The Bengal Allies Committee invites the campus community to the Bengal Ally Mixer on Wednesday, December 4, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union’s Fireside Lounge. We invite all students, faculty, and staff to enjoy free refreshments, learn more about the resource center and other campus resources, and take this opportunity to meet other faculty, staff, students, and allies.

The mission of the Buffalo State LGBTQ+ Resource Center is to provide a safe, inclusive, and celebratory environment for LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff. We seek to provide members of our campus community with resources that support and affirm each individual’s process of self-discovery and identity development and facilitate connections between our campus and the Buffalo community. The LGBTQ+ Resource Center will provide access to informative media, training, professional development, and advocacy.

For more information, please e-mail Student Leadership and Engagement.

Ready up and relax for finals with our end-of-semester Bengal Study Night tomorrow, December 4, from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. in Rockwell Hall.

The evening will feature final exam reviews; math and writing tutoring; complimentary pizza, veggies, drinks, donuts, and coffee; finals survival kits; relaxation activities; games; and therapy dogs. Details are available online. Please contact Lauren Copeland, coordinator of tutoring services, with questions.

Open to all students!

Sponsored by the Academic Commons, Student Achievement Programs, and the Educational Opportunity Program.

Join the Burchfield Penney for our annual Art Is a Gift Holiday Art and Gift Sale December 6–8. More than 50 Western New York artists will be part of this very special free three-day event!

Friday, December 6: Noon–8:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 7, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 8, 11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Added bonus: Friday, December 6, is Buffalo State Shopping Day in the Museum Store at the Burchfield Penney. All Buffalo State faculty, staff, and students will receive the Burchfield Penney member discount of 10 percent off all day.

Participating artists:

Andrea Pawarski, Andrea Pawarski Ceramics
Robin Lenhard, Aremel Soaps
Catherine, O’Connor, Arteffectsglass
Tina Hirschbeck, At 88 Textile Designs
Paul Morgan, Avalon
Lynn Huetter, Bama Cutting Boards
Nancy Hesketh, Banyon Bags
Barbara Rickard, Paintress
Billy Prendergast, Billy Prendergast Designs
Paula Damico, Blessings by Nature
Eta Rottenberg, Buffalo Roots
Dayna Banka-Slone, By Dayna
Beverly Speller, Colorworks and Design Studio
Diana Storm, Diana Storm Jewelry
Constance Krueger, Different by Design
Donna Angelo, dna jewelry designs
Kristen Horn, Dognanny Originals
Junko McGee, Earth Art
Evette Slaughter, Evette Slaughter Studio
Elaine Kessel, Fotografix
Frani Evedon, Frani Evedon Fine Art Photography
Gretchen Cole, Gretchen Cole Jewelry
Chary Robbins, Illusions - 3rd Eye Productions
Deborah Petronio, Imaginaries
Danielle Iris, Planter Iris Planter
Cheryl Perez, Jewelrybeyondthesea
Joshua Fraass, jf.vintage
Jayne Hughes, Joyfulenergy Jewelry
Katharine Mallaber-Prestia, Katie Mallaber Ceramics
Kristin Fundalinski, Kris Art Glass
Barbara Hart, Little Wood People
Lynn Schwab, Lynn Schwab Jewelry
Mandy Ranck, Mandy Ranck Ceramics
Mario Santilli, Mario D. Santilli, Woodworker
Marleah Doherty, Mia’s Studio
Linda Collignon, Raveloe Fibers
Shaun Silverwood Road Kiln
Rosanna Cappellino, Rosanna’s Art Clay
Sarah Blackman Jewelry Design
Sarah Kieffer Designs
Patricia Hutton, SewREDI Buffalo
Mary Cotton, The Art Barn
Catherine Southwick, The Sparkwork Studio
Tom Burns, Tom Burns Photography
Julie Bridge, White Crab Soap Co.
Michelle Collins, Wise Woman Designs
Suzanne O'Brien, ZanieCrafts
Jackie LoVullo, Zenjoy

RSVP on Facebook and invite your friends.

Come and celebrate the First Friday of each month at 8:00 a.m. in the Newman Center Chapel. We will gather for Mass and start the month with a renewed perspective. Stay for a cup of coffee afterward or take a cup to go. Our next celebration will take place this Friday, December 6. All are welcome.

The Newman Center is located at 1219 Elmwood Avenue, across from the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

The State of New York/United University Professions Joint Labor-Management Committees have announced that $34,511 has been allocated to Buffalo State for Individual Development Awards for July 2, 2019, through July 1, 2020. This program is intended to assist employees in the UUP bargaining unit in developing their full professional potential and in preparing for advancement by funding professional development activities. Information on eligibility requirements, types of projects or activities funded, types of support available, funding priorities, and the application procedures and application form are available on the Human Resource Management website. The maximum award is $1,000; employees may submit only one application each for this period. Applications must be received by Friday, January 10, 2020.

Individual Development Awards committee members are Deborah Jones and Lisa Marie Anselmi representing UUP, and Lydia Kawaler and Charles Lyons representing management. If you have questions regarding the awards, please call Human Resource Management at 878-3042.

The Research and Creativity Incentive Program (RCIP) is accepting applications until 4:00 p.m. Friday, February 28, 2020, for funds to promote faculty research, scholarly, and creative activities. An electronic copy of the entire proposal, signed by the principal investigator (PI) and the PI’s department chair and dean, should be submitted via e-mail to Jessica Berg, director of pre-award and contract services. Three members of the Research and Creativity Council (RCC) have been appointed to review all applications received by the deadline.

Incentive funds administered by the RCC are intended to promote faculty research and scholarly and creative activities. The ultimate goal of an award from the RCIP is to receive an external award to continue research or a scholarly or creative activity. At the end of the award period, recipients are required to submit a report documenting the use of the funds. They are then required to submit a grant proposal within the following year to an outside sponsoring agency through the Sponsored Programs Pre-Award and Contract Services Office. Submitting a proposal through the Buffalo State College Foundation does not meet this requirement. Recipients are also obligated to participate in the Faculty and Staff Fall Forum.

Expenditures considered for support under this program include travel to consult with a funding source or program officer or to a workshop sponsored by a potential sponsor; student assistance; consultation with specialists in the field; preparation of specialized support materials for proposals (e.g., graphs, drawings, resource books); and release time. Funds may not be requested for the purchase of computers, laptops, etc. Also, it is not the council’s intention to directly pay an individual for writing a proposal. Please contact Jessica Berg with questions regarding the incentive application.

The Option Transfer Period is now open for eligible adult children of NYSHIP enrollees to enroll in the Young Adult Option or for current Young Adult Option enrollees to switch health insurance plans. This Option Transfer Period ends Tuesday, December 31. The Young Adult Option allows unmarried adult children under the age of 30 to purchase their own NYSHIP coverage at the full-cost individual rate. Coverage applies only to medical benefits. Enrollment in the NYS dental and vision plan is not available through this benefit.

For additional information on the Young Adult Option, please visit the NYSHIP website or call the Employee Benefits Division at (800) 833-4344.

Note: young adult children of NYSHIP enrollees are eligible to continue coverage as dependents under the enrollee's family coverage up to age 26.

The Option Transfer Period is now open for employees who are enrolled in the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) who wish to select a different health plan for the 2020 plan year. Employees have until Tuesday, December 31, to change their health insurance carrier or coverage election by completing a Health Insurance Transaction Form (PDF, 78 KB) and submitting it to the Employee Benefits Office in Cleveland Hall 410. The change will be effective December 26, 2019. 

During the Option Transfer Period, employees may change their NYSHIP option for the next plan year to one of the following:

• The Empire Plan.
• A NYSHIP Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). Note: employees must live or work in the HMO’s service area.
• The Opt-Out Program. Note: employees who are represented by UUP are not eligible to participate in this program.

The New York State Employee Benefits Division has announced the new health plan rates, which are posted on the Human Resources Management website and will also be mailed to employees’ home addresses.

The 2020 “Choices" booklet (PDF, 1.8 MB), which gives a comparison of the insurance plans, is also available for review.

The Option Transfer Period also allows employees to make the following changes to their health insurance coverage without a qualifying event:

• Change from family to individual coverage
• Voluntarily cancel coverage
• Change pre-tax contribution program election

No action is required if employees wish to keep their current health insurance option.

Representatives from the Empire Plan, BlueCross BlueShield of WNY, and Independent Health will be on campus at Buffalo State's Health Benefits Fair on Tuesday, December 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Student Union Assembly Halls to answer questions about current health insurance plans and changes in coverage for 2020.

For additional information, please call the Employee Benefits Office at 878-4821.

The call for proposals is open for the NYS ACE Women's Network annual conference, which will be held Thursday and Friday, April 2 and 3, 2020, in Cooperstown, New York. The submission deadline for proposals is Wednesday, January 15.

The conference theme is Women in Higher Education: Next Level Leadership. The conference committee is seeking presentations, abstracts, papers, symposiums, workshops, cases, panels, and interactive roundtable topics that represent the best contemporary thinking about women and leadership from a diverse range of perspectives. All proposals must be submitted via e-mail to ns.owhe@gmail.com. For more information on the conference, please visit the conference website.

Proposals should include the following:

• Presentation title
• Presenter(s) information (name, title, brief bio)
• Presentation description (no more than 250 words)
• Learning outcome
• Time requested for the presentation (45 minutes maximum)
• Presentation format (presentation, abstract, paper, symposium, workshop, case, panel, or interactive roundtable topics)
• Other pertinent information
• Audiovisual needs

The call for proposals is now open for the NYS ACE Women's Network annual conference, which will be held Thursday and Friday, April 2 and 3, 2020, in Cooperstown, New York. The submission deadline for proposals is Wednesday, January 15.

The conference theme is Women in Higher Education: Next Level Leadership. The conference committee is seeking presentations, abstracts, papers, symposiums, workshops, cases, panels, and interactive roundtable topics that represent the best contemporary thinking about women and leadership from a diverse range of perspectives. All proposals must be submitted via e-mail to ns.owhe@gmail.com. For more information on the conference, please visit the conference website.

Proposals should include the following:

• Presentation title
• Presenter(s) information (name, title, brief bio)
• Presentation description (no more than 250 words)
• Learning outcome
• Time requested for the presentation (45 minutes maximum)
• Presentation format (presentation, abstract, paper, symposium, workshop, case, panel, or interactive roundtable topics)
• Other pertinent information
• Audiovisual needs