Buffalo State undergraduates may now submit abstracts to participate in the ninth annual SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference (SURC), an all-day event with keynote luncheon and Graduate Fair to be held on the campus of SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx, New York, on Friday, April 14. Student presenters and their faculty mentors will receive support for conference registration, transportation, and accommodations through Buffalo State's Undergraduate Travel Program. Student proposals for oral presentations, research posters, art displays, and creative performances will be accepted until the March 1 deadline. Please contact SURC campus coordinator Carolyn Guzski, associate professor of music, if you are interested in participating.

All faculty members are encouraged to attend training in Brightspace, the new SUNY-wide learning management system.

Online synchronous workshops are being provided by the SUNY Center for Professional Development. Registration is open.

Online asynchronous modules are available within the Buffalo State Brightspace environment on your dashboard.

Have other questions or need Assistance?

• The Buffalo State IT Knowledge Base has many articles to assist with Brightspace. Use the search bar at the top to find information on other topics.
• 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 upcoming Brightspace workshops on campus in the Workshop Registration System.

All faculty members are encouraged attend training in Brightspace, the new SUNY-wide learning management system.

In-Person Training Options
In-person training sessions are being offered by Instructional Design and Distance Learning (IDDL) and the Teaching and Learning Center. These sessions are hosted in a variety of labs across campus. Registration is through the Workshop Registration System.

The Brightspace Fundamentals Workshop Series is designed for instructors new to Brightspace and is suitable for instructors teaching in any modality: face-to-face, hybrid, or online.

Workshops in the series:

• Navigation and Interface
• Communication Tools
• Authoring and Publishing Content
• Gradable Activities: Assignments
• Gradable Activities: Discussions
• Gradable Activities: Quizzes
• Gradebook

Brightspace LMS Open Lab
Need assistance with your course in Brightspace? This lab is an open forum devoted to answering questions and solving problems that faculty members may have about navigating Brightspace. Bring your course-specific questions and have them answered here! Labs are designed for faculty members who attended campus workshops or SUNY trainings, or who have been using Brightspace for their courses in any modality: face-to-face, hybrid, or online.

Have other questions or need assistance? 

• The Buffalo State IT Knowledge Base has many articles to assist with Brightspace. Use the search bar at the top to find information on other topics. 
• 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.

The online late add process for spring 2023 semester begins at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, February 8, and ends at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, February 16. Students can add a course directly in Banner after obtaining instructor permission and any other required override(s). All late adds are assessed a $20 late add fee. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the late add process as soon as possible. More information is available on the Registrar's Online Late Add Process in Banner SSB web page.

Do you have a general question about mental health? Would you like to learn more about the free and confidential counseling, groups, and workshops offered by the Weigel Counseling Center? We invite students, faculty, and staff to visit during the Counseling Center's Mental Health Rocks Residency and Tour in the Bengals on Wellness (BOW) Lounge (lower lobby of the Campbell Student Union) from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on February 7, 14, 21, and 28; March 9, 16, and 28; April 6 and 13; and May 2 and 9.

While you're there, do a fun, relaxing activity at the Weigel Health Promotions table!

Would you like to invite a member of the Counseling Center to your faculty, staff, or student club meeting to chat about their services? Please contact clinical manager Charlene J. Vetter, (716) 878-4436, to book your tour date. The Counseling Center is located on the second floor of the Weigel Wellness Center.

Spring recruitment for Greek letter organizations is underway at Buffalo State. The university proudly recognizes 10 fraternities and sororities, which offer students an opportunity to be part of a close-knit community that promotes leadership, service, and academic excellence. Student Leadership and Engagement (SLE) encourages students, faculty, and staff members to join the Greek community at the Meet the Greeks event on Tuesday, February 7, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union upper lobby. 

Information about our recognized fraternities and sororities as well as important dates for the spring 2023 semester can be found on SLE's Greek Life website.

Do you know any junior or senior student leaders you would like to nominate for the Student Leadership and Humanitarian Recognition Awards?

Buffalo State's Student Leadership and Humanitarian Awards recognize students who help make Buffalo State truly extraordinary—students who go above and beyond, who answer the call to service, and who lead their peers and our campus with energy, care, integrity, vision, and creativity. Candidates for these awards are leaders in our campus community, participate in civic engagement and service, and demonstrate a commitment to something worthwhile and enduring. These are the qualities that help define Buffalo State as a truly civil and caring academic community.

Applications and nominations are invited for the following Student Leadership and Humanitarian Awards:

The Mildred Campbell Leadership Award
The Phillip Santa Maria Award for Student Leadership in Equity and Campus Diversity
The Phillip Santa Maria Memorial Award
The Luis M. Antonetti Student Humanitarian Award
The Minnie and Joe Engel Student Humanitarian Award

The nomination and application process is electronic. The deadline for nominations is Friday, February 10, 2023, but we encourage early nominations to ensure that all deserving students are considered.

Nominations forms are available on the Dean of Students website. We encourage students to self-nominate, and we invite faculty and staff members to nominate deserving students for consideration. Recipients must be present on Tuesday, April 25, for the awards ceremony.

Questions about the Student Leadership and Humanitarian Awards can be addressed to the Dean of Students Office, Campbell Student Union 311, (716) 878-4618.

The Buffalo State Music Department is proud to welcome New York City jazz pianist George Burton on Thursday, February 16, at 7:30 p.m. in Ciminelli Recital Hall (third floor of Rockwell Hall). Described by critics as “painting with a vast palette,” “sublime,” and “multidimensional,” Mr. Burton has performed throughout the United States and Europe. He is an NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Jazz Album - Instrumental for his landmark album Reciprocity, and his album Finding was selected as a finalist in the 2021 International Songwriting Competition.

Mr. Burton will perform at Buffalo State with Dylan Band on tenor and soprano saxophone, Pablo Menares on bass, and Corey Rawls on drums. His Buffalo State appearance is part of the annual Lois R. Klein Piano Recital Series. Student admission is free with student ID; general admission is $10.

Tickets are available online.

The Social Justice Book Club is proud to announce its spring 2023 selections:

• Choice Words: Writers on Abortion, a literary anthology of poems, stories, and essays about abortion. We will meet online for five sessions, once every other week, beginning Wednesday, February 15, from 2:00 to 2:50 p.m. Session dates are February 15; March 1, 15, and 29; and April 12.
• It's Always Been Ours: Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies, a critical examination of how whiteness and capitalism shape conversations about bodies, health, and wellness. A month after the book's author, Jessica Wilson, speaks on campus, the book club will meet in person for one session on Thursday, March 9, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. (location TBD).  

The Social Justice Book Club is open to all members of the campus community. Seats are limited. Participants may receive a free copy of one or both books, supplies permitting. Anyone interested in joining the Social Justice Book Club should complete this form by Friday, February 10.

This program was made possible with the support of E. H. Butler Library, Equity and Campus Diversity, Student Leadership and Engagement, the Muriel A. Howard Honors Program, the Grant Allocation Committee, the Anne Frank Project, and Haymarket Books. 

For more information, please email Julie Setele, senior assistant librarian, or visit the SJBC website.

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar "Tales of Ticks and Taq: Tick-Borne Pathogen Surveillance and Research in New York State," presented by Melissa Prusinski, research scientist and laboratory supervisor with the NYS Department of Health, today, February 6, at 3:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 216. At the lab and in the field, Ms. Prusinski focuses on assessing tick populations parallel to their associated pathogens. Attendees are welcome to arrive at 2:30 p.m. to enjoy coffee and cookies leading up to the seminar.

Abstract
In response to the increase and geographic spread of tick-borne disease in New York State, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) launched a Statewide Tick-Borne Pathogen Surveillance Initiative in 2008 and began actively monitoring tick populations across the state and testing them for pathogens. Ms. Prusinski will detail this coordinated and systematic statewide effort, which enables the NYSDOH to monitor tick population density, species composition and distribution, determine pathogen prevalence, and track changes in these at over 750 publicly accessible locations across New York State over time. She will discuss the NYSDOH tick surveillance results that are shared directly with local county-level health departments, medical providers, and other stakeholders and are publicly available online. The tick and pathogen samples generated by NYSDOH surveillance efforts are used to study tick and pathogen population genetics, test prospectively and retrospectively for emerging pathogens, and form the basis of laboratory experiments on pathogenesis, pathogenhost interactions, co-infection dynamics, and other related vector ecology studies. Ms. Prusinski will provide an overview of these ongoing research studies. The data and findings generated by these efforts form the basis of NYSDOH tick-borne disease educational campaigns and help refine tick-borne disease risk assessments and predictions, as well as guide the targeted implementation of tick-borne disease prevention and interventional strategies.