Department of Anthropology, University at Buffalo

AGSA Minutes - February 12, 2008

  1. Attendance:
    Katie Neilson, Ben Kamphaus, Bonnie Vest, Patrick Fazioli, Rachel Dwyer, Candie Syphrit, Mark Frankel, Amber Kling

  2. Spring Speaker Series: Club has obtained funding for the series. Line-up is as follows: Nina Jablonski-2/29/08, 5:00pm in 354 MFAC: The Evolution of Skin Color
    Montgomery McFate- 4/18/08, 5:00pm, room TBA. There may be a reception in the Totem Pole Room to go along with this talk.
    Doug Feldman- 4/25/08, Likely 5:00pm, room TBA. Medical Anthropology presenter.
    Paul Shackel- 5/2/08, Likely 5:00pm, room TBA. Archaeology presenter.
    Updates will be sent out to the listserv as more information is known.

  3. IGERT Speakers:
    Michael Frachetti- February 15, 1:00pm- His talk will be about applying GIS to archaeological studies in Kazakhstan: please see listserv announcement for additional information including CV.
    Scott Branting- March 7, 1:00pm- He is a UB graduate who holds the position as Director of the Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes: The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. He will also give a departmental talk to anthropology students and faculty the day before.

    Voted to encumber $150.00 to pay for a hotel and honorarium for Dr. Branting's talk- Unanimous

  4. Voted to encumber $25.00 to co-sponsor a visit from Eve Ensler- Unanimous

  5. Voted to encumber $25.00 to co-sponsor IEMA guest Tristan Carter- Unanimous

  6. Voted to encumber $25.00 to co-sponsor a fundraising bowling event for the Boys and Girls Club after school program- Unanimous

  7. The Boys and Girls Club is also holding a fundraising Waffle Breakfast on February 23, 2008 from 9-11am. Cost is $5.00. Location is the Charter School for Applied Technologies, 2303 Kenmore Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14207.

  8. Coffee Hours: Next Coffee Hour will be Tuesday, Feb. 19, from 10:00am-12:00pm. Coffee Hours will be held on the first Wednesday and third Tuesday of every month to provide variety in the scheduling.

  9. GSA meeting: The Programming Grant deadline was Tuesday, Feb. 12, and there was a lot of participation this year.
    Tickets to see Stephen Colbert will be given away beginning on Feb. 29. An email with other dates and times has been circulated on the listserv.
    Election paperwork to be considered for a GSA position is due Feb. 20: if interested in running for an office, please prepare and turn in paperwork by this date.

  10. IEMA- the conference and Grand Opening are taking place at the beginning of April. More information can be found at http://www.iema.buffalo.edu/IEMAConf2008.html. If interested in volunteering to help at the conference or opening, please contact Doug Bolender.

  11. The club is also looking to organize more happy hours during the remainder of the semester: please circulate ideas on the listserv or feel free to organize these get togethers.

  12. GSEU: There is still concern with the status of the union at Buffalo- contracts are still being negotiated. The link to the professional development fund application is not working, and funds for this would not be available for distribution until contract negotiations are finished. One of the on-campus medical facilities/pharmacies is no longer covered by union employee insurance. Mia will be meeting with Kathleen Sims to discuss further developments.

  13. June Carrington proposed setting up a workshop with Cindy Tysick regarding the use of Endnote. If interested, please contact her. Additionally, the Center for Teaching and Learning Resources occasionally offers courses about various types of software, including Endnote- please see their website for more information on dates and topics.

Repectfully submitted,


Katie Neilson
AGSA Secretary

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