Weigel Health Promotions will host therapy dog workshops, provided by Horizon Health Services, on Tuesday, November 6, and Tuesday, December 4, at  noon in Bacon Hall 117.

Research shows that interaction with therapy dogs increases the release of bonding and happiness hormones and decreases stress. A therapy dog will be present to pet throughout the program.

For more Weigel Wellness programs, please visit our website, check out our newsletter, follow us on social media, like us on Facebook, find us on Instagram, follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, and follow us on Pinterest. For more information, please contact Weigel Health Promotions at 878-3786 or 878-4719.

Please join us for a special lecture, "Life and Death in the 17th-Century Chesapeake, presented by Douglas W. Owsley, division head for physical anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, at 7:00 p.m. today, October 3, at the Buffalo Museum of Science.

Dr. Owsley is considered one of the foremost forensic anthropologists at work today. He will discuss how specialized scientific testing and advanced imagery methods can increase our knowledge of the lives and deaths of the early American colonists. Highlights include “Jane,” the victim of survival cannibalism during the “Starving Time”; identification of four high-status men buried in the first church within James Fort (1608); and recent archaeology designed to locate important leaders buried in the second church dating to 1617.

This lecture is cosponsored by the Anthropology Department and the Houghton Chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association. The lecture is included with paid admission to the museum. More information is available on the Buffalo Museum of Science website.

TIAA financial consultant Michael Spogli will be on campus for individual consultations with Buffalo State faculty and staff members between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17, in Cleveland Hall 416 and on Thursday, October 18, in Caudell Hall 110. Appointments are required.

This is your opportunity to speak with a professional regarding your financial retirement goals. Review your investments and allocations or set up a supplemental retirement account if you haven't already. Be sure you are saving enough for retirement.

Visit the TIAA website to schedule your appointment today.

The campus community is encouraged to participate in the fifth annual Athletics Blood Drive in support of UNYTS and area hospitals tomorrow, October 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Houston Gym. All donors will receive a free "Real Fans Bleed Orange" T-shirt and free pizza from Mister Pizza, and be entered to win great prizes from Wegmans, Chef's, the Pearl Street Grill, Barnes & Noble, and Mighty Taco. Reservations are not required but are optional. For more information or to reserve a time, please contact Tom Koller, senior associate athletics director, 878-6514.

Flu vaccines will be available for faculty and staff members tomorrow, October 11, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. in Campbell Student Union 415.

Influenza (flu) is a contagious disease that can lead to serious illness, including pneumonia. The flu can make even healthy people sick enough to miss work or school for a significant amount of time or even be hospitalized.

Appointments for the flu vaccine clinic are not necessary, but please bring your health insurance card with you. Most insurance plans will be accepted, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of WNY, Independent Health, Blue Choice, MVP, and Medicare Part B. Employees without a participating insurance plan will be charged $30 for the flu shot. Empire Plan enrollees may obtain their flu shot from an Empire Plan participating pharmacy without a copay or at their doctor’s office (participating provider) for their usual copay should they wish to do so.

Participation and acceptance of any insurance is not a guarantee of benefits or payment in full. Copayments or a deductible may apply. Please call Employee Benefits at 878-4821 or the member services department of your insurance company with questions regarding your health insurance coverage. The phone number should be on your insurance card.

Flu vaccines will be available for faculty and staff members on Thursday, October 11, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. in Campbell Student Union 415.

Influenza (flu) is a contagious disease that can lead to serious illness, including pneumonia. The flu can make even healthy people sick enough to miss work or school for a significant amount of time or even be hospitalized.

Appointments for the flu vaccine clinic are not necessary, but please bring your health insurance card with you. Most insurance plans will be accepted, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of WNY, Independent Health, Blue Choice, MVP, and Medicare Part B. Employees without a participating insurance plan will be charged $30 for the flu shot. Empire Plan enrollees may obtain their flu shot from an Empire Plan participating pharmacy without a copay or at their doctor’s office (participating provider) for their usual copay should they wish to do so.

Participation and acceptance of any insurance is not a guarantee of benefits or payment in full. Copayments or a deductible may apply. Please call Employee Benefits at 878-4821 or the member services department of your insurance company with questions regarding your health insurance coverage. The phone number should be on your insurance card.

Flu vaccines will be available for faculty and staff members on Thursday, October 11, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. in Campbell Student Union 415.

Influenza (flu) is a contagious disease that can lead to serious illness, including pneumonia. The flu can make even healthy people sick enough to miss work or school for a significant amount of time or even be hospitalized.

Appointments are not necessary for the clinic. Most insurance plans will be accepted, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of WNY, Independent Health, Blue Choice, MVP, and Medicare Part B. Employees without a participating insurance plan will be charged $30 for the flu shot. Empire Plan enrollees may obtain their flu shot from an Empire Plan participating pharmacy without a copay or at their doctor’s office (participating provider) for their usual copay should they wish to do so.

Participation and acceptance of any insurance is not a guarantee of benefits or payment in full. Copayments or a deductible may apply. Please call Employee Benefits at 878-4821 or the member services department of your insurance company with questions regarding your health insurance coverage. The phone number should be on your insurance card.

The Great Lakes Center is pleased to release the fall issue of its newsletter (PDF, 2MB). This issue focuses on summer research on the emerald shiner, monitoring the benthos of the Great Lakes, and a more intensive look at Lake Ontario. Also, the GLC will host WNY PRISM for another five years, the GLC joined the Great Lakes-Northern Forests CESU network, and GLES now stands for Great Lakes environmental science.

If you'd like to be on the mailing list for future editions of the newsletter, please send an e-mail to greatlakes@buffalostate.edu with the subject "Newsletter mailing list add."

The Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo announces a free health promotion forum on Thursday, October 18, at 7:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 423 (formerly South 2). National speakers Michael O’Donnell and Jake Williams will discuss improving health by developing and refining aggressive comprehensive community health promotion strategies for sustainable environments, programs, policies, community capacity building, and communication.

Michael O’Donnell is the CEO of the Art & Science of Health Promotion Institute. His work with health-care organizations, government agencies, foundations, insurance companies, and health promotion providers has developed and refined health promotion programs, products, and policies and has served major roles in health systems, including the Cleveland Clinic. He is the founder of the American Journal of Health Promotion and the founder and former chair of Health Promotion Advocates. Dr. O’Donnell has presented more than 300 keynote and workshop presentations and has received 15 national awards.

Jake Williams is the founding executive director of Healthier Colorado, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to broadening citizen participation in the public policy process to improve the health of the state’s residents. He has worked as a consultant to the Walton Family Foundation on environmental policy campaigns, as well as to the Gill Foundation to support its work on LGBT legal equality across the nation. At the Service Employees International Union, he led teams on legislative, electoral, and health-care advocacy campaigns. He also published "The Voice Our Health Deserves" (PDF, 2 MB), a white paper that argues for the creation of a national movement and political apparatus to advance health.

Please call the Wellness Institute at 851-4052 to register.

The Erie County Health Department will provide training on how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose on Wednesday, November 14, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in Bacon Hall 115. Naloxone (Narcan) is a medication used to reverse opioid overdose. Participants will learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose, to administer Narcan properly, and to take the necessary follow-up steps. For more information, please call the Weigel Wellness Center Health Promotions Office at 878-3786 or 878-4719 or visit the Weigel Health Promotions website.