Did you know this is an election year? The CSEA Local 640 will hold elections in June for the positions of president, vice president, recording secretary, and treasurer.

Watch the CSEA bulletin boards and your campus e-mail for important schedules, information, and updates about the nomination and election process. Please be patient as we try to make the election process as safe and accessible as we can for all members during these trying times.

If you have questions about the election process, please e-mail Mary Codick, CSEA Local 640 Election Committee chair. Election Committee member details and more information will be shared once they become available.

The Buffalo State College community is saddened by the death of Paul D. Martin, professor emeritus of fine arts, who died March 6, 2021. Mr. Martin joined the college in 1961 and retired in 2000. He is survived by his wife, Mildred; two sons; and five grandchildren. Funeral services were held March 9. More information is available online.

Freshen up your Zoom room for spring and download the new SUNY Buffalo State College backgrounds created by graphic design student Kevin Dong, ’21. Special Zoom backgrounds for Believe. Inspire. Achieve., alumni, and current students are available for download. Enjoy, use, and share with colleagues and students. Happy spring from Alumni Engagement and Student Leadership and Engagement!

Please join us for "Mindfulness Meditation," facilitated by Leigh Duffy, assistant professor of philosophy, on Thursday, March 25, from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. via Zoom. 

This 30-minute guided mindfulness meditation in the tradition of the eight-limbed yoga practice will focus on the limb of pratyahara—or withdrawal of the senses—to help participants begin to quiet the mind and let go of distractions. This kind of exercise is useful for dealing with stress, particularly when life feels chaotic. No prior experience is required.

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

Please join us for the second annual Buffalo State College Women's Leadership Conference on Friday March 26, from noon to 3:00 p.m. Hosted by the Equity and Campus Diversity Office and the Equity and Inclusion division of the Dean of Students Office, the conference is free and open to all students of all genders in the Buffalo area.

This year's conference will feature speakers, breakout sessions, networking, a community circle, and more. We hope students can join us for this opportunity to meet peers from other area colleges and discuss women's leadership and the advancement of an equitable world for all. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates on our speakers and topics for the conference.

Please register for the event online.

A special thanks to the committee for making this conference possible: Chrisjarvel Adams, Shelby Amos, Michael Heflin, Kristen Helling, Samantha Quinn, and Shawnté Wilson.

The Art and Design Department at Buffalo State College is pleased to present the Spring 2021 Art and Design Virtual Student Exhibition. Art and Design students at Buffalo State have been working very hard through the ever-changing and challenging times this past academic year. What you will see in this exhibition is a selection of excellent student work from the 300- and 400-level studio classes. These artworks were executed by our students under the direct supervision of our dedicated studio faculty, and informed by the historical context provided by our Art History faculty scholars. We are all very proud of our students’ work. Enjoy!

View the exhibition.

Follow Art and Design on social media for all the latest news and events:

Art and Design Facebook
Art and Design Instagram
Art and Design Twitter

The Equity and Campus Diversity Office invites the campus community to the webinar "Ensuring the Success of Women in Male-Dominated Fields: A Conversation with Tiffany Cross," the first event in the Let's Talk About It series, on Tuesday March 23, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.  

Tiffany D. Cross is an on-air political analyst and cable newsroom veteran. She is the author of Say It Louder: Black Voters, White Narratives, and Saving Our Democracy (Amistad/HarperCollins) and a resident fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics (Spring 2020). Her broad experience across media, politics, and policy includes more than two decades of navigating newsrooms and campaigns while engaging different constituencies on the ground. Currently, Ms. Cross hosts The Cross Connection on MSNBC, airing on Saturdays.

Buffalo State College Chief Diversity Officer Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney will be the moderator for this event. 

All are welcome to attend. Registration is required. 

For more information, please visit the Equity and Campus Diversity website or social media pages: Facebook and Instagram.

From the Chair of the Institutional Innovation Advisory Council
The President’s Institutional Innovation Advisory Council (IIAC) is pleased to announce that 246 employees participated in the focus groups offered after the initial findings of the Campus Culture and Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Survey were released. The focus groups were held to deepen our understanding of the findings and gather additional ideas and input from the campus community to inform recommendations for the strategic plan within the areas of the IIAC’s charge.

Although the IIAC had hoped to share the final report with the president in March and with the campus community after that, the IIAC unanimously voted to share the report in April, as more time is needed to integrate the focus groups' findings in a meaningful way to ensure that the report is valuable to the campus community. An update on this process was provided at the College Senate meeting on Friday, March 12. The podcast of the March 12 meeting is available on the College Senate website; the IIAC update begins at 1:03:05.

Please contact IIAC chair Jonathan Hulbert, director of leadership and organizational development, with questions.

The Restorative Justice Center is currently recruiting restorative justice (RJ) ambassadors for the 2021–2022 academic year.  

Restorative justice is used nationwide at colleges and universities to resolve student conflict and incidents. Institutions such as Skidmore College, Brown University, the University of Florida, Siena College, the University of Kentucky, the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Michigan, and Canisius College all have RJ programs. 

Restorative justice repairs harm done by an action. The goal is to work with all individuals (harmed and accused) to come to a resolution. Restoration can be achieved through restorative justice circles, meditation, conferences, conflict management, and even through letter writing.   

For more information on the role of RJ ambassadors, please visit the Student Conduct and Community Standards website. Please complete the online application form to apply. For more information, please contact Student Conduct and Community Standards, 878-3051.

Please join us for "Be Embodied: A Guided Meditation to Calm Your Mind," facilitated by Jenna Fadale, registered dietitian and Buffalo State alumna, on Monday, March 29, from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. via Zoom. 

This 45-minute meditation session will teach participants how to calm their minds using the body and breath as tools. The session will start off with light stretching to help the body get comfortable for seated meditation. Guided relaxation and breath awareness techniques are used to help participants develop their mind-body connection. At the end of the practice a sacred sound, known as a mantra, is used to help deepen concentration and promote relaxation.

After graduating from Buffalo State in 2016, Jenna Fadale worked in Buffalo for three years before leaving her job in community nutrition to study yoga full time at the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Today, she owns her own virtual private practice, Embodied by Jenna Wellness Coaching, that helps women heal their relationships with food through the mind-body practices of yoga and intuitive eating.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.