Buffalo State College will present Bengalathon 2020, a fundraising event for emergency financial assistance and scholarships for students, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, May 31. Bengalathon will air live on WBBZ-TV and the Buffalo State Alumni Association Facebook page.

For 23 consecutive years, Buffalo State has hosted its largest fundraiser, Bengala, which has raised approximately $5 million in scholarship funds. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s fundraising program has been re-imagined as Bengalathon.

During Bengalathon, you will hear a special message from President Katherine Conway-Turner, with appearances from Buffalo State students, alumni, and donors. Bengalathon will also feature performances from the Buffalo-based band Mom Said No throughout the program.

During the event, participants will also have the opportunity to bid on auction items and donate directly through the Bengalathon website. Buffalo State staff members will also be standing by to take calls for donations. Faculty and staff members are encouraged to watch the Bengalathon and support our students.

Tune in to Bengalathon on WBBZ-TV or social media:
WBBZ Channel Listing: http://wbbz.tv
Buffalo State Alumni Association: www.facebook.com/buffalostatealumni

From the Chair of the College Senate
All final reports from the College Senate standing committees, presented at the May 8, 2020, College Senate meeting, are now posted on the College Senate Standing Committees web page. Reports given by Vice President Barnum at the May 8 Senate meeting are posted along with the podcast. All reports and podcasts for past Senate meetings are available on the College Senate website. Please contact Vincent Masci, assistant to the College Senate, for more information.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The Committee Interest Form will be available on the College Senate website in early June for those interested in serving on one or more of the eight College Senate standing committees for 2020–2021.

The College Senate Office will forward the names of interested parties to the committee chairs for review and consideration. Committee membership is determined solely at the discretion of committee chairs. The College Senate Office has no involvement in the formation of standing committees. Not all committees may need members.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The first meeting of the College Senate for fall 2020 will be held Friday, September 11, at 3:00 p.m. The meeting will be held via Zoom web conferencing if COVID-19 restrictions are still in place. Any changes in location will be announced, and Senate members will be notified.

The College Senate Office wishes everyone a healthy and safe summer.

As we prepare our individual and departmental annual reports for 2019–2020, supervisors are reminded that annual performance evaluations for all professional and civil service employees are required by college, SUNY, and state civil service policies, as well as all collective bargaining unit agreements. As we enter uncharted territory in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain open for business and are learning and adapting to new ways of managing operations in this remote environment. The procedural aspects in the collective bargaining agreements for performance programs and evaluations have not changed, but our approaches can.

Forms may be routed electronically via e-mail. Supervisors may discuss evaluations remotely with employees via mail, e-mail, phone call, Skype, Blackboard Collaborate, or other method and scan the file to employees. Please be sure the employee receives a copy of the evaluation before it is forwarded to the next person for approval. Supervisors may call employees to confirm receipt of e-mails.

The evaluation cycle for professional employees with permanent appointment and for Management Confidential employees is July 1–June 30 of each year, which aligns with the cycle for annual reports. The evaluation cycle for classified employees with permanent appointment is April 1–March 31 of each year. Human Resource Management tracks and records completed performance evaluations for all employees.

Employees with probationary or term appointments should be evaluated on cycles beginning with the date of appointment. Human Resource Management will remind supervisors when evaluations or recommendations related to probationary and term appointments are required.

Evaluations should be based on a performance program that clarifies job expectations and goals for the following year. Job descriptions should be reviewed each year and updated as appropriate. Supervisors are asked to ensure that this information is current for their professional and civil service employees.

Managing employee performance with job descriptions, performance programs, and evaluations is an ongoing process of communication between a supervisor and an employee and provides an opportunity to address issues in a timely fashion and to more effectively foster employee development. By clarifying job expectations and responsibilities and providing specific feedback, supervisors enhance their staff's ability to be successful in their work and meet expected outcomes and goals.

Information and forms on the performance evaluation process are available on the Human Resource Management website.

If you have questions or need assistance with employee evaluations, please contact Human Resource Management at kawalel@buffalostate.edu or senecacl@buffalostate.edu.

Thank you for all the contributions you have been making in these challenging times. We appreciate your dedication and cooperation in this important process.

Free online summer tutoring though STAR-NY has begun. Tutoring sessions in math and writing are available Sunday through Thursday, from 7:00 p.m. to midnight, until Tuesday, August 25.

The Civic and Community Engagement Office is providing information about ways faculty, staff, and students can be active citizens and support our community during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Ken-Ton Closet is now accepting curbside donations on Tuesdays and Thursdays until it reopens the first day of Phase Two. This not-for-profit volunteer-run organization is looking for boys and girls clothing, underwear, toiletries, and school supplies. Please visit the website for more details about the variety of ways you can support the kids of Kenmore and Tonawanda.

The Civic and Community Engagement Office is providing information about ways faculty, staff, and students can be active citizens and support our community during the coronavirus pandemic.

SingforHopeGrams are a great way to let people know you’re thinking of them while also providing employment for our artist community during this pandemic. The premise is simple. A professional musician will personally contact and perform for you or your recipient, brightening the day with the magic of music.

SingforHope is a nonprofit organization that brings music and hope to isolated nursing home residents, veterans, and frontline health-care workers. Send a SingforHopeGram and brighten someone’s day!

From the Chair of the Institutional Innovation Advisory Council
The Institutional Innovation Advisory Council (IIAC) is excited to report that more than 50 percent of the campus community (928 out of 1,844 employees) responded to the Campus Culture and Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Survey earlier this semester. Buffalo State College conducted this survey to better understand our collective workplace, campus culture, and employee engagement and satisfaction, and how these factors affect institutional performance. This high response rate will enhance the college’s ability to better understand the complexity of our lived workplace experiences and priorities, and the needs of our campus community. This, in turn, will help us identify strengths to leverage and areas for improvement that can be addressed through immediate short-term cross-divisional initiatives and long-term strategies to be embedded in the college’s next strategic plan.

In order to ensure these beneficial outcomes and to accurately represent the narratives of the many faculty, staff, and administrators who took the time to write comments, it is essential that the results of the survey be carefully analyzed. The high volume of qualitative data generated, specifically, 2,070 total comments, which equates to 169 pages of text and 98,631 words, combined with the current COVID-19 crisis, mean that the IIAC does not have the capacity to perform this kind of analysis before fall 2020. To address this, the council will explore working with an outside partner—within the college’s current budget constraints—to assist in the analysis and interpretation of the data.

Given these considerations, the IIAC unanimously voted on Tuesday, April 14, to move the sharing of the report to the fall 2020 semester, while also acknowledging flexibility may be needed in this process as the campus continues to respond to COVID-19. The report will be shared through a series of town hall meetings (either in person or virtual), providing an opportunity for the campus to ask questions about the data and survey results, while also initiating discussions and focus groups that begin to address areas for improvements and how to better leverage our strengths. The IIAC will issue a written report to the campus community summarizing the survey results, campus feedback, short-term strategies to immediately implement, and long-term strategies to include in the next strategic plan to ensure that Buffalo State thrives in the future. We will continue to provide regular updates to the campus community about the survey process.

The Civic and Community Engagement Office is providing information about ways faculty, staff, and students can be active citizens and support our community during the coronavirus pandemic.

URGENT! Volunteers are needed immediately to help with COVID-19 response.

FeedMore WNY (formerly the Food Bank of WNY and Meals on Wheels) has an urgent need for volunteers to help during the COVID-19 response. FeedMore WNY is in need of home-delivered meal volunteers to bring nutritious food to our homebound and elderly neighbors throughout Erie and Niagara counties. They are also in need of warehouse volunteers to help package emergency food packs for those in need, including children and families struggling while schools are closed.

If you are able to assist with these tasks, please register online to volunteer and a member of the FeedMore WNY staff will be in touch with more information. Thank you for helping our vulnerable neighbors during this time of need.