The spring 2021 “Conversations in and out of the Disciplines” series continues on Friday, March 19, as Kristen Pastore-Capuana, assistant professor of English, presents “Invested Stayers: How Teachers Thrive in Challenging Times” at 3:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Join the Zoom meeting.
Meeting ID: 896 7896 5477
Join by phone: (929) 205-6099 (New York)

Please also mark your calendars for the final talk of the spring semester when A. K. Shauku, assistant professor of political science and public administration, presents “Considering the Costs of Circuit Conflict" on Friday, April 30 (Zoom details forthcoming). As usual, following each talk, we will have a Q&A with the speaker. Everyone is welcome.

The “Conversations” series was started over a decade ago by Ann Colley, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emerita of English, to “celebrate and draw attention to the research being done in various departments at Buffalo State College.” Over the last decade, colleagues from Anthropology, Art Conservation, Art History, Biology, Chemistry, English, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, and Secondary Education, among others, have shared their work with the Buffalo State and Buffalo communities.

Instructors participating in the course design review process are encouraged to sign up for OSCQR Q&A sessions. The Q&A sessions are intended for instructors who have completed their self-review using OSCQR and have a completed instructional designer review.

After reviewing feedback from the instructional designer review, instructors are welcome to attend an open Q&A session to ask any questions about how to incorporate OSCQR standards into course design.

Please register for an OSCQR Q&A session in the Workshop Registration System.

From the Chair of the College Senate
Please visit our new College Senate website for information related to the Buffalo State College Senate.

Important links to the website and SharePoint site
Feedback form: Submit a question or policy review

Previously answered constituent questions: Review answers to previous constituent questions or feedback. (Buffalo State login credentials required.)

College Senate meetings: Minutes, podcasts, presentations, reports from Senate meetings.

Agendas, minutes, and podcasts can also be accessed via the website.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate for the spring 2021 semester will be held tomorrow, March 12, at 3:00 p.m. via the videoconferencing platform Zoom.

Zoom meeting link
Meeting ID: 837 4141 1587
Passcode: 993037

Stop in and enjoy $6 Fridays in the Bengal Kitchen. Try our new salad-and-sandwich-bar concept and enjoy delicious globally inspired cuisine from the Exhibition station.

We can't wait to see you again.

Please join the Student Civic Leadership Board in supporting Every Bottom Covered during the Bengals Care Collection Drive on Tuesday, March 30, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the South Wing breezeway.

Items we are collecting include diapers, wipes, pads, tampons, formula, diaper cream, diaper lotion, and baby wash to support families in need. Monetary donations are also welcome and can be made directly to Every Bottom Covered.

We ask that attendees pay close attention and adhere to all COVID-19 safety guidelines outlined below: 

1. Staff, student volunteers, and donors are required to wear masks and practice social distancing.
2. Temperatures of all participants will be taken using a no-contact thermometer. 
3. Hand sanitizer will be available. 
4. A sign-in sheet will be used for contact tracing purposes.
5. Drop-off station will be sanitized between donations. 
6. Please follow all social distancing and zero contact guidelines. 

Thank you for your help and support! It is greatly appreciated.

The State of New York/United University Professions Joint Labor-Management Committees have announced that $54,560 has been allocated to Buffalo State College for Individual Development Awards for July 2, 2020, through July 1, 2021. This program is intended to assist employees in the UUP bargaining unit in developing their full professional potential and in preparing for advancement by funding professional development activities. Information on eligibility requirements, types of projects or activities funded, types of support available, funding priorities, and the application procedures and form are available on the Human Resource Management website. The maximum award is $1,000; employees may submit only one application each for this period. Applications for this award period must be received at uupida@buffalostate.edu no later than Monday, April 12.

Individual Development Awards committee members are Jude Jayatilleke and Lisa Marie Anselmi representing UUP, and Lydia Kawaler and Charles Lyons representing management. If you have questions regarding the awards, please contact Lydia Kawaler, manager of personnel operations, in Human Resource Management.

Please join United Students Government (USG) as we take a guided journey into the mind of Laverne Cox, award-winning actress, producer, and equal rights advocate, on Thursday, March 11, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom.

This event is open to Buffalo State College students, faculty, and staff. Attendees must register in advance to attend the webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining the webinar. This event is sponsored by USG through the mandatory student activity fee. Vote Mandatory!

Blackboard will deploy its Collaborate Ultra v21.04 release in the United States tomorrow, March 11, from 2:00 to 6:00 a.m. Collaborate Ultra customers will experience intermittent availability during the maintenance window. Updated features include improved access to the Support chatbot and automatic disconnection from a session after 12 hours.

Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is our campus-supported web conferencing solution. For more information, please refer to Blackboard's Release Notes for this version of Collaborate Ultra.

Please join us for a SUNY-sponsored webinar focusing on supporting online students tomorrow, March 11, from noon to 12:30 p.m. The SUNY Online Teaching unit has developed this webinar as part of a portfolio of resources in a variety of modes to best fit campus or individual needs as we navigate the current semester.

There are a number of practical things online faculty members can do to support online learner success. A brief overview of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies used by successful blended or online learners will be presented as a foundation on which these recommendations are based. This session will be an open discussion of specific suggestions that online faculty can implement to help students succeed in an online learning environment.

Registration is open for this as well as other upcoming free webinars.