holocaust, Genocide, and Conflict Education
Thursday, October 5, 1:45 to 3:45 p.m., Campbell Student Union Social Hall 

Liberation Embodied: An Invitation to Return ‘Home’
Thursday, October 5, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., Campbell Student Union Social Hall 

Have questions? Please contact Jonise Hall, AFP assistant director.

Attention, teacher education students: The New York State Education Department, Office of Higher Education (NYSED-OTI), has issued SUNY Buffalo State a limited number of e-vouchers (electronic vouchers) to be distributed to students to help defray the cost of the registration fees for the New York State Teacher Certification Exams (EAS and CST). Students should check their Buffalo State email and the Teacher Certification Office website for eligibility requirements, directions, and the application.

Get ready to roast some code and have a blast at the Data Science Code Roast, where we will gather and dive deep into the world of practical code, on Wednesday, October 4, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 217. More information is available online.

Please join the Chemistry Department for the first seminar of the fall 2023 seminar series, "Onasemnogene Abeparvovec for Presymptomatic Infants with Two Copies of SMN2 at Risk for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1: The Phase III SPR1NT Trial," presented by Elizabeth Brown, graduate student in the M.S. forensic science program, on Thursday, October 5, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 176.

Abstract
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorder, which is characterized by the degeneration of alpha motor neurons in the spinal cord. This is due to insufficient production of the survival of motor neurons (SMN) protein resulting from a biallelic deletion of  the required SMN gene. Affected patients experience progressive proximal muscle weakness and paralysis, which can be expressed in infants. Children with Type 1 SMA are limited to a life span of less than 2 years if treatment is not readily sought. This seminar will focus on a recently FDA-approved drug, onasemnogene abeparvovec. The therapy introduces a fully functioning SMN1 gene to motor neuron cells, allowing the subject to thrive while not reversing past damage. This treatment has previously been observed in symptomatic patients but was not yet tested in presymptomatic infants. Here, a group of genetically but not clinically confirmed cases were subjected to treatment, under the hypothesis that earlier administration of SMN gene therapy results in a higher quality of life for the individual. The observations of this study will be discussed, as well as some future outlooks for the treatment of SMA.

The Undergraduate Research Small Grants Program provides up to $400 to assist undergraduate students in carrying out a research, scholarly, or creative activity during the academic year (up to $600 may be requested for a single project that involves two or more students). Funding is intended to help defray the cost of supplies and other materials necessary to conduct the project. Award recipients will be required to participate in the 25th annual Buffalo State Student Research and Creativity Conference on May 3, 2024. The fall semester application deadline for submission of the student portion is Wednesday, October 18; required faculty mentor approval is due by Friday, October 20. For more details and the online application portal, please visit the Small Grants Program web page on the Undergraduate Research website.

Please join Buffalo State University and the WNY Service Learning Coalition on Thursday, November 16, from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. at Canisius University for a panel conversation about service-learning featuring Western New York community partners and higher education faculty and staff members. Several of our Buffalo State community partners (Jewish Family Services, FeedMore WNY, and West Side Community Services) and Buffalo State faculty member Michele Goergen, lecturer in the Heath, Nutrition, and Dietetics Department, will be featured on the panel. Let’s come out and support them!

In addition, all community partners in attendance are invited to table at the event, so there will be opportunities for faculty members to start building future community-engaged learning partnerships.

Faculty, staff, students, and community partners can register for this free event on the WNYSLC website. Questions can be addressed to the CCE Office.

The Social Work Department will host the Clothesline Project on Thursday, October 5, during Bengal Pause (12:15–1:30 p.m.) in the Campbell Student Union lobby. The Clothesline Project is an international project to raise awareness against intimate partner violence (IPV). Young adults are at highest risk for dating violence. Please join us to create a T-shirt for the clothesline and take a stand against IPV! All materials will be provided.

Please join the Social Work Department, in collaboration with the Erie County Coalition Against Family Violence, on Tuesday, October 17, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. Hear from survivors and visit community resource tables as we raise awareness about intimate partner violence in our community for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Interpretation services provided by Deaf Access Services.

There are three standing committees on the Teacher Education Council (TEC): Assessment/Accreditation, Field/Clinical Experiences, and Recruitment and Retention. Membership on TEC committees is open to all Teacher Education Unit (TEU) members. The term for standing committee membership is two years. The chair of each standing committee shall submit for the consent of the TEC those names of members nominated to serve on that committee, reflecting representation across the teacher education programs included in the TEU. Each standing committee shall have the right to add as many non-voting members to its group as it deems fit, consistent with its charge. Membership on all committees is open to all TEU faculty and staff members. Representative participation by TEU members across programs is encouraged. If interested, please contact your program’s TEC representative or Joe Zawicki, associate professor of career, technical, and science education.

Meeting Reminder: Our next TEC meeting will be held Friday, October 13, at 1:00 p.m. in the Grande Conference Room, Cleveland Hall 418.