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.

Buffalo String Works (BSW) is a local organization that instills the love of music in the lives of children on Buffalo's West Side. If you would like to contribute to its community efforts, please e-mail BSW any inspiring videos, images, or stories you think the students will enjoy. BSW will include them on its student site on the "Stuff You Might Like" page.

From the Chair of the Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee
The College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee will host the annual College Senate Caucus—the election of Senate officers for the upcoming academic year—on Friday, May 8, from noon to 1:00 p.m. via web videoconference.

Candidates for officer positions must be senators who will be in office for the 2020–2021 academic year. Candidates should be present at the caucus to announce their candidacy. Alternatively, e-mails of interest for committee chairs may be e-mailed to Julian Cole by 11:00 a.m. May 8. Candidates who e-mail their interest must specify which standing committee(s) they wish to chair. Should a chair seat be contested, a runoff election will be held expeditiously after the caucus.

Questions may be directed to Vincent Masci, assistant to the College Senate.

CORRECTION APPENDED
From the Chair of the College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee
We are pleased to announce that the college faculty voted to adopt the proposed College Faculty Bylaws 96.9 percent to 3.1 percent.

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Correction: April 30, 2020
The original version of this announcement, published April 30, 2020, contained incorrect information. The original headline erroneously indicated that the College Faculty Bylaws had been adopted. While the college faculty did vote to adopt the proposed bylaws, these bylaws are subject to the approval of the president and the SUNY Board of Trustees. By voting to adopt these bylaws, the college faculty has approved their adoption. The headline has been amended. We regret the error.

From the Chair of the College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee
The College Senate elections for two at-large senators, one University Faculty Senate (UFS) senator, and one UFS alternate senator concluded Friday, April 24. Congratulations to the following individuals who have won seats on the College Senate for the 2020–2023 term:

At-Large College Senators
Laura Hill Rao, Director, Civic and Community Engagement Office
Colleen Toledano, Associate Professor, Art and Design Department

University Faculty Senator
Joseph Marren, Professor, Communication Department

Alternate University Faculty Senator
Amy Rosen-Brand, Associate Director, Student Accessibility Services

From the Chair of the College Senate
The final College Senate meeting of the spring 2020 semester will be held Friday, May 8, at 2:00 p.m. via Zoom videoconferencing. Details will be forthcoming. The meeting is by invitation only, and participation is limited. The podcast of the April 10, 2020, College Senate meeting is posted on the Senate website, along with the minutes and all reports from the March 13, 2020, meeting. Please contact Vincent Masci, assistant to the College Senate, with questions.

The fall 2019 and J-Term 2020 I grade (incomplete) default deadline has been extended until Friday, May 8. Students not completing course requirements by this time will have a grade of E recorded. Instructors may give a student an incomplete extension by submitting a grade change form indicating the new default date, which can be no later than the last day of summer 2020 instruction (August 7).

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline for employees to submit 2019 claims for the Health Care Spending Account (HCSA) and Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAA) has been further extended to May 31. (The deadline was previously extended to April 30). Employees who are enrolled in either benefit now have until Sunday, May 31, to submit claims for health care or dependent care services provided during the 2019 calendar year. Employees can download claim forms and find instructions for submitting claims on the Flex Spending website. 

Also, the recently enacted CARES Act has made several changes to rules concerning eligible HCSA expenses, specifically:

Effective January 1, 2020, the requirement that over-the-counter (OTC) medications have a written prescription to be reimbursed has been eliminated. OTC medications may now be reimbursed by the HCSA without a prescription from a doctor. Also effective January 1, 2020, menstrual care products are considered qualified medical expenses and are therefore eligible for reimbursement through the HCSA. 

Please e-mail fsa@goer.ny.gov or call WageWorks customer service at (800) 358-7202 with questions.

SUNY FACT˛ will host a free online symposium, "Responding in Real Time at SUNY to a Global Crisis: Managing the COVID-19 Crisis in the Spring and Planning for Fall," beginning at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 28.

Confronted with a worldwide pandemic midway through the academic year, the SUNY community responded by quickly pivoting to remote learning. This special event critically examines the many challenges and decisions that composed the response and then looks ahead to how we move forward, learning from the process, and how this experience has changed higher education. Students, faculty, and administrators will all participate in this one-day event, which will culminate with breakout sessions that include all attendees.

Register and view the detailed agenda.

Experience stories of success and failure and explore how we can learn from both:

• How did the transition to remote learning work?
• What was the impact of policy and process in managing the crisis?
• What have faculty and instructional support teams learned about remote learning from those who adapted their courses?
• What social impact has remote learning had on the student and faculty campus experience?

Explore how necessity has fostered innovations in teaching and learning. Contribute to the conversation as we look ahead to fall and beyond.

This symposium will be delivered online in real time. Please register for this free event to receive access information, which will be sent about one week before the symposium.

Need a break? Join Performing Arts Center director Andy Binder as he hosts a virtual Zoom trivia contest for Buffalo State faculty and staff members on Wednesday, May 6, from noon to 1:00 p.m. Questions will cover a wide variety of topics, including geography, pop culture, history, science, and random facts.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System. 

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 Rotary of Grand Island and the Salvation Army of Tonawanda have teamed up and are looking for volunteers to help with a drive-through food-distribution station, located at 46 Broad Street in Tonawanda. Possible tasks include sorting and bringing food bags to the drive-through pickup. Please bring a mask and gloves if you are able. 

If you are interested in helping, please call Major Celestin Nkounkou at (716) 866-9418 the day before you would like to volunteer.