Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is a great way to learn about accessibility. In celebration of this year's accessibility holiday, Deque is offering two free virtual events:

Accessibility Awareness Lab
Wednesday, May 18, 2:00–3:00 p.m.
How do people with disabilities use computers or navigate websites? What tools do they use? How does it work? What is it like? Deque's Accessibility Awareness Lab helps teams understand how people with disabilities experience and use technology.

• Define digital accessibility on the web
• Demonstrate the use of a screen reader to access the web
• Provide ideas on how you can make the web more accessible

Accessibility Fundamentals Bootcamp
Thursday, May 19, 12:30–2:30 p.m.
This training provides an overview of basic accessibility concepts, such as why digital inclusion matters and how people with disabilities use the web. Participants will develop a better understanding of how disabilities affect a person’s experience online, as well as a high-level introduction to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines v2.1 (WCAG).

This training is intended for all audiences, including policymakers, managers, content creators, developers, designers, testers, and everything in between. Topics will include the following:

• Accessibility considerations and inclusive design
• Why accessibility matters
• How people with disabilities use the web
• Assistive technologies and context of use
• Statistics, laws, and more
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines v2.1 (WCAG)
• Role-based accessibility practices and the shift-left approach

Attend one or both sessions for free.

The Awareness Lab and Fundamentals Bootcamp are great ways to learn the basics and build empathy. If you're already an accessibility advocate, these are also excellent resources to help extend digital accessibility across your organization.

For more information, please email Jamie Tabone, instructional designer.

Come and celebrate First Friday Mass with the Newman Center on Friday, May 6, at 12:05 p.m. in the Student Union Assembly Hall. We will gather for Mass and start the month with a renewed perspective. This will be our last First Friday Mass for the semester. All are welcome.

From the Co-chairs of the Search Committee for the Chief of University Police
The search committee for Buffalo State College’s next chief of university police invites the campus community to attend the following open forum, during which the candidate will discuss her philosophy of community policing and student engagement, and then answer questions.

Candidate 3: Amy Pedlow, Wednesday, May 4, 11:00 a.m., LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center

Attendees are invited to share feedback about the candidate via an online survey.

Buffalo State College’s Anne Frank Project will host its 14th annual social justice festival, AFP 2022: Healing through Stories, in person October 12–14. We seek proposals from all disciplines, cultures, and communities reflecting on stories that have healed or will or can heal the personal, social, national, and global wounds caused by the pandemic. The sharing of unique skill sets, knowledge, and approaches to healing is an act of both social and personal justice. It was Anne Frank's wish to "repair the world." This year's festival is an opportunity for all of us to actively respond to that challenge. We need you and your healing stories now more than ever.

Understanding the busyness surrounding your lives, we are extending the proposal due date to Friday, May 20. Because we are asking session proposals to be crafted as one-third theory and two-thirds practice, several faculty and staff members have asked us to help with the "practice" part of their sessions. Our desire is to help activate your proposals from thinking to doing. We are here for you, and we need you and your healing stories now more than ever.

Submit your proposal.

To learn more about the Anne Frank Project, please?visit the AFP website.

Please contact Jonise Hall, festival coordinator, with any questions or for help with your proposal.

The May 2022 edition of the Promotional Newsletter is now available on the Weigel Health Promotion website. This issue includes a new health ambassador opportunity, plus contest winners, upcoming events, programs, resources, a recipe, and more. A few programs are still being finalized, so please check back periodically for updated information and fliers.

Students, apply to work with Health Promotions: Are you looking to build your résumé? Get involved on campus? Need a reference? Internship? Community service hours? Have a skill or talent we could use? Health Promotions is currently looking for students of all majors and years to sign up as a health ambassador. While people, titles, and locations have changed over the years, the student experience is the same. You can check out this pre-pandemic video of past students experiences.

Finals are coming. Check out our self-care series featuring tips, tricks, upcoming events and programs, resources, and more.

All newsletters are archived on the Health Promotions website.

Here are a few sneak peeks of what you will find in April:

• Late-Night Breakfast with Chartwells
• Bengal Study Night
• New Texting with Weigel Feature

Keep up to date on COVID-19-specific health information relevant to Buffalo State College with the Buffalo State COVID-19 Tool Kit. You can also keep up to date on events and programs via our public Outlook calendar.

Please contact Paula Madrigal, assistant director of prevention and health promotion, with questions.

The best way to find information is to follow us on social media. We will post any last-minute additions, updates, or cancellations as necessary.

Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Twitter
Watch us on YouTube
Follow us on Pinterest

SUNY has selected Desire2Learn’s (D2L) Brightspace learning management system to replace Blackboard as the new systemwide hub of its digital learning environment. The SUNY contract with Blackboard expires December 21, 2022.

Here’s your opportunity to obtain early access to a Brightspace sandbox and work with an Instructional Design and Distance Learning team member to explore the new platform.

The Brightspace sandbox is an initial Brightspace environment that can be used to explore the core functionality that will be available in the new learning management system. The purpose of the sandbox is to explore Brightspace from a faculty and student perspective. This is a temporary environment that will look different from the final production environment. For example, the Brightspace sandbox will not have additional third-party or extended functional tools that will be available in production. Both in-person and virtual workshops via Microsoft Teams will be offered in the upcoming weeks. 

Please register using the links below or through the Workshop Registration System.

The following workshops will be held in Butler Library 314:

Friday, May 6, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 18, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

For more information or future offerings of this workshop, please email Jamie Tabone, instructional designer.

Weigel Health Promotion is continuing to collect used eyeglasses, hearing aids, and cell phones in the vestibule of the Weigel Wellness Center between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far!

Eyeglasses will be donated to the Lions Club International Foundation’s recycling center to benefit LCI’s vision programs.

Hearing aids will be donated to the Hearing Aid Project.

Cell phones will be donated in collaboration with the Dean of Students Office to benefit Verizon’s efforts to aid victims of domestic violence.

Please contact?Paula Madrigal, assistant director of prevention and health promotions, with questions.

Follow us on social media for updates or cancellations.

Like us?on Facebook?(Buffalo State Health Promotions)
Follow us on Twitter?(@BSCHealthPromo) 
Watch us on YouTube??(BSCHealthPromotions) 
Find us on Instagram??(@Buffalostate_healthpromotions)
Follow us on Pinterest?(bschealthpromo) 

Or check out the Promotional newsletter archive.

Please join us for "Understanding the SharePoint Transition for Department Share Drives," presented by Tim Jones, IT Help Desk assistant and trainer, and Todd Benzin, education technology specialist, on Wednesday, May 11, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. in Butler Library 314.

Learn the basics of how to access your department’s file storage via SharePoint after the transition away from campus-only department drives. This includes a walk-through for putting these updated department folders right in your File Explorer/Finder and answering questions about how the switchover will look in people’s workflows.

During this session, you can

• learn how to link these folder locations to OneDrive and your campus log-in,
• better understand the motivations for the campus upgrade to SharePoint,
• learn new benefits of SharePoint for department folders,
• get an overview of how and when departments will be transitioned to the new system.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

The Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program will celebrate the exemplary academic performance of its students during its annual Honors Convocation on Thursday, May 12, at 3:30 p.m. via Zoom. This year's theme is “Strong Roots and Amazing Achievements: Believe, Inspire, Achieve.” Program highlights include recognition of student achievements and of distinguished alumnus Michael Garner, a business administration major from the Class of 1983, who is currently serving as the chief diversity and inclusion officer for the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He was also the Buffalo State Distinguished Alumnus awardee in 2021.

The EOP Honors Convocation recognizes students who have obtained a 3.0 semester or cumulative GPA during the 2021 calendar year. Special awards are also given to faculty, staff, and outstanding students who have provided valuable contributions to EOP. The campus community is invited to attend our virtual ceremony.

Invitation and Zoom link (PDF, 221 KB)

Newsletter with honoree information (PDF, 1.1 MB)

RSVP by Monday, May 9, to Cathy McCoy, office assistant 2, keyboarding, in the EOP office.

Buffalo State’s Sustainability Committee has invited Christine Krolewicz, outreach specialist for GObike Buffalo, to present on alternative transportation strategies on Friday, May 6, at 3:00 p.m. in Technology Building 160.

Ms. Krolewicz holds a degree in urban and regional planning from Buffalo State College and worked for the Richardson Olmsted campus before joining GObike. She will discuss ways in which the Buffalo State community could benefit from GObike’s wide range of programs that promote non-car transportation. From a sustainability perspective, GObike offers and advocates much greener methods of transportation and is working on safer bike travel for Grant Street and Forest Avenue. GObike also has a bike recycling program and programs that promote bike safety. For more information, please contact Susan McCartney, director of the Small Business Development Center and Sustainability Committee co-chair.