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 Wednesday, March 23, noon–2:00 p.m. and Monday, April 4, 11:30 a.m.– 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.

From the Chair of the Search Committee for the Vice President for Enrollment Management

The search committee for the vice president for enrollment management is pleased to announce that the committee has selected three candidates for on-campus interviews. The committee invites the campus community to attend the following open forums, during which the candidates will make a short presentation on their vision for Enrollment Management at Buffalo State College and answer questions:

Candidate 2 on Tuesday, March 15, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 217

Candidate 3 on Thursday, March 17, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 217

Attendees will be invited to share feedback on the candidates with the committee via a survey link that will be provided prior to the forums.

As the campus transitions back to in-person campus activities, Student Leadership and Engagement will host a virtual adviser informational meeting on Thursday, March 24, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. for faculty and staff advisers. Faculty and staff advisers play an integral role in the success of student organizations at Buffalo State College. They offer guidance to student leaders through their experience and lend continuity to the organization.

This meeting will include the following information:

• Adviser Interest Form for faculty and staff members interested in becoming an adviser
• Update from the United Students Government (USG) executive board
• Reintroducing campus life and the clubs and organizations experience to students
• Roles and responsibilities for faculty and staff advisers, as well as the Adviser Agreement Form
• Promoting engagement through Bengal Connect
• Student organization re-registration for 2022–2023
• Space reservation process for in-person events and meetings

Current faculty and staff advisers have already received an Outlook invitation to attend the meeting; however, the meeting is open to any faculty or staff member interested in becoming an adviser to a student organization. If you are not currently an adviser to a student organization and wish to attend or did not receive an invitation to the meeting, please contact Luke Haumesser, associate director for student leadership and engagement.

The Faculty-Student Association (FSA) is now accepting applications for the spring 2022 grant cycle. FSA grants are awarded by the FSA board of directors to fund programs that will promote and cultivate educational and extracurricular activities on the Buffalo State College campus. All student groups, faculty, and staff members are welcome to apply. Please visit the FSA website for the application and guidelines.

The application deadline for the spring 2022 grant cycle is Sunday, May 1. For further information, please contact Hope Dunbar, executive director of the FSA.

The Buffalo State College community is saddened by the death of Patricia Bazulka, ’59, ’65, associate professor emerita of exceptional education, who died March 6, 2022. Mrs. Bazulka joined the college in 1966 and retired in 1998. She is survived by two children, five grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held Friday, March 11, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the DuBois Funeral Home, 2436 Niagara Road, Wheatfield. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, March 12, at 10:00 a.m. in St. Jude the Apostle Church, 800 Niagara Falls Boulevard, North Tonawanda. More information is available online.

The SUNY Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching and Technology (FACT²) will host "Helping Your Students Demonstrate Learning: A FACT² Innovative Assessment Symposium" on Thursday, April 7, at 1:00 p.m. and continue on subsequent Thursdays at 1:00 p.m. throughout April. Online discussions will also be conducted in the week before the webinar for greater engagement on these topics:

• April 7: “Ways to Assess Students Using Multiple Pathways through a Course”
• April 14: “What Can Real World Assessment Look Like?”
• April 21: “Strategies for Creating Socially Just Assessments”
• April 28: “Re-examining Assessing Classroom Learning using E-portfolios”

To learn more and to register for one or more of the webinars, please visit the SUNY Center for Professional Development website.

The Faculty Liberal Arts Coalition (FLAC) is seeking Buffalo State College faculty members who share

• a commitment to teaching monographs, novels, essays, articles, short stories, poetry, and other primary-source written work;
• an interest in discussing contemporary challenges and solutions to doing this on our campus;
• a belief that scholarship and creative work are the foundation of the professoriate;
• an understanding of standardization and conformity as an existential threat to thought.

If interested in joining FLAC, please contact Staci Newmahr, associate professor of sociology.

From the Chair of the Search Committee for the Vice President for Enrollment Management

The search committee for the vice president for enrollment management invites the campus community to attend the following open forum, during which the candidate will make a short presentation on his vision for Enrollment Management at Buffalo State College and answer questions:

Candidate 1: Randyll P. Bowen, Thursday, March 10, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 217 and via Microsoft Teams.

Attendees are invited to share feedback on the candidate with the committee via a survey link.

The English Department's book sale is ongoing. The huge inventory includes general fiction, biography, criticism, drama, and mysteries, with new books added weekly. Books are priced from 50 cents to $2; proceeds support research and travel for students and non-tenured faculty. Hours are Tuesdays from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 214.

The spring 2022 midterm faculty grading window is open and will close at 9:00 p.m. Friday, March 25. Students can view their midterm grades in Banner, Degree Works, and the Bengal Success Portal as soon as they are posted.

Advisers can obtain copies of the midterm grading reports for their academic intervention use through their dean’s office.

Thank you for your commitment to our students’ success.