Please join the Civic and Community Engagement Office for the webinar "Teaching Social Action: An Introduction," featuring speakers Bobby Hackett from the Bonner Foundation and Scott Myers-Lipton from San Jose State University, on Thursday, January 13, 2022, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. This event is presented by Campus Compact as part of its National Webinar Series and is free to members of the Buffalo State College community.

In social action courses, students develop and enact campaigns to change a policy, which provides them with firsthand experience with power and democracy. There is no better response by higher education to the growing anti-democratic forces than social action, since it is designed to do democracy. Currently, Mr. Hackett and Dr. Myers-Lipton are training 25 faculty, staff, and students (for student-led courses) in a nine-month social action course development webinar series. Their vision is to teach 100 more people in the next couple of years, and they are putting together a "support structure" for people who want to teach a course using social action. They plan to offer a student guide, CHANGE! A Student Guide to Social Action (Routledge, 2018); a teaching guide, CHANGE! A Guide to Teaching Social Action (Routledge, January 2022); $2,500 for development grants for teachers who create a course using social action (working on this grant now); access to a Social Action Course Development webinar series or asynchronous videos; and a community of practitioners of social action, which meets quarterly online.

Please register online for this webinar and any others in the National Webinar Series that may interest you.

Leslie Dixie-Smith will retire from her position as associate director of student accounts on December 30 after over 30 years as an exemplary member of the Buffalo State College community.

Please join us for cake at an open reception on Tuesday, December 21, between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. in the second-floor Moot Hall lobby, as we celebrate her service and many contributions to Buffalo State and wish her the best in her next endeavors.

Microsoft is retiring Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022. Some websites have already stopped supporting Internet Explorer. If you use Internet Explorer for web browsing on your Windows computer, you must switch to Edge, Chrome, or Firefox before this date. These web browsers provide a fast, secure, and modern web experience, and you can easily import your favorites from IE. Edge and Chrome are already installed on all campus PCs, and Firefox can easily be installed via Software Center. If you need assistance transitioning to one of these web browsers, please open a General Technology Help ticket or call the IT Help Desk at (716) 878-4357.

During the fall 2021 semester, several wonderful students provided peer note-taking services for Student Accessibility Services.

Peer notetakers are volunteers who have met standards of quality and excellence in order to assist us with ensuring equal access to education for students who receive the note-taking accommodation.

Peer notetaker duties extend beyond just providing a copy of one's notes. Peer notetakers ensure that their notes are tailored to suit the needs of the student(s) they serve. This is not an easy task, because of the level of need that may be required. Taking notes can involve rephrasing content, providing notes in differing formats, and working with Student Accessibility Services to ensure that all notes are up to quality and accessibility standards.

The following students have displayed a high degree of integrity, responsibility, and care, and we thank them for their time and dedication this semester.

Name of Student - Major                        

Ennis Bennett - Economics
Prayushi Bhorania - Computer Information Systems and Applied Mathematics
Marianna Braun - Social Work
Samantha Coleman - Individualized Studies
Angelina Cruzal - Writing
Jodie Ducheine - Social Work
Katelyn Egan - English 7–12
McCartney Geartz - Special Education and Childhood Education
Madison Haile - Fashion and Textile Technology
Khalil Jones - English
Riya Jones - Art History
Naykia Louis - Criminal Justice
Shariah Lyons - Pre-Business Administration
Hardaisha Porter - Writing
Kendra Prescott - Chemistry
Allarae Prigan - Biology
Alfred Ricketts - Art
Natalia Silva - Pre-Criminal Justice
Megan Szal - Social Work
Cassandra Thurn - Early Childhood and Childhood Education
Bethanie Tinoco - Dietetics
Samantha Vitale - Social Work
Chloe Willis - Speech-Language Pathology

Please join us in thanking them for helping us keep Buffalo State College a civil and caring academic community.

The Theater Department and Casting Hall Productions’ presentation of A Christmas Scarol, an audio comedy directed by theater major Edward Spaulding, has been extended through Tuesday, December 14. The story was written by Don Zolidis and features student actors Ezra Bedoya, Carolyn Freeman, Ian Hagerty, Link Hagerty, Anne-Sophie Hellman, Chris Jackson, Nicole Lambert, Nathaniel Schumacher, Michelle Sprung, and Kajana Stover.

When Tim can't think of a Christmas gift to get his high-maintenance girlfriend, he's visited by four terrifying spirits (actually five—they've been hiring) who whisk him away on a harrowing and hilarious journey into the past, present, future, and an alternate timeline. This wild and free-spirited adaptation of the holiday classic is a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas (getting awesome presents).

The free performance playback can be heard through Tuesday, December 14, through the Broadway on Demand website.

Please join us for a meditation session facilitated by Raquel Schmidt, associate professor and chair of the Exceptional Education Department, today, December 14, from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System to receive the Zoom link to join the session.

SUNY Center for Professional Development, SUNY OER Services, and Lumen Learning are partnering to offer Lumen Circles Fellowships to provide opportunities to connect with other faculty members as you explore effective instructional practices that support student success and apply them in your own teaching. Through the fellowship you can learn, share ideas, and develop professionally in the areas you want to grow. 

For more information, or to apply for a Lumen circles fellowship, please visit the Lumen Circles: SUNY information site.

Teacher Education Unit (TEU) faculty members, it's time to register for the TEU Program Improvement Retreat on Friday, January 28, 2022, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. in the LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center (corner of Rockwell Road and Grant Street). All teacher education faculty members are needed!

This year, your attendance is more important than ever, as our CAEP accreditation site visit will take place March 13–15, 2022. This retreat will help us prepare to highlight our excellence in teacher and leader preparation.

Please register online.

Retreat Objectives

• Dig deep into your program-level data with colleagues using newly redesigned and updated program dashboards.
• Explore candidate performance on state and unit assessments.
• Develop and revise action plans to capture the work you do.
• Discover the importance of your role during our CAEP site visit

All TEU faculty are invited to join. Please e-mail Shannon Budin, professor of exceptional education, with questions.

When issuing a student a non-passing grade, including an E, F, U, I, or N grade, please also report the student's last date of attendance when entering the grade online. This assists the Financial Aid Office in determining whether a student unofficially withdrew and whether the student is able to retain the aid he or she received.

The last date of attendance is the last date the student participated in class, took an exam, handed in homework, or actively engaged in an online course. If assigning an I or N grade, the last date of attendance is the last date you met with the student to discuss progress in the course. If you have no record of a student's attending, do not enter a date. Instead, use the grade EV, which indicates that the student never attended the course. Please do not use the grade of E in these cases, as these two grades have different distinctions.

Questions regarding this policy or procedure should be referred to the Financial Aid Office, (716) 878-4902. The grading guide (PDF, 162 KB) may also assist you.

A big thank-you goes out to everyone who so kindly and generously supported the 24th annual Student Art Sale. Through this event, students participated in a "real world" experience, tested their works in the marketplace, and earned some money at the same time.

Thanks again from the Art and Design Department, and happy holidays to all!