SUNY faculty members (both full and part time) who use or are considering using open educational resources (OER) in their courses are eligible to participate in a no-cost, professional development program during the fall 2020 or spring 2021 semester. Selected faculty members will be enrolled as a fellow in one (or more) nine-week, asynchronous online fellowships facilitated by Lumen Circles.*

Fellowship Themes:

• Online Teaching Foundation 
• Evidence-Based Teaching
• Evidence-Based Teaching with Lumen Courseware
• OER and Open Pedagogy
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Active Learning
• Teaching Large Sections
• New to College Teaching 

Lumen Circles connects you with other faculty members as you explore effective instructional practices that support student success and apply them in your own teaching. Through the fellowship, you can learn, share ideas, and develop professionally in the areas you want to grow. Lumen Circles works well for any faculty member, in any discipline, at any stage of career. **

As a Lumen Circles fellow, you will spend one to two hours a week focusing on how to improve your pedagogy and teaching practice. Participation in a Lumen Circles fellowship circle is at no cost to you or your campus.

A SUNY-hosted webinar about this opportunity, "Introducing Lumen Circles: Supporting Faculty and Effective Teaching," will be held today, July 7, from noon to 1:00 p.m. Please register on the SUNY Center for Professional Development website.

If you are interested in participating as a fellow in the program or just want to learn more, please visit the Lumen Learning Circles website and fill out the short statement of interest form at the bottom of the page as soon as possible. Those who complete the form are under no obligation to participate. Those who indicate interest will be informed about the details of the program.

If you have any questions after looking at the website, please contact Chris Price, academic program manager in the SUNY CPD.

*Please note that selected fellows are required to be teaching at least one credit-bearing course during their fellowship.

**Except for the "Evidence-Based Teaching with Lumen Courseware" fellowship, participating in this professional development offering does not require use of any learning materials or courseware offered by Lumen Learning.

The annual report deadline for academic departments and all co-curricular units within Academic Affairs has been extended from July 17 to Friday, August 14. Similarly, the deadline for the deans' annual reports of their respective schools has been extended from August 14 to Monday, September 14.  

Next year, we will return to the established report schedule.

Deadlines for all other VP area units remain as previously established (units: Friday, July 17; VPs: Friday, August 14).

As interest in acquiring personal protective equipment (PPE) for the fall semester increases across campus, please help us ensure that spending controls as required by SUNY System Administration and described in New York State Division of Budget Bulletin B-1223 are met, such purchases are needed, and materials are acquired in a coordinated manner. (PPE, equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards, includes items such as face masks and gloves.)

All requests for COVID-19-related purchases, including signage, must be submitted to Jeffrey Hammer, director of environmental health and safety (EH&S), for approval before purchase. This includes purchases that will be made with a Procurement Card.

Departmental PPE concerns and requests should be included by supervisors in all return-to-work plans. EH&S will review these concerns and respond to supervisors.

Please note these measures already in place across campus:

• Each Buffalo State employee returning to the workplace will be provided with two reusable cloth masks.
• Disinfectant cleaner, spray bottles, and paper towels are available to all offices through Custodial Services.
• Hand sanitizer units have been strategically placed throughout campus in all buildings.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Steam service to most campus buildings will be shut down from 7:00 a.m. Monday, July 6, to about 11:00 p.m. Monday, July 13, as part of the heating plant upgrade project. The only buildings that will not be affected are the LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center, the Student Apartment Complex, and the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

During this time there will be no heat, no process steam for cooking or dishwashing, and no hot water, including for showering in the Sports Arena, Houston Gymnasium, or residence halls.

Buildings with cooling may experience lower-than-usual temperatures—because systems will not be able to reheat the cooling air—and members of the campus community are asked to dress accordingly.

Questions about this project may be addressed to vpfm@buffalostate.edu. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we make these necessary repairs to the steam service.

The Teaching and Learning Center and Applied Learning are pleased to announce the sixth session in the new weekly conversation series in preparation for remote and hybrid learning in the fall, "Bengal Blue Plate Special: Cook Up Collaborations for Hot Lessons," on Tuesday, August 4, from noon to 1:00 p.m.

The series will look at a number of topics centered on applied learning in an online environment. A short presentation will be followed by a discussion exploring ways we can design new activities or adapt or revise current projects.

This session, presented by Kathryn Moore, lecturer in the College Writing Program, features Padlet, Blackboard, and Google Doc convergences, explaining how to streamline student production onto one plate: easy to grade and easy to teach with. It's a lot to swallow when we have dozens of projects to peruse for grading in disparate spaces, but the presenter will share how she brings everyone at the table together, despite their different tastes. Work already completed by students will be shared, public domains and privacy issues honored, followed by a discussion.

The Civic and Community Engagement Office is providing information about ways faculty, staff, and students can be active citizens and support our community during the coronavirus pandemic.

Translators without Borders, a nonprofit organization that combines language skills with humanitarian aid, is looking for volunteers who are fluent in at least one second language. Volunteers provide translations for international organizations that focus on crisis relief, health, and education. Other roles such as graphic or web designers and fundraising are also available. Please visit the Translators without Borders website for more information.

We are pleased to announce the first issue of the Professional Applied and Computational Mathematics and Data Science and Analytics newsletter. The PACM and DSA newsletter will include important announcements, upcoming events, news, interesting articles and dashboards, and featured faculty, staff, alumni, or industry professionals.

ICHP’s Center for Health and Social Research formally invites college faculty, staff, and administrators to a webinar presented by Susan Green of the University at Buffalo’s Trauma Institute on Friday, July 10, from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. This webinar is the first in a series on trauma-informed educational practice and will discuss strategies for working with students who express mental health concerns, have experienced various traumas, or engage in alcohol or substance use that affects their educational experiences.

More information and registration for the July 10 webinar are available online. After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining the webinar.

This webinar series is sponsored by the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) College Environmental Prevention Grant.

A planned electrical shutdown will take place in Upton Hall on Thursday, July 2, from 7:00 a.m. to about noon. This planned service disruption supports critical mechanical systems updates in the building.

Occupants of Upton Hall who are currently working from home will lose their remote desktop connections during and after the electrical shutdown. Computers will not power back on immediately after the outage. Rather, computers will automatically turn back on at 4:00 a.m. Friday, July 3, unless they are manually turned on in the interim. Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated. 

Questions about this project may be e-mailed to vpfm@buffalostate.edu. Questions about remote desktop access may be addressed to the IT HELP Desk.

Susan “Susie” Kendt retired from Buffalo State College on June 26 after a distinguished career spanning 48 years, most recently as administrative assistant to the dean of the School of Arts and Humanities. Ms. Kendt began as a secretary in the office of President E. K. Fretwell in 1972 and would serve in that capacity under presidents D. Bruce Johnstone, F. C. Richardson, and Muriel Howard, as well as during the interim presidencies of Barbara Frey and Richard Wiesen, before moving to the School of Arts and Humanities in 1997. Her notable accomplishments include the staffing of Middle States accreditation committees, presidential and vice presidential search committees, and President’s Awards committees, as well as serving as secretary to the College Council. She also assisted in the “Festival of Five,” marking the reopening of Rockwell Hall as a performance venue during the Johnstone administration. Ms. Kendt received the President’s Award for Excellence in Service to the College in 2002. With her expansive knowledge of college history and operations, she is irreplaceable and will be deeply missed. We wish her well as she goes on to the next exciting chapter of her life.