Appointments
Yanick Jenkins became the Educational Opportunity Program's new associate director on July 9.
Formerly the director for multicultural affairs at D'Youville College, Jenkins holds a B.S. in social work and an M.S.Ed. in counselor education. She was an HEOP counselor at the Rochester Institute of Technology and an EOP counselor at SUNY Brockport.
Effective spring 2002, Maryruth Glogowski, director of E. H. Butler Library, will also serve as interim director of Instructional Technology. She will replace Ted Schmidt, who currently serves as interim director and under whose leadership the three functional units of instructional resources, FAST, and distance education have been consolidated and brought into close, effective coordination. Schmidt has decided to return to his professorial post in the Economics and Finance Department. We shall miss him.
Instructional Technology provides vital support services to faculty and students. Instructional Technology and Butler Library have similar missions in directly supporting faculty and student scholarship and creativity; the two areas frequently coordinate on joint projects. Glogowski's broad familiarity with technology, together with her long-standing commitment to the service of faculty and student academic needs, suggests an ideal fit. Glogowski is a member of the Academic Council, which plans, sets priorities for, and guides the academic affairs of the college.
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Business Programs Accredited
I am pleased to announce that all curricula in the Business Department have been accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). This is a first for the Business Department and brings FASE to 96 percent professional-program accreditation (24 of 25 eligible programs). We thank Associate Professor Michael Littman for preparing the application that led to initial accreditation.
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Middle States Accreditation Review
The college is preparing for the decennial peer-accreditation review by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. An institutional self-study is in progress and will culminate in a fall 2002 site visit by an evaluation team from Middle States.
Members of a Middle States Steering Committee are providing oversight to the Middle States review and have been working on preparatory aspects for almost two years.
Steering committee members are:
Coordinator Dennis Ponton, Academic Affairs; Timothy Brown, Communication; David Carson, History and Social Studies Education; Craig Coon, student; Jesse Cuddahee, student; Timothy Ecklund; Residence Life and Student Auxiliary Services; Yves Gachette, Facilities Planning and Institutional Research; Dracey Gates, student; Dan King, Applied Science and Education; Rosalyn Lindner, Academic Information and Assessment; Leonard Walker, Alumni Affairs; and Kachaya Westcott, student.
The steering committee is responsible for completion of the self-study, which will provide a summary evaluation of Buffalo State. The summary will address means by which the college meets accreditation expectations and standards in relation to: mission, goals, and objectives; students; faculty; educational programs and curricula; library and learning resources; institutional effectiveness and outcomes; planning and resources allocation; financial resources; organization, administration, and governance; governing board; facilities, equipment, and other resources; and catalogs, publications, and other promotional materials.
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Buffalo State's design plan, approved by Middle States, also includes six selected topic studies to examine the extent to which institutional priorities support implementation of the college's mission and emphasis on students and student-centered learning. The six topic-study teams and their members are:
Topic 1: Programs and Services for First-Year Students
Co-chairs: John DeNisco, Business; Charles Kenyon, Student Affairs
Topic 2: Programs and Services for Commuter Students
Co-chairs: Stephen Chris, Counseling Center; Karen Johnson, Success Track for Academic Readiness (STAR) program
Members:
Jerry Boyes, Intercollegiate Athletics; Jill Norvilitis, Psychology; Karen O'Quin, Natural and Social Sciences; Maria Pacheco, Educational Opportunity Program; Roswell Park, Academic Support Programs; Thomas Renzi, Academic Skills Center; Lucy Schwartz, Modern and Classical Languages; and Gail Wells, Minority Student Affairs. Timothy Ecklund and Rosalyn Lindner are steering committee liaisons.
Topic 3: Distinctive and Pivotal Undergraduate Experiences
Co-chairs: Sharon Cramer, SABRE; Janet Ramsey, Communication
Members: Dewayne Beery, Physics; Lauren Johnson, Career Development Center; Kathleen O'Brien, Hospitality Administration; Peter Sowiski, Fine Arts; and Tao Tang, Geography and Planning. Yves Gachette is steering committee liaison.
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Topic 4: Creating and Maintaining an Intellectually Vital Environment for Graduate Students
Chair: Gerard Puccio, Center for Studies in Creativity
Members: Gordon Fraser, Great Lakes Center for Environmental Research and Education; Douglas Koritz, Economics and Finance; Richard Podemski, Graduate Studies and Research; Maureen Smith, Exceptional Education; Diane Truscott, Center for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education; and Stephanie Zuckerman-Aviles, Career Development Center. Dennis Ponton is steering committee liaison.
Topic 5: Course Scheduling and Availability; Relationship to Student Success, Student Retention, and Graduation; and an Intellectually Vital Learning Experience
Chair: Timothy Brown, Communication
Members: Donna Brooks, Registrar's Office; Pamela Cercone, Biology; Susan Leist; English; Anthony Neal, Political Science; Debra Ross, Criminal Justice; and Ted Schmidt, Instructional Technology. Timothy Brown and Dan King are steering committee liaisons.
Topic 6: Recognition of Student and Faculty Success in the Teaching and Learning Process
Chair: Howard Reid, Psychology
Members: Morgan Calhoun, student; James Haynes, Biology; Marvin LaHood, English; Michaelene Meger, Exceptional Education; and Richard Winiatowski, student. David Carson is steering committee liaison.
Study-team membership may grow during the coming months. A draft of the institutional self-study will be circulated throughout campus for review in spring 2002, in advance of submitting it to Middle States in July 2002.
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Degree Navigator Demonstration
Degree Navigator is the new Web-based degree audit system that will be phased in over the next 12 months. When completed, it will allow students and academic advisers to access and retrieve academic program information around the clock, on and off campus. All faculty and staff are invited to attend a demonstration of the new system, currently in development, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, October 18 in Upton Hall 230.
Since the early 1990s, the Buffalo State undergraduate advisement process has been conducted through the current mainframe-based computerized degree audit system. As the college moves to enhanced Web-based data access systems, the campus has purchased Degree Navigator, a product of Decision Academic Graphics (DAG). Over the past year, a committee has been working with DAG on initial file setup and system implementation.
Degree Navigator, with its "Floating Islands" graphic interface, will provide enhanced degree audit services for the campus community through:
- Easier, Web-enhanced access to audit data
- Simpler graphics-enhanced audit display and program review
- Extension of audit-related services for all Buffalo State students
- Seamless interface with the campus's emerging Web-based technologies and data systems
The Degree Navigator demonstration will provide faculty and staff with a preview of online audit, program, and course catalog display. Departmental and administrative review will be sought this fall, and training sessions for faculty, staff, and students will follow.
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Learning Communities Lecture
Vincent Tinto, distinguished university professor and chair of the higher education program at Syracuse University, will address the Buffalo State campus community at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, November 1 in the Performing Arts Center in Rockwell Hall. Tinto is a noted author and lecturer on learning communities and student retention. The address is free and open to students, faculty, and staff.
Tinto received his Ph.D. in education and sociology from the University of Chicago. He has conducted research and written extensively on higher education, particularly on student retention and the impact of learning communities on student growth and attainment. His theory of student leaving has become the benchmark by which research on student attrition is measured. His research has dramatically influenced higher education's view of how institutions affect their students' decision to leave. His book, Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition (second edition, University of Chicago Press), describes the theory and shows how it can be applied to policies to enhance student retention. His current research focuses on the impact of learning communities on the academic achievements of college students in differing educational settings, especially those who required academic assistance.
Tinto's lecture will open his two-day visit to campus, when he will assess Buffalo State's new learning communities program and provide guidance and support for its further development. Tinto will meet with faculty, staff, and students on Thursday, November 1 and Friday, November 2. Additional details on these events will be provided once finalized.
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SEFA/United Way Update
SEFA/United Way booklets listing all agencies that can receive designated funds have been distributed to department solicitors. Call Sue Robson at ext. 3453 with questions.
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New Volleyball Record
Junior volleyball player Monica Polka recorded 44 kills in a 3-2 loss at St. John Fisher on Thursday, equaling the sixth highest single-match total in NCAA Division III history. She also broke her own school record of kills in a season with 363, surpassing the old mark of 336. The team is just past the season's halfway mark.
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Athletic Events
Men's Soccer
Buffalo State vs. Potsdam
Friday, October 5
4:00 p.m.
Coyer Field
Buffalo State vs. Plattsburgh
Saturday, October 6
1:00 p.m.
Coyer Field
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College Senate Meetings
The next College Senate meeting will be Friday, October 19. Subsequent meetings are scheduled for Friday, November 9 and Friday, December 14. All will be held at 3:00 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210.
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Curricular Items
The following have been approved by the Senate Curriculum Committee and will be forwarded to the president for final review and approval:
New Courses:
HIS 385 Aztec and Maya History
HIS 386 History of the Inca Empire
HIS 425 Museum Preservation and Practice
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