Faculty and Staff Achievements Roundup: McCartney advocates for small business growth

Susan McCartney, director of Buffalo State’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), appeared on WBFO’s What’s Next? podcast to discuss the vital role small businesses play in driving economic growth and job creation in Western New York. McCartney explained the support the SBDC provides entrepreneurs at every stage, from initial launch to expansion or refining existing operations. 

“Sue McCartney is a strong advocate for entrepreneurship and small business initiatives.” said Carol DeNysschen, dean of the School of Professions. “Buffalo State University is very fortunate to have such a knowledgeable person, with incredible passion, in this area.” 

She emphasized Buffalo State’s commitment to fostering a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem where businesses not only thrive, but also contribute to the culture and economic vitality of the local and regional community. 

McCartney also highlighted the challenges entrepreneurs face—particularly in hiring the right talent and competing in an increasingly crowded market—and stressed the importance of partnerships with community organizations like Workforce Buffalo and Niagara County Employment and Training, who assist in connecting businesses with skilled workers.

The full interview, which also featured Erie and Niagara County workforce leaders, Bukola Morgan, and Glenn Aronow, is available on the WBFO website. 

In addition to McCartney’s SBDC interview on WBFO’s What’s Next?, here are some other recent outstanding achievements by Buffalo State faculty members: 

Steven Bellus, lecturer of psychology; Jill Norvilitis, professor of psychology; and Jessica Fitzpatrick, chair and associate professor of social work, were panelists in a discussion following the on-campus screening of My Brother Lost in Time – A Bipolar Life, a documentary by psychology alum and local attorney, Dan Lukasik. 

Lisa Berglund, professor of English, spent the month of February on a fellowship at Harvard University, working on her book on the marginalia of Hester Lynch Piozzi (1741–1821). The second edition of her annotated bibliography of Piozzi Studies includes 40 added items to the bibliography and has been posted on the English Department's webpage on Butler Library Digital Commons. 

Theodore Byrley, associate professor of economics and finance, and Eugene Chaas, lecturer of economics and finance, led their first meeting of Bengal Stock Investing Challenge. 

Bridget María Chesterton, professor of history and social studies education, co-published an article on the study of Brazilian film making in the early 1980s, "Modernity, Migration, and Defeat: The Brazilian Gaze in Noites Paraguayas during the Era of Alfredo Stroessner," in Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture.   

Hermen Díaz, assistant professor of higher education administration and adult education, co-authored and published "The Invisible Middle: Latino Men in Higher Education Student Affairs Master's Programs," in the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice. He also presented “Motivations of Latino Men in Higher Education Administration Masters Programs” at the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education 2025 Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado. 

Michael Ferraro, club house manager of Campus House, and Steven Swiatek, assistant to the chief diversity officer, attended the American College Personnel Association-College Student Educators International Conference.  

Joelle Leclaire, chair and professor of economics and finance, participated in a Radio-Canada (CBC Canadian national news) interview on the effect of the Trump administration tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China trade. 

Dan MacIsaac, chair and professor of physics, published two WebSights columns in The Physics Teacher including special collection topics on teaching and learning quantum mechanics.  

Marko Miletich, assistant professor of modern and classical languages, chaired a section at the 2025 Northeast Modern Language Association Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.          

Joseph A. Miller, associate professor of art and design, was interviewed by Street Light Magazine, and published three paintings in Moon Day Magazine. 

Christina Mulé, clinical supervisor of speech-language pathology, and Anita Senthinathan, assistant professor of speech-language pathology, were guest speakers at the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) Rehabilitation Symposium for a special presentation on "Swallowing and Voice Disorders Following Spinal Cord Injuries."  

Tara Nahabetian, associate professor of art and design, presented two workshops on "Symbology and Narrative in Jewelry," and a public lecture with her husband on their artwork.   

Andrea Nikischer, associate professor of higher education administration and adult education, and Angela Thering, lecturer of higher education administration and adult education, won the first place 2025 SUNY Online Effective Practice Award for their practice, “The Brightspace Organization Page: A Hub for Graduate Student Engagement and Success.”  

Arjun Pathak, associate director of the Center for Integrated Studies in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, along with his lab group, gave two presentations (“Spark Plasma Sintered Manganese Substituted Strontium M-type Nanohexaferrite,” and “Giant Coercivity in Manganese Substituted Strontium M-type Hexaferrite Nanopowders”) at Joint MMM Intermag 2025, The 16^th Joint Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials and Intermag. In addition, Pathak published “Magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of HoCrO3 and HoCr0.5Al0.5O3: Experimental and DFT study” in Ceramics International; and “Interpretable multi-source data fusion through Latent Variable Gaussian Process” in Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence with a group of coauthors, including Venkateswara Yenugonda, visiting research scholar in Pathak’s group 

Mehwish Sarwari, assistant professor of government, planning, and philosophy, took a group of students to the SUNY Model Senate, an intensive training opportunity to learn more about the New York State government and the legislative process. 

Mark Warford, associate professor of modern and classical languages, presented at the 2025 Northeast Modern Language Association Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Kevin Williams, associate professor and Director of the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium, appeared on WIVB, to talk about the “blood moon” Lunar Eclipse that took place March 14. 

Jie Zhang, SUNY Distinguished Professor of sociology and director of Buffalo State’s Center for China Studies, co-authored and published “Beliefs and Mental Health in Today’s China: A Study of Rural Adults,” in the Austin Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology; “A Peasant or Not? A Test of Chinese Rural Laborers’ Identity Status and Their Cultivated Land,” in Psychology Research and Practice; and “Trend Variation and Related Factors of Suicidal Ideation in College Students,” in Chinese Mental Health Journal. 

Logo courtesy of WBFO; McCartney photo by Joed Viera.