Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar "Enhancer and Protein Divergence at Follistatin Paralogs underlying Genetic Assimilation of Wing Plasticity," presented by Kevin Deem, postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Biology at the University of Rochester, on Monday, May 1, at 3:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 216. Dr. Deem received his B.S. in 2014 and Ph.D. in 2022 from Miami University. His research focuses on insect molecular biology and genetics. Attendees are welcome to arrive at 2:30 p.m. to enjoy coffee and cookies before the seminar begins.

Abstract
The marvelous diversity of plant and animal forms observable in nature stems from eons of accumulated morphological innovations. Despite prolonged scientific interest, the evolutionary processes that give rise to novel phenotypes remain shrouded in mystery and debate. One promising model is genetic assimilation, in which new phenotypes that emerged from environmentally induced variation (phenotypic plasticity) can later evolve to be genetically induced; however, it remains unclear how such a switch from environmental to genetic control might occur. Dr. Deem's work aims to characterize the molecular mechanisms facilitating the genetic assimilation of a novel phenotype, to further our understanding of morphological novelty, diversity, and evolution. He utilizes the pea aphid, in which ancestral female wing polyphenism has been genetically assimilated in males via duplication of the gene follistatin (fs). His ongoing projects focus on identifying the cis-regulatory and protein functional changes between fs paralogs that facilitated the genetic assimilation of wing polyphenism.

Faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend the Lavender Graduation Ceremony on Thursday, May 11, from noon to 2:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall.

The Lavender Graduation Ceremony is an opportunity for graduating LGBTQ+ students to be celebrated and honored for the achievements and contributions they bring to our campus. Graduating students from any institution are welcome to participate.

RSVP by noon Monday, May 8.

Questions may be addressed to Michael Heflin, assistant dean of inclusion and equity.

Buffalo State has been awarded a $230,000 grant from the NYS Department of Labor to facilitate a hospitality employment pipeline for justice-involved individuals.

The Training in Hospitality for Returning Individuals as Valued Employees (THRIVE) is a skills-based job-readiness program that brings together a robust collection of partners, including Peaceprints of WNY and the Erie County Sherriff’s Office. Training will be delivered on-site at the Erie County Correctional Facility by Hospitality and Tourism faculty, the Career and Professional Education Center, and the Buffalo Employment Training Center. Employment partners including Delaware North, Riverworks, Catholic Health, and Seneca One, who will be present throughout the program to discuss open positions and meet with participants to explain the qualities required to succeed in the industry. 

Hospitality and tourism was the hardest hit industry in Western New York by the pandemic. Formerly incarcerated individuals experience a joblessness rate 65 percent higher than the general population. This program will connect individuals most in need of work with an industry most in need of workers.

“Peaceprints is looking forward to the opportunity to work with Buffalo State and serve our folks looking for sustainable employment opportunities,” said Lindsey Allen, director of community programs. “As employment continues to be a barrier to reentry, programs to equip our clients with the skills necessary to obtain and retain employment are pivotal.”

At the conclusion of training and upon release, individuals will receive two industry-recognized credentials, industry-grade work apparel, and bus passes to sustain them until they start to collect a paycheck. The one-year grant will support training and job placement for up to 60 individuals. THRIVE will officially begin in fall 2023.

E. H. Butler Library is pleased to announce it has reached a three-year deal with Cambridge University Press to waive all article-processing charges (APCs) from Cambridge University Press journals for Buffalo State University faculty authors. Open access publications for Cambridge University Press have waived all APCs since January. In addition to waiving APC costs for the duration of the new contract, Cambridge has granted Butler Library patrons access to an additional 397 Cambridge journals. This is a three-year transformative deal.  For more information, please contact Joe Riggie, head of information management, or Chris Hulsman, electronic and educational resources librarian.

The Buffalo State community is saddened by the death of Susan Mary Paige, lecturer in Academic Success (retired), who died April 18, 2023. Dr. Paige joined the campus in 1999 and retired in 2021. She is survived by three children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Family will be present at the Mackowiak Funeral Home, 56 E. Doughty St., Dunkirk, NY, on Friday, April 28, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, 1032 Central Ave., Dunkirk, on Saturday, April 29, at 11:00 a.m.

More information is available online.

Buffalo State University's Anne Frank Project will host its 15th annual Social Justice Festival, AFP 2023: Ideas + Action = Justice, October 4 and 5.

This year's theme is AFP 2023: Ideas + Action = Justice. We are actively seeking proposals from a variety of disciplines to share their expertise, skills, and artistry with university students, faculty, staff, and surrounding community members that will engage diverse communities in teachable ways to respond rather than react. Ideas without action require no courage, no research, and no truth. When ideas are followed up with action, positive impact becomes possible. This is a "response" not a reaction. The Anne Frank Project’s annual festival is the ideal platform for teaching people how to respond versus react to their worlds—this is the only way to make positive personal and social change: justice.

AFP invites presentations, workshops, and performances reflecting on this year's theme. In keeping with the kinesthetic and experiential pillars of the Anne Frank Project, we ask that all session proposals be crafted as one-third theory and two-thirds practice. Proposals are due Wednesday, May 24. Submit your proposal today!

This year's Donn Youngstrom featured speaker is activist and model Autumn Rose Williams. Ms. Williams was crowned Miss Teen Shinnecock at the age of 16 and has been immersed in her culture, finding pride in her Black and Indigenous heritage. She educates and brings awareness to topics such as Afro-Indigenous culture, social justice awareness, and mental health. She will open the festival with a keynote address on Indigenous awareness, self-love, and empowerment on Tuesday, October 3, at 7:00 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center's Tower Auditorium, with an interactive workshop the next morning.

For regular updates on the 15th annual Social Justice Festival, please visit our website and follow us on Instagram @annefrankproject.

Please contact Jonise Hall, AFP assistant director, with questions.

A campuswide Major and Minor Fair is scheduled for Thursday, October 26, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. Current students will have the opportunity to explore our vast curricular offerings, speak with faculty members and students currently declared in programs, and talk with staff members from Academic Commons, the Career and Professional Education Center, and Student Accessibility Services. Additional information will be forthcoming. In the meantime, please consider how you might promote this event in your fall 2023 courses.

Please join us for a panel discussion on LGBTQ+ parenting rights on Thursday, April 27, from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. in Caudell Hall 209. A reception will follow.

The rate of LGBTQ+ adults who decide to become parents is growing, while this community relies less on conception from intercourse for family building. As part of the Women and Gender Studies Interdisciplinary Unit's Reproductive Justice Spring Programming Series, this panel will discuss the rights of LGBTQ+ people to become parents and raise their children in safe, equitable, and healthy environments.

Panelists will include speakers from CNY Fertility clinic, GLYS (Growing LGBTQ+ Youth Support) WNY Inc., and LGBTQ+ parents themselves.

The Great Lakes Center is pleased to release its spring 2023 newsletter (Issue 22; PDF, 839 KB). This issue features our fieldwork on Lake Superior, an update on the GLES graduate programs, research on individual and serial dreissenid mussel invasions, accessibility for conference presentations, Dr. Karatayev's listing as the No. 1 scientist at Buffalo State on the Alper-Doger Scientific Index, and one of our graduate students being featured on the cover of the American Chemical Society journal ES&T Water.

Each article is also posted separately in our news section:

• That’s a wrap: Intensive survey of Lake Superior completed
• GLES graduate programs at 10 years old
• Time scales of ecosystem impacts and recovery under individual and serial invasions
• Accessibility for conference presentations
• Karatayev ranked #1 scientist at Buffalo State University
• Thesis makes cover page of prestigious journal

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

An awards reception for the Art and Design Spring Student Exhibition will be held this evening, April 27, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Upton Hall lobby. The awards ceremony will begin at 5:45 p.m. in the adjacent Warren Enters Theatre. All are welcome! Refreshments will be served.

The Spring Student Exhibition, on view in the Czurles-Nelson Gallery through Wednesday, May 10, showcases our upper-level student artwork in all Art and Design program areas.

Please contact Marie E. Bogner, Czurles-Nelson gallery coordinator, with questions or for more information.

Czurles-Nelson Gallery Spring 2023 Hours*

Monday
9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

Tuesday
8:30–11:00 a.m.
12:30–5:00 p.m.

Wednesday
9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

Thursday
8:30–11:00 a.m.
12:30–5:00 p.m.

Friday
10:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Saturday, Sunday
Closed

*Or by appointment