Author: slfrank

Dear Graduate Students,

We are pleased to announce that the University at Buffalo has joined the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) as an Institutional Member. The NCFDD is a nationally recognized, independent organization that provides online career development and mentoring resources for faculty, post-docs, and graduate students. For more information, see UB’s NCFDD webpage.

The NCFDD provides a variety of virtual programs and resources including:

• Weekly Monday Motivator
• Monthly Core Curriculum Webinars
• Monthly Guest Expert Webinars
• Access to Multi-Week Courses
• Access to Dissertation Success Curriculum for graduate students
• Private Discussion Forum for peer-mentoring, problem-solving, & moderated writing challenges
• Monthly accountability buddy matches
• Access to 14-Day Writing Challenges
• Access to the Member Library that includes past webinar materials, referrals, and readings.

To claim your free Institutional Membership, complete the following steps:

1. Go to http://www.facultydiversity.org/join
2. Choose University at Buffalo from the drop-down menu.
3. Select “Activate my Membership”.
4. Complete the registration form using your institutional email address (@buffalo.edu).
5. Go to your UB email to find a confirmation/welcome email. Click “Activate Account” in the email.

If you have questions about the membership, please contact the Office of Inclusive Excellence (vpix@buffalo.edu). If you have any technical questions, please email NCFDD at Membership@FacultyDiversity.org.

Despina Stratigakos, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence
Office of Inclusive Excellence
University at Buffalo
549 Capen Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260
https://www.buffalo.edu/inclusion.html
716.645.6200

The GSA Election Committee is pleased to announce the results of the 2022-2023 GSA Officer Elections and Referendum vote:

President:

J Coley: 233

(70 abstentions)

Vice President:

Jennifer Schechter: 228

(75 abstentions)

Treasurer:

Joshua Joseph: 119

Ryan Enser: 110

(74 abstentions)

These elected candidates will officially take office on June 1, 2022.

Referendum:

That the student activity fee be MANDATORY for all graduate students: 183

That the student activity fee be VOLUNTARY for all graduate students: 120

Thank you to all of the graduate students who participated in these votes!

Sincerely,

GSA Election Committee

Morgan Redington (EC Co-Chair)

Vaishnavi Hatrote (EC Co-Chair)

Monika Che  (EC)

Andrew Brown (EC)

Fahed Ali (EC)

Hello GSA,

My name is Rachael Specht. I am a senior student and Communication major at UB. For the Spring ‘22 semester, I am enrolled in COM 493, which involves working with the ELN (Experiential Learning Network) to partner with a non-profit. I am partnering with Inkulueko, whose Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Jason Torreano, was from Western New York.  Inkulueko is leading a trip (12/28/22-1/10/23), and I am assisting in communicating this to people who may be interested.

Trip information for Inkulueko’s program, Kunye:

https://www.inkululeko.org/kunye

 Inkulueko Kunye Flyer.pdf

 Kunye.pptx

Coordinating Organization:

Inkululeko  (www.inkululeko.org) is a nonprofit organization that works with motivated, young people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds in Makhanda (Grahamstown), South Africa.

The organization has these goals:

– To support students with finishing high school and moving onto university, or

– To support students with finishing high school and obtaining a skill set so they can be gainfully employed upon graduation

Inkululeko welcomes accepted students from the local township several days a week after school to receive academic support in areas where they are struggling and enrichment opportunities in areas where they are excelling. Regular tutors are Rhodes University students.

This Program:

Participants who join this trip will have an opportunity to engage with, teach, and learn from Inkululeko students through purposeful volunteering, including tutoring Inkululeko learners and collaborating with them to work on aspects of building a social enterprise project.

Participants will be immersed in the local culture, with opportunities to take Xhosa language lessons, interact with guest speakers who are change agents in the Makhanda (Grahamstown) community, embark on a walking township tour led by residents, and visit local artists who sell beadwork, locally sourced fabrics, and other assorted crafts.

The trip is for anyone 18+, so it is not limited to college/graduate students.

I would love to pass this information along to the GSA (and anyone else you may think is of interest). Please feel free to reach out with any questions!

I appreciate your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Rachael Specht
Communications BA 2022
University at Buffalo
(716) 225-9332
rspecht@buffalo.edu

WNY Regional Maker Faire
Call for Makers (April 30, 2022)

Maker Faire showcases the amazing work of all kinds and ages of makers—anyone who is embracing the do-it-yourself (or do-it-together) spirit and wants to share their accomplishments with an appreciative audience.

Show-off your project(s), demo, or discuss how you made them, and inspire people to make.

Event Date/Time: Saturday, April 30th, 10-4pm
Location (in-person): Frontier High School, 4432 Bayview Rd, Hamburg, NY
Reserve your free ticket today!

We are still accepting applications. Apply today!

 Maker Exhibit:
You will be provided space and a table to display your work and/or demonstrate how you make something.

Presentations, Performances, or Workshops:
Demos, stories, how-tos, and group (panel) conversations are welcome.

Apply as an exhibitor, performer, or presenter

Exhibits are encouraged that are interactive and highlight the process of making things.

Here are just some of the topics that we’re looking for:

• Student Projects
• Art Projects
• Textile Arts and Crafts
• Puppets, Kites, and Other Whimsical Creations
• Music and Dance Performances and Participation
• Wearables, E-Textiles, Fashion Tech
• Robotics, Drones, & RC Fun
• Digital Fabrication – 3D Printers
• Hacks of Any Sort
• How-To Workshops, Panel Discussions, and Presenters
• How to Fix Things or Take them Apart (Vacuums, Clocks, Washing Machines, etc.)

K12 and higher-ed students will be eligible to earn prizes through the James (Jim) O’Connor Whitlock scholarship awards.

There is no fee to participate if you are not selling or promoting a product.

Other Ways to Participate:

Volunteer:
View information about how to volunteer to make an invaluable contribution at Maker Faire.

Sponsor:
Visit our Sponsor Page or contact makewny@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you at Maker Faire!

https://wnyregion.makerfaire.com

For additional information, email: makewny@gmail.com

Thank you to our current sponsors:

Every two years the graduate student activity fee is put up for a referendum vote.  A mandatory fee ensures that GSA is able to continue funding all of the clubs, programs, services and advocacy initiatives you have come to expect from your student government.  A voluntary fee would mean that the organization as a whole would cease to exist.  We hope that you will vote to continue supporting GSA!  Polls are open now through 11:59pm on Thursday, April 14th.

Congratulations to our Gas Card Giveaway winners!

• Wen-Ling Hsu (Biomedical Engineering)
• Amanda Fries (Public Health)
• Renee Rouleau (Biomedical Sciences)

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our tables and talked with us, and remember to vote in next week’s GSA referendum and officer election!

University Pride Lecture  

• Date: April 11, 2022, 7:00pm – 8:30pm:
• Caption: Ericka Hart (pronouns: she/they) is a Black queer femme activist, writer, highly acclaimed speaker, and award-winning sexuality educator with a Master of Education in Human Sexuality from Widener University.
• Ericka’s work broke ground when she went topless showing her double mastectomy scars in public in 2016. Ericka’s voice is rooted in leading-edge thought around human sexual expression as inextricable to overall human health and its intersections with race, gender, chronic illness, and disability. Both radical and relatable, she continues to push well beyond the threshold of sex-positivity.
• This event is part of UB’s Pride Week (April 11 – April 15).
• Co-Sponsored by Office of Inclusive Excellence
• Location: Lippes Concert in Slee Hall

Pride Week March and Mixer 

• Date: April 12,2022, 3:00pm-6:00pm:  
• March leaves from Knox Quad at the Progress Pride Paths
• The mixer will immediately follow the march in the Student Union Lobby
• March to celebrate your identity, support your peers, and honor the history of LGBTQ+ activists who paved the way for the community today. Beginning in Knox Quad at the Progress Pride Paths, this march will be immediately followed by a mixer with speakers, food, and conversation in the Student Union Lobby.

Pride Paint & Sip 

• Date:  April 13, 2022, 6 pm-8 pm
• Caption: Come paint and spill the tea about your experiences as QTPOC (queer & trans people of color) at UB and how we can work towards creating a more inclusive and engaging campus community.
• Co-sponsored by: UB Prism
• Location: Student Union 240

Queer Prom: A Night in Enchancia 

• Date: April 15, 2022, 7 pm -11 pm,
• Queer Prom concludes UB Pride

My name is Kelly Burke, and I’m working on my master’s degree in Science and the Public at UB. For my capstone project, I’m designing a flu vaccination campaign. In an effort to make sure the campaign is most effective, I designed a survey to determine the reasons that people use to decide whether or not to get their flu vaccine.

I would really appreciate if you would take the survey, whether or not you’ve gotten a flu vaccine. The survey should take less than 5 minutes. If you choose, you may add your email to be entered into a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card. To be entered in the drawing, you must respond by April 3rd.

All responses are anonymous. If you choose to add your email address for the drawing, your responses will be connected to your email in the form, but it will not be used for anything except the drawing.

Survey Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc9y2QUvT-HPJ0AJq3G3hwstm8zxuxQae49ri7tcFgzRYLktQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

The last date to apply for SEVIS Fee Mitigation is March 31, 2022, and anyone who paid their SEVIS fee after July 2, 2021 is eligible to apply for it.  The link and all of the details are at the bottom of this page: https://goer.ny.gov/graduate-student-employees-union-gseu.