The Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship (USRF) program supports full-time student research, scholarly, and creative activity each summer under the guidance of faculty mentors. USRF 2021 applications are welcome from Buffalo State College undergraduates in all disciplines with a graduation date of December 2021 or later. Each 2021 fellowship provides a student stipend of $2,500, with $250 available for necessary supplies; faculty mentors receive a $500 honorarium. To access the online application portal, please visit the USRF program page at the Undergraduate Research website. The deadline for student applications is 10:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 31; mandatory faculty mentor approval is due by 10:00 p.m. Friday, April 2.

Please join us for the exciting 10th annual Southeast Asia Week, featuring the following virtual panel discussions and presentations, from Monday, March 22, to Friday, March 26:

Panel Discussion on COVID-19 Impacts on Education: Challenges, Strategies, and Education Reforms
Monday, March 22
Check in: 7:30–8:00 p.m.
Program: 8:00–10:00 p.m.
Please register in advance for this meeting.

Zoom meeting link

Speakers

• Sok Soth, Dean, Faculty of Education in Higher Education, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• Keo Sarath, National Management and Technical Adviser to Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport / SEIP Project, Cambodia
• Rumki Basu, Professor of Public Administration, Department of Political Science, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India

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Microenterprises and Poverty Reduction: Case Studies from Cambodia and India
Tuesday, March 23
Check in: 7:30–8:00 p.m.
Program: 8:00–9:30 p.m.

Zoom meeting link

Speakers

• Suparna Soni, Assistant Professor, Political Science and Public Administration Department, SUNY Buffalo State College
• Vida Vanchan, Associate Professor, Geography and Planning Department, SUNY Buffalo State College

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Country Analyses of COVID-19 Impacts in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Myanmar)
Thursday, March 25
Check in: 11:30 a.m.–noon
Program: Noon–1:30 p.m.

Zoom meeting link

Speakers

• Students in Geography of Asia Course

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Panel Discussion: Governance, Policies, and Management during Pandemics in Developed and Developing Countries 
Thursday, March 25
Check in: 8:00–8:30 p.m.
Program: 8:30–10:00 p.m.
Please register in advance for this meeting.

Zoom meeting link

Speakers

• Shouvik Mitra, Consultant - World Bank/ Community Development Specialist (National Consultant - FAO), India
• Peter Yacobucci, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Administration; Coordinator, American Democracy Project and Conflict Analysis and Resolution Program, SUNY Buffalo State College

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Country Analyses of COVID-19 Impacts in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Laos, and Philippines)
Friday, March 26
Check in: 9:30–10:00 a.m.
Program: 10:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Zoom meeting link

Speakers

• Students in Geography of Asia Course

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Sponsors and Partners
Cornell University Southeast Asia Program (SEAP); Buffalo State College Equity and Campus Diversity Office, Political Science and Public Administration Department, and Geography and Planning Department

The midterm grading window for spring 2021 is currently open and will close on Friday, March 26, at 9:00 p.m. Please be aware that Information Technology has scheduled a Banner upgrade during the weekend of March 20, resulting in Banner downtime on Saturday and Sunday, March 20 and 21.

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, 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.

Self-archiving is the practice of making digital versions of your research available online through a subject, or institutional repository. Sometimes called green open access, this process helps disseminate your research to a wider audience. 

In March 2018, the SUNY Board of Trustees passed an Open Access Policy and System Repository Resolution?that called on each campus to create its own open access policy. The Buffalo State College Senate passed a resolution supporting open access in February 2020. That resolution states: 

In agreement with the SUNY chancellor’s “Campus Open Access Policies and System Repository Resolution,” Buffalo State College faculty recognize the importance of disseminating their research broadly, promoting equitable access to their scholarly output, and ensuring the long-term preservation of their work. In support of these goals, faculty choose to make their scholarly journal articles available in the Buffalo State Repository (Digital Commons) or another open access repository.  

E. H. Butler Library commits to providing the necessary ancillary services related to this policy. After an article is accepted for publication, faculty who choose to deposit their work in the Buffalo State Repository can provide the library with an electronic copy of their full-text, peer-reviewed article manuscript and the library will deposit it, respecting any restrictions imposed by academic publisher licensing agreements.  

This policy places no restrictions or conditions on the journals in which faculty publish; journal selection is entirely up to each faculty member. This policy applies to articles published by current faculty after the effective date of this policy. 

Butler Library creates department-level collections to host self-archived research in Digital Commons, Buffalo State’s institutional repository. Some faculty members have already taken advantage of this method of self-archiving: 

• Health and Wellness Faculty Publications | Health, Nutrition, and Dietetics | State University of New York College at Buffalo - Buffalo State College 
• Library Faculty Publications | E. H. Butler Library | State University of New York College at Buffalo - Buffalo State College 

Please e-mail a librarian if you are interested in having Digital Commons host your self-archived scholarship.

Nominations are now being accepted for the Celebration of Community Engagement Awards. These awards recognize students, faculty, staff, and community partners who make a difference locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally through civic and community engagement initiatives throughout the academic year.  

Three faculty awards bring recognition to early career, mid-career, and faculty leaders in community engagement. The campus community is also encouraged to nominate deserving students, student groups, community partners, faculty members, or classes for their outstanding achievements for fall 2020 and spring 2021 community engagement activities.

Please help us recognize individuals who have gone above and beyond this year. More information and the nomination web form can be found on the CCE website. Nominations will be accepted through Friday, April 23.

Please join the Civic and Community Engagement Office for the webinar "Critical Consciousness for Community-Engaged Teaching and Learning" on Thursday, April 22, from 3:00 to 4:00 pm. 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. Speakers are Aaliyah Baker and Amy Shanafelt.

The idea for this webinar grew out of a Campus Compact Community of Practice titled "Developing Students' Critical Consciousness through Meaningful Praxis in Community Engagement." During this Community of Practice, facilitators and participants alike found the need to continue this increasingly important dialogue and consider ways to further enhance, develop, and theorize critical consciousness in community engaged teaching and learning. Presenters will (1) define critical consciousness as it has been articulated in current and relevant research, (2) describe ways to engage others in their own safe exploration of critical reflection as it relates to the development of a critical consciousness, and (3) provide examples of how critical consciousness has the ability to "intervene in order to change outcomes and realities" and transform and empower the lives of youth.

Please register online for this final presentation in the National Webinar Series.

Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAA)
The grace period for the 2020 DCAA to incur dependent care expenses for reimbursement from your 2020 DCAA ends Monday, March 15. The last day to submit DCAA claims is Wednesday, March 31, for expenses incurred through March 15, 2021.

Health Care Spending Account (HCSA)
Effective January 1, 2020, over-the-counter drugs and medicines were eligible for reimbursement without a written prescription through the HCSA. Menstrual care products are now also considered medical expenses that are eligible for reimbursement through the HCSA. 

2020 Health Care Spending Account participants are now able to use up to $500 of their 2020 remaining balance for eligible expenses incurred during 2021. 

If you have questions about remaining balances or covered expenses, please contact the Flex-Spending Account Customer Service line at (800) 358-7202.

Please join us for "Strengthening Leadership in 2021 with Emotional and Social Intelligence," presented by Jonathan Hulbert, director of leadership and organizational development, on Thursday, March 18, from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. via Zoom. 

What does effective leadership look like in 2021, and how can we continue to develop our leadership skill set? During this workshop, staff and faculty members will engage in a discussion about practices and approaches to leadership that were found to be highly effective in 2020, discuss implications for applying these strategies in 2021, and point to resources for continuing to develop these necessary leadership skills. 

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

Please join us for our "Elevating Student Success in Our Current Environment Conversation Series." This series is co-sponsored by the Title III Task Force and the Professional Development Center. All sessions will take place from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. via Zoom.

What does student success mean at Buffalo State College? What are the individual ways that we cultivate student success at the college, and how can we as individuals apply these practices to our own work to support the students we serve? Join us as we learn from our colleagues their definition of student success and the specific practices we as staff or faculty members can apply to better support the intellectual, personal, and professional growth of our students. Each conversation will involve a 10-to-15-minute presentation from a staff or faculty member focused on his or her definition of student success and effective practices that others can apply to their work with students. These conversations will then be followed by a 45-to-50-minute facilitated conversation by a member of the Title III Task Force about how we can apply these practices to our individual work with students. We will also discuss similar practices colleagues found to be effective and build off of the ideas presented to elevate these practices across campus.

Defining Student Success: A Department’s Process
Tuesday, March 23
Presenters: Naila Ansari, Ann Emo, and Jonathan Seinen – Theater Department

One Year Later: Unmasking the Student Experience
Thursday, March 25
Presenters: Student Panel

How to Authentically Increase Your Influence So as to Elevate Student Success
Thursday, April 8
Presenter: Nyandusi Nyachae

Meeting Students Where They Are with Digital Supports: A Panel Discussion
Tuesday, April 13
Presenters: Gregory Wadsworth, Kimberly Kamper-DeMarco, and Mary Beth Sullivan

How Students Succeed
Thursday, April 22
Presenter: Stanley Simmons