Triggle to discuss the academic state of the university
Provost David Triggle will discuss the academic state of the university in an address to be delivered at the Faculty Senate meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Center for Tomorrow on the North Campus.

All members of the university community are invited to attend.

Lynch receives MLA First Book Prize
Deidre Shauna Lynch, associate professor of English, has received the sixth annual Modern Language Association of America (MLA) Prize for a First Book for her book "The Economy of Character: Novels, Market Culture and the Business of Inner Meaning," published in 1998 by the University of Chicago Press.

Lynch received the award during the MLA's annual meeting last month in Chicago.

The first book prize is awarded annually for an outstanding book-a literary or linguistic study, a critical edition of an important work or a critical biography-that is the first book-length publication for a member of the association.

A UB faculty member since 1990, Lynch has won the Whiting and Mellon fellowships in the humanities, and is a honorary member of the Golden Key National Honor Society for excellence in undergraduate teaching.

She currently is editing a collection entitled "Janeites: Austen's Disciples and Devotees," to be published this year by Princeton University Press.

Hough to head Human Resource Services
Susan Hough has been appointed assistant vice president for human resource services.

Hough, who previously served as the campus human resources manager for 15,000 staff members within the Division of Human Resources and Risk Management at the University of California at Davis, will assume her duties at UB later this month.

In her new position, she will be responsible for all aspects of Human Resource Services, including the Research Foundation Payroll and Personnel, State Payroll, and Personnel and Employee Relations operations.

Hough also has practiced labor and employment law, and provided human-resource management consulting for colleges and universities. In addition, she has held professional positions in human resources in private industry.

Creative Craft Center sets winter classes
The Creative Craft Center will offer six-week courses for adults beginning Monday that will provide instruction in a variety of mediums, including basic and intermediate pottery and stained glass, creative and color photography, knitting, crocheting, quilting and jewelry crafting.

All courses are held weekly from 7-10 p.m. in the center in 120 Fillmore in the Ellicott Complex on the North Campus.

Pottery, drawing and mixed-media courses for children and teens will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. The pottery course for teens also will be taught Saturdays from 1-3 p.m.

Fees are $60 for UB faculty and staff members and the general public, and $30 for UB students.

For information and registration, call 645-2434 between 9 a.m. and noon Tuesdays and Thursdays; l-5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays or 7-10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.

IT guru to speak at UB
Steven Gilbert, one of the most knowledgeable figures in the uses of information technology in higher education, will give a talk entitled "Teaching, Learning, Technology and Change: What Should be Preserved and Transformed?" at 2 p.m. Feb. 2 in 120 Clemens Hall.

Gilbert's visit is sponsored by the Office of Educational Technology, the Vice Provost for Faculty Development and the Educational Technology Center.

The talk, which is open to all but should be of particular interest to faculty and IT and library staff, will be followed by a panel discussion featuring UB faculty members. Scheduled to participate are William Fischer, vice provost for faculty development; David Willbern, director of the Educational Technology Center, and Deborah Walters, associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Gilbert is founding president of the TLT Group, the teaching, learning and technology affiliate of the American Association for Higher Education.

UB Council adopts policy on sexual harassment
The UB Council has adopted the university's long-awaited policy on sexual harassment, unanimously approving the document at its Dec. 15 meeting.

President William R. Greiner told council members that while all SUNY institutions currently have in place New York State and SUNY policies on sexual harassment, each campus is developing its own procedures to guide those who feel they are being subjected to unwelcome sexual behavior. Campus-specific policies will help to protect each institution individually from liability, Greiner said.

In addition to outlining the definition of sexual harassment and specific complaint procedures, the policy creates the positions of "sexual harassment information advisor" to act as educators and trainers on sexual harassment. The advisors will be trained and supervised by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Affirmative Action Administration.

Greiner noted that the new policy will undergo some "minor tweaks in the new year" after being reviewed by all campus constituencies. Once the policy is finalized, it will be distributed widely on campus and posted online at http://wings.buffalo.edu/faculty/eoaa, according to Barbara Burke, associate director of equity, diversity and affirmative action administration.

The 16-page document was drafted by the Committee on Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures, a subcommittee of the university's Committee on Affirmative Action.

Manes piano recital to open January concert schedule
The Department of Music will kick off its January concert schedule with a performance Saturday by faculty member Stephen Manes of popular works by Beethoven that rarely are performed together in one program.

The performance by Manes, professor and chair of the music department, will be held at 8 p.m. in Slee Concert Hall. The program reads like a "greatest-hits" list of the composer's most-popular work, including the "Waldstein," "Moonlight," "Pathétique" and "Appassionata" sonatas.

The Amherst Saxophone Quartet will offer "A Taste of Europe" Jan. 27 with new saxophone music from across the European continent, as well as from Sweden and England. The concert, to be held at 8 p.m. in Slee, will feature chamber music composed for saxophones by Austria's Wolfram Wagner, Italy's Franco Donatoni, France's Guy Lacour, Sweden's Nils Lindberg, England's Mike Mower and Spain's Chick Corea.

The last concert of the month, to be held at 8 p.m. Jan. 28 in Slee, will feature three accomplished young organists from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. The performance, the third in the Organ Recital Series, will mark the fourth annual Eastman Organists' Day at UB. The featured artists who will perform on the Fiske pipe organ will be Timothy Olsen, William Wisnom and Jacqueline Yost. The program will include selections from George Bizet's "Carmen," as well as pieces by J.S. Bach, Maurice Durufle, Louise Vierne and Jehan Alain.

Tickets to all concerts may be obtained at the Slee box office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and at the Center for the Arts box office from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

Wellness screenings scheduled
The Professional Staff Senate and the Faculty Senate will present a daylong Staff/Faculty Wellness Awareness Day Feb. 11 in the Triple Gym in Alumni Arena on the North Campus. The event, to be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature demonstrations, displays, lectures, Q&A sessions, assessments and screenings to promote physical and psychological well-being.

Faculty, staff and graduate students who wish to participate in pre-event blood testing and on-site screenings should register with the Student Health Center by calling 829-3316 from 9-10 a.m. or 12-3 p.m., beginning Monday.

Those interested in participating in the UB Fit program also must register in advance by calling Recreation and Intramural Services at 645-2286 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The program is limited to 90 participants.

The blood draws for the pre-event testing will be done from 7-9 a.m. from Jan. 28 through Feb. 8. The blood work, which usually costs $300, will be available free of charge to the first 300 individuals who sign up, and at a cost of $50 for all others. Results, which will include cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, colorectal screening, TSH (thyroid), PSA (prostate antigen), iron level and CBC (complete blood count), will be available at the Wellness Awareness Day.

On-site screenings will include total cholesterol, bone-mass density (osteoporosis), glucose, skin-cancer screening, body fat, blood pressure, CO test, colorectal screening, flexibility, grip strength, height and weight, and mammography.

For further information on the Wellness Awareness Day, call the Professional Staff Senate/Faculty Senate office at 645-2003.

Screening to be held for film on African-American farmers
Despite the terror of "Jim Crow" and the backlash of white plantation owners, African Americans had managed to accumulate nearly 15 million acres of land by 1910. Today, that number has declined to less than 1 million acres. Although their numbers have decreased significantly, there are still a handful of black farmers who continue to hold onto their family farms.

Filmmaker Charlene Gilbert, UB assistant professor of media study, tells the story of generations of her family working the land in Montezuma, Ga., in "HomecomingŠSometimes I am Haunted by Memories of Red Dirt and Clay," a film that has been chosen for national broadcast by PBS as part of its Black History Month celebration.

A special screening of "Homecoming" will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the WNED Broadcasting Center, 140 Lower Terrace, Buffalo. A reception at 5:30 p.m. will precede the screening, which is sponsored by the Institute for Research and Education on Women and Gender (IREWG); the Department of African American Studies; the Department of Media Studies; Kerry Grant, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Western New York Public Broadcasting.

Although the screening and reception will be free of charge, reservations must be made by today by calling IREWG at 829-3451.

In the film, which also will be shown on WNED, Channel 17, at 10 p.m. Feb. 3, Gilbert uses her family connections to the small farming town of Montezuma to tell the larger story of black farmers and land loss in the 20th century. She spent six months in Montezuma, watching her cousin, Warren James, one of the youngest African-American farmers in town, struggle to maintain his family farm.

With James' day-to-day life serving as the backdrop, "Homecoming" weaves family stories, archival footage, photographs and testimony to explore the complex relationship between African-American families, land and history.

Amherst chamber honors UB athletics
UB's upgrade to Division I athletics has received the seal of approval from its hometown community.

The Division of Athletics has received the 1999 Amherst Chamber of Commerce Commitment to Excellence Award for Quality of Life for its upgrade to Division I-A and its "Mission I-A" campaign, which brought major college football back to Western New York this past fall.

The Bulls' athletics department was recognized for its efforts in building a comprehensive Division I program and in particular for the successful "Mission I-A" campaign, which brought the football team up to Division I-A status for the first time since 1970.

"This is certainly a tremendous honor for our athletic program," said Athletic Director Bob Arkeilpane, who spearheaded UB's "Mission I-A" drive. "The support that the Amherst Chamber of Commerce has given to us over the past decade has been instrumental in our continued growth and we are thrilled to be recognized with this prestigious honor. We certainly feel that the continued growth-of not only the UB athletic program but of the university as a whole-will continue to add to the quality of life of this community."

"UB Today" sets February schedule
A program to increase awareness of the need for organ donors in the minority community; a report on UB's Gifted Math Program; "Jobsapalooza" and other recruitment efforts, and an initiative to help individuals purchase homes in the University Heights neighborhood will be the topics to be explored during the February edition of "UB Today" on Adelphia cable.

Guests will be organ-donation advocate William Minniefield, a UB graduate student; Daniel Ryan, director of career planning and placement; Danis Gehl, project director of the University Community Initiative, and Gerald Rising, co-founder and director of the Gifted Math Program.

A new program airs each month at 6:30 p.m. Sundays on Channel 18 International, Channel 10 in Lancaster, Clarence, Orchard Park and Elma, and at 9 p.m. Mondays on Channel 18 International.

The program is produced by Adelphia for the UB Alumni Association as a service to the university and the people of Western New York.

KPMG gives $25,000 to SOM
KPMG LLP, the accounting, tax and consulting firm, has donated $25,000 to support the Department of Accounting and Law in the School of Management.

The gift will be used to maintain an accounting conference room at the school that will bear the KPMG name for the next two years.

KPMG praised the excellence of the School of Management's accounting curriculums and cited the firm's successful history of recruiting students from the school. KPMG is one of the leading employers of UB MBA and undergraduate accounting graduates.

"We have long considered KPMG to be an essential partner in the development of our accounting curriculums and in the successes of our accounting graduates," said Lewis Mandell, dean of the School of Management. "The naming of the conference room is a tribute to our mutually beneficial relationship with KPMG."