As we prepare for fall 2020, please join us for the webinar "Q&A: Blackboard Collaborate Ultra," presented by Todd Benzin, educational technology specialist, on Thursday, August 27, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Attend this session and bring your questions and concerns about Blackboard Collaborate Ultra for web conferencing. The lab will be "staffed" by members of the Instructional Design and Training team. Whether you have a general question about what the software can do or a more specific question about a feature or an issue you've been having, we will do our best to help. There is no agenda for this session; show up when you can within the allotted time and leave when you have to.

You can access the webinar using Todd Benzin's Training Room. Please review the BbCollaborate website to become familiar with using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra as a participant, if you'd like. 

Google Chrome or Firefox is strongly recommended as a browser. If you have a webcam and microphone, that's great. If not, you should be able to get everything you need as long as your headset or speakers are working. Questions can also be typed in the Chat window.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

As we prepare for fall 2020, please join us for the webinar "Q&A: Blackboard Learn," presented by Meghan Pereira, director of instructional design and training, on Tuesday, August 25, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Attend this session and bring your questions and concerns about Blackboard Learn, the official campus learning management system. The lab will be "staffed" by members of the Instructional Design and Training team. Whether you have a general question about what the software can do or a more specific question about a feature or an issue you've been having, we will do our best to help. There is no agenda for this session; show up when you can within the allotted time and leave when you have to.

You can access the webinar using Meghan's Remote Teaching Workshops Room. Please review the BbCollaborate website to become familiar with using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra as a participant, if you'd like. 

Google Chrome or Firefox is highly recommended as a browser. If you have a webcam and microphone, that's great. If not, you should be able to get everything you need as long as your headset or speakers are working. Questions can also be typed in the Chat window.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

During the 2019–2020 academic year (year two of the grant), the Title III Task Force and Design Teams worked on developing and implementing various grant activities. The following is an overview of the Title III activities:

Year Two Implemented (2019–2020)

• Digital Supplement Instruction Modules (DSIM) for selected high D, F, W, gateway courses
• Online Summer Engagement Program (Countdown to College!) for selected first-year students
• Foundational Coach Training for Buffalo State professional advisers, completion coaches, Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) counselors, Say Yes counselors, and faculty members
• Noel Levitz College Student Inventory Training for Buffalo State professional advisers, completion coaches, Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) counselors, and Say Yes counselors on how to analyze individual results and create student success plans for first-year students

Year Three Focus (2020–2021)

• Pilot First-Year Intrusive Academic Advising Plan that consists of minimum of three comprehensive academic advising interactions
• Pilot First-Year Engagement Program (ROAR to Success!) that consists of regular interaction with completion coaches and BEAT peer mentors during students’ first year at Buffalo State
• Design Targeted Tutoring plan to pilot during year four of the grant
• Develop digital repository to share Digital Supplement Instruction Modules with faculty members

We thank the Title III Task Force and Design Teams members for their work and commitment to the design and implementation of the grant activities. Please visit the Title III website to review detailed plans for each activity and a list of people involved.

All questions regarding the Title III grant can be directed to Agnes Zak-Moskal, Title III activity director.

Facilities Operations has implemented a new key pickup process to comply with COVID-19 protocols. These steps will expedite the process, reduce the need for in-person contact, maintain physical distance, and limit contact duration. The changes are effective immediately.

When requesting a key, please follow these steps:

1. Complete the key request form and obtain the authorizing signature.
2. Submit the completed form via fax (878-5118) or e-mail to Facilities Operations.
3. Within 24 hours of submitting your request form, call 878-6111 to schedule an appointment to pick up your key in Clinton Center 106. Pickup hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
4. When you go to Clinton Center to pick up your key, please wear a mask. Bring your original key request form, a pen, and proof of identity. If the Clinton Center door is locked when you arrive, please call 878-6111 to be admitted.

Thank you for your assistance as we work together to stay safe.

Bengals Dare to Care is traditionally a day of service for the Buffalo State community in partnership with local organizations, hosted by President Conway-Turner. To keep our students and community safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bengals Dare to Care 2020 has been reformatted to a monthlong experience to demonstrate Buffalo State’s commitment to social responsibility, community building, and social justice.

Members of the campus community are invited to join President Conway-Turner in Bengals Dare to Care 2020 to learn, engage, and take action on racial justice.

Each week will focus on a topic, feature a virtual speaker event, provide additional resources for engaging in the issue on a local level, and list ways in which individuals can take action.

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October 26–November 1: Voting, Civil Rights, and Racial Justice

• Tuesday, October 27, 4:00–5:00 p.m., Franchelle C. H. Parker and Max Anderson, Open Buffalo

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November 2–8: Education and Racial Equity 

• Wednesday, November 4, 2:00–3:00 p.m., Daniel Robertson, Manager of Boys and Men of Color Initiative, Say Yes Buffalo

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November 9–15: Diverse Perspectives within Racial Justice: LGBTQ+ and Differently Abled

• Monday, November 9, 12:30–1:30 p.m., Kirby Briggs, Kirby’s Korner, and Alex Burgos, MOCHA Center

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November 16–22: Food Security, Housing, and Race

• Thursday, November 19, 12:15–1:15 p.m., Ada Garcia-Poll, ’18, and Hannah Kalmeyer, ’21

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Faculty members are welcome to include Bengals Dare to Care 2020 virtual events, resources, and action items in their syllabi for student participation. Please ask your students to register, or e-mail your class roster (names, e-mails) to the CCE.

More information and a link to register can be found on the Civic and Community Engagement Office website.

As a part of the new graduate student orientation, the Graduate School is pleased to host a virtual Student Presentation/Panel Discussion on Monday, August 24, at 5:00 p.m. via Zoom videoconferencing.

The program will proceed as follows:

Student Presentation/Panel Discussion

Welcome: Kevin Miller, Dean of the Graduate School

Student Panel Intros: Kimberly Jackson, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School

Student Panel Topic Presentations (pre-selected)

Student Panel Q&A (student participants will be able to pose questions online)

Closing Remarks: Dr. Jackson and Dr. Miller

Student panelists are expected to discuss a variety of meaningful topics deemed important in the life of a graduate student at Buffalo State College. Faculty members are respectfully asked to encourage their students to participate in the virtual student presentation and panel discussion.

Please contact Kenneth N. Robinson, marketing and recruitment manager, 878-3191, with questions.

Marketing and Communications has produced COVID-19 health and safety posters and social media graphics that are available for download and use by all campus offices and departments.

Posters are sized to print at 11 by 17 inches but may also be printed at 8˝ by 11 inches by choosing US Letter size in your printer’s Page Setup.

The following posters are available:

•   General Campus
•   Maintain Distance
•   Student Checklist
•   Students
•   Symptom Monitoring
•   Wash Your Hands
•   Wear a Mask
•   Work Area

These posters may be posted on bulletin boards, doors, and other approved surfaces.

Also available are the following social media–size reminder graphics (9x16, 16x9, and 1x1 aspect ratios):

• Maintaining Distance
• Washing Your Hands
• Wearing a Mask

From the Chair of the College Senate
The first meeting of the College Senate for fall 2020 will be held Friday, September 11, at 3:00 p.m. The meeting format for the fall semester is to be determined. Please contact Vincent Masci, assistant to the College Senate, with questions.

Residence Life will use the middle and west portion of Lot I-37 for the student move-in event from Wednesday, August 19, through Saturday, August 22. The east entrance and the east side of Lot I-37 will remain available for faculty and staff parking. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.

E. H. Butler Library, in collaboration with the Muriel A. Howard Honors Program, is putting together a LibGuide to collect materials celebrating and illuminating Black lives, including Buffalo and Buffalo State archives, as well as written, oral, and visual resources. Once compiled, the guide will be available to both campus and off-campus users. We invite input from the campus community to help curate this resource. Please visit the library's BLM website and use the comment box to add references, make suggestions, and generally help develop our guide. Our goal is to make this available as school starts, and we are hoping this remains a living document with additions continuing after publication.