All members of the campus community are invited to participate in a planning and discussion meeting on the revitalization of Buffalo State's Maud Gordon Holmes Arboretum on Thursday, September 29, at 12:15 p.m. in Bacon Hall 225. Please join us in this important initiative that affects our students, faculty, staff, and visitors to campus. For further information, please contact Susan McCartney, director of the Small Business Development Center, 878-4030.

Do you want to help others but don’t know where to start? Are you interested in connecting with folks outside our campus who are different and fun? Do you believe that the important skills learned in a university provide a model for how to interact with others and work collectively to solve problems?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, please come to Butler Library 210 at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21, for the initial meeting of the Civic Engagement and Leadership Club. This club is envisioned to have two purposes: to create a greater understanding and commitment to participation in the civic life of our city, and to create opportunities for students at Buffalo State to develop their civic engagement and leadership skills through projects and events coordinated with our thriving local community.

Come join us to see how you can make our world a better place!

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar "Mission Accomplished or Mission Impossible: Predicting the Biological Impacts of Climate Change," presented by Jonathan Newman, dean of the College of Biological Science at the University of Guelph, on Monday, September 26, at 4:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center West 2.

All faculty, staff, and students are welcome.

Barnes & Noble at Buffalo State will host a poetry reading and book signing by Carol Townsend, associate professor of design, on Thursday, September 22, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. She will read from her recently published book, A Cinder in My Knee. Refreshments will be served. Please join us.

Students, are you interested in starting your own business? Do you currently run a business? Please join us for the 2016-2017 launch of the Buffalo State College Student INC.ubator on Tuesday, September 27, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. (Bengal Pause) in Bishop Hall 107. Join us for light refreshments. Meet with other student entrepreneurs and Buffalo State faculty members.

The Buffalo State Student INC.ubator provides the resources to nurture and promote students entrepreneurial ambitions. The Student INC.ubator is a full-access suite for students to develop their entrepreneurial goals. The INC.ubator will host free one-to-one mentorship opportunities, interactive games, and facilitation as well as workshops, events, and discussions. Sessions are held every Tuesday and Thursday from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m., and Friday discussion sessions are held at 3:00 p.m.

Entrepreneurs are made, not born. Let us be part of your story and journey.

The Academic Support Programs Unit announces its fall tutoring schedule. Please see the printable flier (PDF, 115 KB) on the Academic Skills Center website. Our professional tutors provide not only course support but also study skill and time management support. We’ll show a student how to read a text, and we’ll insist that he or she buy that text as well. Through the STAR/NY Consortium, we provide real-time nighttime tutoring in fundamental areas all the way to midnight. We make house calls, too—we’ll come to your class for targeted presentations.

Open enrollment for the 2017 NYS Flex Spending Account (FSA) begins today, Monday, October 3, and ends Monday, November 7. The account offers two benefits: the Health Care Spending Account (HCSAccount) and the Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAAcount).

The HCSAccount allows employees to set aside from $100 to $2,550 annually in pretax salary to pay for health-care expenses not reimbursed by health insurance.

The DCAAccount allows employees to set aside up to $5,000 annually in pretax salary for eligible child care, elder care, or disabled dependent care expenses. The DCAAccount employer contribution will end at the conclusion of the 2016 plan year because of the expiration of collective bargaining agreements. Future availability of the employer contribution depends on the outcome of negotiations between the state and the unions.

Employees who do not work 26 pay periods should consider electing a shorter time frame for their deductions so they do not lose coverage while off the payroll. For example, faculty members who are not paid through the summer should elect to have all deductions taken in the spring semester in order to have coverage for all of 2017.

Participants currently enrolled in the HCSAccount or DCAAccount must re-enroll to continue benefits in 2017.

Paperless enrollment is quick, easy, and secure. For program details or to enroll in the FSA, visit www.flexspend.ny.gov or call the FSA hotline at (800) 358-7202.

The November 7 deadline for 2017 enrollment will be strictly enforced.

The deadline to submit applications for the SUNY B-140W Tuition Assistance Program for the fall 2016 semester is Friday, September 30.

Staff members may apply for tuition assistance after six months of service; faculty members may apply after one semester of service. The following employees are eligible:

• Full-time Buffalo State faculty members and professional or classified employees
• Part-time or temporary Buffalo State faculty members and professional or classified employees who are employed at least half time (faculty must teach at least two courses in the semester)
• Full-time Research Foundation employees, provided they work on the Buffalo State campus

Program funds may be used for courses at SUNY campuses only. Eligible employees may apply for a 50 percent waiver of SUNY tuition for up to two courses a semester, to a maximum of 15 credit hours an academic year. Tuition assistance is limited to regular in-state undergraduate or graduate tuition rates. The level of support may be adjusted when necessary if funding is not adequate to cover applications received.

After submitting an application, employees who decide to drop a class or find it has been covered by another source are asked to please notify Human Resource Management immediately to update their applications.

Please contact Human Resource Management, 878-4821, for applications (PDF, 257 KB) or program guidelines.

A flu vaccine clinic for students will be held today, September 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union. Weigel Health Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that all students, especially those who have a chronic medical condition such as asthma or diabetes or who are currently on prednisone, receive a flu shot.

Insurance companies that might cover the vaccine at this clinic are Independent Health, Cigna, Aetna, CVS/Caremark, Merck/Medco, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medicare Parts B and D, Empire, and Fidelis. Students must present a valid health insurance card. Others must pay the $32.99 cost of the injection by cash or check.

The flu vaccine clinic is arranged through the Weigel Health Center. Please contact Debbie Sarratori, assistant director of medical administration, 878-6711, with questions.

The International Center for Studies in Creativity will present a one-day workshop, Creative Thinking, on Friday, October 21 (repeated on March 17, 2017), from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Chase Hall 215. The workshop is open to the public and is intended to provide participants with an introduction to creativity and creative problem solving. The registration fee is $295 for individuals until Friday, September 30, and for groups of three or more; the registration fee is $325 after September 30.

Presenters are Gerard Puccio, Ph.D., department chair and professor of creative studies, and Laura Ryan, M.S., president of LAMA Innovation Inc., a facilitation and training firm specializing in creative problem solving and strategic planning.

Two seats are being reserved for campus colleagues at each workshop at a discount rate of $50. These will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis; please contact Debra Johnson, department secretary, for discounts. Others may register online. Additional information is available on the center's website.