Please join the Equity and Campus Diversity Office for the second event in the Diversity Dialogue Speaker Series for spring 2022 with a virtual talk by Anita Senthinathan, assistant professor of speech-language pathology, on Tuesday, March 22, at 6:00 p.m.

Dr. Senthinathan’s research and teaching interests are in anatomy, physiology, and neurodegenerative conditions that affect speech and swallowing. Born and raised in the Greater Toronto area, Dr. Senthinathan earned her doctorate in speech and language sciences at Western University, Canada, in 2019. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate students at Buffalo State College and is passionate about contributing to the global community. RSVP online to receive the Microsoft Teams link via email. 

For more information, please contact Solomon Joseph, graduate assistant in the Equity and Campus Diversity Office.

Please join us for "Restoration and Resolve: Guided Yoga Nidra Meditation," facilitated by Melissa Meehan, web administration director, on Tuesday, March 29, from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. and Friday, April 15, from 12:15 to 1:00 p.m. via Microsoft Teams. Please use the links below to register. 

Yoga nidra, or yogic sleep, is a practice that invites us into the state between wakefulness and sleep. This powerful meditation technique draws on the yogic limb pratyahara (withdrawal of senses) and can be surprisingly helpful for reducing stress and mitigating feelings of depletion. Also, yoga nidra's use of the sankalpa, or heart's intention, is an interesting exercise in uncovering what we truly yearn for in our lives. Please prepare a warm, comfortable place where you can rest in savasana during this extended guided meditation; your comfort is key. 

• March 29, 1:00–1:45 p.m. 
• April 15, 12:15–1:00 p.m.

Student Accessibility Services at Buffalo State College is privileged to induct the 2022 class of the Epsilon Chi chapter of the Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society.  

Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society was founded in 2004 to recognize the academic accomplishments of students with disabilities. In addition to recognizing academic achievement, Delta Alpha Pi seeks to lessen and eventually eliminate the stigma and negative stereotyping that have been associated historically with disability. The members of Delta Alpha Pi challenge society to view disability as an aspect of diversity, existing on a continuum throughout an individual’s lifespan, and encourage the implementation of universal design, so that the environment (learning, physical, attitudinal), not the individual, adjusts to provide access to all individuals. 

Students who become members of Delta Alpha Pi identify themselves as honor students who have a disability. By their open acknowledgment of their disability status, they serve as role models for other students with disabilities and advance the goals of Delta Alpha Pi on their campuses and in the community. 

Each year Student Accessibility Services will continue to recognize these students’ academic accomplishments by honoring and acknowledging their determination and perseverance. This year’s class will receive a Delta Alpha Pi letter of recognition and a Certificate of Initiation. 

Please visit the Student Accessibility Services website to see the complete list of students who wish to be recognized from all induction years. 

Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of these amazing students! 

Undergraduate Students: 

Melaina Birjukow - Sociology 

Marissa Birrer – Hospitality Administration 

Brynn Brewington – Social Work 

Aoife Clune - English 

Nathan Grammar – English 7-12 

Olivia Herschell – Special Education & Childhood Education 

Jeannine King – English 7-12 

Austin Shutter – Pre-Forensic Chemistry 

Ziana Stephenson – Pre-Business Administration 

Jillian Tung - Chemistry 

Elizabeth Urmson – Hospitality Administration 

Joshua Weigel – Communication Studies 

Graduate Students:  

Emily Holewka – Higher Education 

Christina Luke-Grace – Public Management & Disaster and Emergency Management 

Tabatha McNab – Creative Studies 

Joy Oni – Speech-Language Pathology 

Please join the Restorative Justice Center for a campus community circle on Tuesday, March 22, at 12:15 p.m. The Women's History Month–focused circle will foster a conversation with women who are shaping the world. If you’re interested in attending, please register online.

Please join Buffalo State College’s Professional Development Center for "Excel: Before the Formulas," presented by Darlene DiCesare, accreditation manager and staff assistant for University Police, on Thursday, April 7, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Butler Library 314. 

Join us as we dive into a variety of tips and skills that will immediately improve your user experience with Excel and will help you create spreadsheets that are easier to read. This session will be useful for basic users intending to create tables of text, as well as more advanced users who use formulas and analyze data within the software.

Topics will include

• basic definitions,
• navigating a workbook,
• adding or removing data without compromising it,
• keyboard shortcuts,
• formatting,
• print settings.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

SUNY’s current systemwide contract with Blackboard expires December 21, and Desire2Learn’s (D2L) Brightspace learning management system has been selected to serve as the new systemwide hub for the SUNY digital learning environment.

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.

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

Workshops will be held Monday, April 4, 11:30 a.m.– 2:00 p.m. and Tuesday, April 19, noon–2:00 p.m. in Butler Library 314.

For more information and to learn about future offerings of this workshop, please email Jamie Tabone, instructional designer.

The Testing Center at Student Accessibility Services will close early Thursday, April 7, to celebrate our students’ induction into the Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society. We will remain open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with normal services.

All students must complete their exams by 3:00 p.m. All instructors who wish to pick up their exams must do so by 2:45 p.m.

The Testing Center asks that instructors please be flexible with their students who may have exams that would normally be scheduled during this time. The Testing Center will alert students registered with Student Accessibility Services of the early closure and advise them to speak with their instructors if they have any exam concerns.

Please contact Andrea Gustafson, staff member in charge of the Testing Center, at exams@buffalostate.edu, with any questions or concerns.

Students, faculty, and staff members are invited to participate in our Civic Engagement Series on Thursday, March 24, in Caudell Hall 209 from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. Stop by to make hygiene product packs to donate to Evergreen Health’s Mocha Center, an organization that provides health-care services to LGBTQ+ individuals.

The Civic Engagement Series is funded by the Grant Allocation Committee.

Please join the Equity and Campus Diversity Office for the second in the Diversity Dialogue Speaker Series for spring 2022 with a virtual talk by Anita Senthinathan, assistant professor of speech-language pathology, on Tuesday, March 22, at 6:00 p.m.

Dr. Senthinathan’s research and teaching interests are in anatomy, physiology, and neurodegenerative conditions that affect speech and swallowing. Born and raised in the Greater Toronto area, Dr. Senthinathan earned her doctorate in speech and language sciences at Western University, Canada, in 2019. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate students at Buffalo State College and is passionate about contributing to the global community. RSVP online to receive the Microsoft Teams link via email. 

For more information, please contact Solomon Joseph, graduate assistant in the Equity and Campus Diversity Office.

Please join Weigel Health Promotion for the talk “Driving While Intoxicated: What You Need to Know,” presented by the University Police Department, on Friday, March 18, at 2:30 p.m. in Weigel Health Center 203.

In the United States, almost 28 people die every day in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. In 2014, nearly 10,000 Americans were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. Alcohol-related accidents accounted for nearly one-third of all traffic-related deaths.

A blood alcohol content (BAC) level of 0.08 percent is considered legally impaired; however, alcohol can start to affect many of the senses after only one drink. Drivers who are between the ages of 16 and 20 years old are 10 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than drivers over the age of 21. 

Learn about the physiological effects of alcohol on the body at increasing BAC levels, consequences for driving while intoxicated, implied consent, zero-tolerance, New York State DWI statutes, aggravated DWI laws, and Leandra’s law.

Please contact Paula Madrigal, assistant director of prevention and health promotion, with questions. Visit our web page or newsletter for additional information, events, and programs.