Textbook adoptions are due for fall and summer 2021. The new textbook Adoption and Insights Portal (AIP) is now up and running! AIP, which replaced the aging Faculty Enlight, is the new source for researching, adopting, and sharing insights about textbooks and course materials.

This new portal will help us achieve our goals of student success and retention by ensuring that 100 percent of course material adoptions are submitted by the adoption deadline each semester.

Submitting your adoptions early and directly to the bookstore ensures that students will get the right materials for their courses at the most affordable prices.

With the new platform, faculty and department administrators can

• save time with the one-click re-adopt feature,
• research and adopt course materials in one convenient place,
• compare estimated student price and available formats before adopting,
• review affordable alternatives, like OER and BNC OER+ courseware,
• learn about affordable options like Price Match and First Day,
• receive 24/7 support.

AIP can be found in Blackboard under Faculty Resources or on the Faculty Resources drop-down selection under Textbooks on the B&N website. Please feel free to email the bookstore with questions.

Intercollegiate Athletics will host its semiannual blood drive in support of our community and corporate partner ConnectLife (formerly UNYTS) tomorrow, April 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Houston Gym. The event has been organized in collaboration with the Events Management Office and in compliance with all guidelines in the college's Campus Events and Visitors Protocol. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, blood supplies in Western New York are critically low. Appointments are not necessary but can be made by calling ConnectLife at (716) 529-4270. All donors must wear a mask. Donors will receive an "I Bleed Orange" T-shirt and free pizza and will be automatically entered into a raffle for a $50 gift card to Wegmans.

Please join us for "Mindfulness and Breathwork," facilitated by Gizelle Stokes, founder and chief executive officer of the Mindful Institute, on Thursday, April 29, from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. via Zoom. 

During this session, we will discuss the benefits of mindfulness and breathwork. We are able to self-regulate, refocus, gain perspective, decrease self-judgment, and lessen anxiety in any given moment. You will be provided with techniques to use to gain instant support as well as techniques for long-term wellness. 

For more information and to register, please visit the Workshop Registration System.

Many faculty members and advisers are referring their students to Tutoring, and the results are great!

In addition to the Math and Writing centers, Tutoring Services handles all other tutoring requests through "Other Tutoring." When "Other Tutoring" receives a referral through the Bengal Success Portal (Starfish), Jamersin Redfern, tutoring services graduate intern, and Lauren Copeland, coordinator of tutoring services, find the best tutor for each situation and email the student with the tutor name(s) and contact information.

Not using the Bengal Success Portal yet? Just email Lauren Copeland with the student's name and course(s) for tutoring, and Tutoring Services will take it from there.

From the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences
As the campus is aware, the new School of Arts and Sciences will come into existence on June 1. Thank you to the staff in both the School of Arts and Humanities and the School of Natural and Social Sciences dean’s offices, Information Technology, Human Research Management, Finance and Management, Admissions, Academic Affairs, and the Registrar's Office (and anyone else I am forgetting) for all your hard work to make this transition seamless.

On June 1, the Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office (Rockwell 222; 878-6326) will include the following key personnel:

Brian Cronk, Dean

Kelly Frothingham, Associate Dean of Curriculum and Assessment
• Program Reviews, Program Assessment, Curriculum Development, Catalog Review, Schedule Review, Workload

Carlos Jones, Associate Dean of Academic Standards and Student Success
• Academic Standards and Misconduct, Probation and Dismissal, Retention and Student Success

Anthony Chase, Assistant Dean
• Degree Completion, Recruitment, Alumni Relations, Publicity and Communication, Scholarships, Donors, Interdisciplinary Programs

Carolyn Fusco, Executive Assistant to the Dean
• Budget, Fee, and Facilities Oversight; Personnel Records; Promotion and Renewal for FT

Kathy Fortune, Administrative Assistant II
• Human Resources, Curriculum, and Assessment

Jean Salisbury, Administrative Assistant II
• Budget, Academic Standards, and Student Success

Kimberly Fox, Administrative Assistant
• Assistant to the Dean

I look forward to working with all of my faculty and staff colleagues around campus.

The Research and Creativity Council (RCC) is pleased to announce this call for submissions for the annual Faculty and Staff Research and Creativity Forum. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the traditional fall forum was postponed. In recognition of the scholarly and creative work that the Buffalo State College community has continued to pursue despite the global pandemic and the many unexpected challenges we have all faced since March 2020, the Digital Commons will host a virtual “poster session” forum of research presentations. We encourage all Buffalo State faculty and staff members to submit their latest research and scholarly endeavors to this forum (multiple submissions are welcome). All submissions will be peer reviewed before publication in the Digital Commons.

Please follow the instructions below:

1. All presentations must be submitted via PowerPoint. You are encouraged to use voice-over annotation throughout the presentation.
2. Please include your name(s), job title, department, and school and the title of the presentation on the first slide
3. Please limit the total presentation to three or four slides.
4. Please submit your presentation electronically.
   a. Select your school.
   b. Click "Submit Your Work."
5. Submission due date: May 14, 2021
6. Forum publication date: May 28, 2021
7. Please contact Raquel Schmidt, chair and associate professor of exceptional education, or Gina Game, research compliance manager for sponsored programs, with questions.

A work group of the Social Justice Subcommittee of the President's Equity and Campus Diversity Council is seeking feedback from full- and part-time faculty members as part of its efforts to draft recommendations regarding opportunities to integrate social justice content into the undergraduate curriculum. Our goal is to build faculty input into the planning process so that the resulting recommendations are informed by and reflective of the breadth of pedagogical acumen on campus. 

A link to the survey will be emailed to full- and part-time faculty beginning the week of April 12 and will remain open until April 28. The survey is anonymous and voluntary, and any presentation of data will be in the aggregate. Thank you for your assistance with this initiative. If you have any questions, please contact James Golden, assistant professor of social work.

The Continuing Professional Studies Office has resumed CLEP testing and has set the following testing dates through the end of the 2021 calendar year. All testing dates listed below fall on Saturday. All dates are subject to change, dependent on evolving pandemic conditions:

May 8
9:00 and 11:00 a.m. (must have a confirmed registration by Wednesday, May 5)

June 12
9:00 and 11:00 a.m. (must have a confirmed registration by Wednesday, June 9)

August 14
9:00 and 11:00 a.m. (must have a confirmed registration by Wednesday, August 11)

September 11
9:00 and 11:00 a.m. (must have a confirmed registration by Wednesday, September 8)

October 2
9:00 and 11:00 a.m. (must have a confirmed registration by Wednesday, September 29)

November 6
9:00 and 11:00 a.m. (must have a confirmed registration by Wednesday, November 3)

December 11
9:00 and 11:00 a.m. (must have a confirmed registration by Wednesday, December 8)

To learn more about CLEP testing, registration and payment procedures, or pandemic-related policies, please visit the CLEP Testing Center website.

The campus community is invited to join us for the final film event of the semester in the Beyond Boundaries Film and Discussion Series, The Infiltrators (2019), directed by Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra, on Thursday April 15, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. via Zoom. 

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

When Claudio Rojas is abruptly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), his parents reach out to the National Immigrant Youth Alliance (NIYA), an activist group known for halting deportations, in hopes of getting him released. The group sends Marco Saavedra to the detention center undercover to gain access and help free Claudio. Another young activist, Viri, infiltrates the women's side of the facility, working to halt deportations.

The Infiltrators reveals the interior workings of a shadowy detention facility and, by extension, the larger network of for-profit detention centers in the United States. The film highlights how these places house immigrants from across the globe who are all incarcerated without trial.

Watch the trailer.

The Beyond Boundaries Film and Discussion Series is curated by Ruth Goldman and Meg Knowles, associate professors of communication; and Crystal Rodriguez, chief diversity officer, at Buffalo State College. This series is made possible through a collaboration with the Buffalo State Equity and Campus Diversity Office, the Buffalo State Communication Department, and the Burchfield Penney Art Center. 

The Communication Department will host a virtual, free "Meet the COM Professionals" event on Thursday, April 15, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. via Zoom. Students will be able to talk with more than a dozen professionals in public relations, advertising, journalism, and media production by attending each professional's Zoom breakout room for a 10-minute presentation before moving to another breakout room. Interested students should register online. The event is co-hosted by Buffalo State College's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America.