The following strategic plan focus group sessions will be held today, February 9:

• School of Arts and Humanities: 12:15–1:15 p.m., Bulger Communication Center East
• Adjunct Faculty: 5:30–6:30 p.m., Cleveland Hall 418

The Undergraduate Research Small Grants Program provides up to $400 to assist students in carrying out their research, scholarly, or creative activities during the academic year; up to $600 may be requested for a single project that involves two or more students. Funding is intended to help defray the cost of travel, supplies, and other materials necessary to conduct a research, scholarly, or creative project. It is not intended for travel to a conference to present research findings or as salary for the student(s). Students receiving small grant awards will be required to participate in the 18th annual Student Research and Creativity Celebration scheduled for April 29–30, 2016. The deadline for submission of applications by students is Tuesday, February 23; mentors have until Thursday, February 25, to complete their portion of the application. Applications for the Small Grants Program are completed online.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next College Senate meeting will be held Friday, February 12, at 3:00 p.m. in Butler Library 210. At-Large, University Faculty Senate, and all-college elections are coming soon.

The campus community is welcome to attend the following campus presentation by a candidate for the position of student retention specialist at Buffalo State. For a complete description of the duties of the position, please visit the Human Resource Management website.

Heather Jenkins
Thursday, February 11
9:50 a.m.
Cleveland Hall 418

The campus community is welcome to attend the following campus presentations by candidates for the position of student retention specialist at Buffalo State. For a complete description of the duties of the position, please visit the Human Resource Management website.

Dennis Stack
Monday, February 8
1:15 p.m.
Cleveland Hall 418

Vicki Sapp
Tuesday, February 9
2:05 p.m.
Cleveland Hall 418

The campus community is welcome to attend the following campus presentations by candidates for the position of student retention specialist at Buffalo State. For a complete description of the duties of the position, please visit the Human Resource Management website.

Keith Fulcher
Thursday, February 4
9:00 a.m.
Cleveland Hall 418

Dennis Stack
Monday, February 8
1:15 p.m.
Cleveland Hall 418

Buffalo State University Police has become aware of a phishing campaign targeting government employees in several states. The scam purports to notify employees that their W-2 tax forms are available for download and supplies a link. The link directs users to a web page designed to look identical to their agency's website and prompts for a user name and password. Any information entered into the forms on this website will be stolen. This includes user names and passwords and any tax, banking, contact, or other personal information entered.

E-mails have been received with subject lines such as “Your Paperless W2,” and “IMPORTANT TAX RETURN DOCUMENT AVAILABLE,” but could potentially include a different subject in the future. E-mail messages are similarly worded and include language such as “Your W2 is ready for viewing under Employee Self Service. Logon at the following link,” or “Your 2015 W2 corrected statement is ready for viewing, follow the link below.”

Phishing e-mails are created to look as if they were sent by a trustworthy source, but they are crafted by malicious actors who intend to steal personal information. Cyber criminals use compromised credentials in several ways, including to impersonate individuals online, gain access to work and personal accounts, sign online service agreements or contracts, engage in financial transactions, or change account information.

This campaign has not been reported to include New York employees at this time, but personnel should scrutinize any messages with links to websites requesting personal information or containing suspicious attachments.

Employees should always confirm that e-mails that contain links or forms requesting personal information are from a valid source. If you receive an e-mail that you believe is part of this scam, do NOT click on any links in the message. Please forward the message to basinsjb@buffalostate.edu so that we can track the presence of the scam on our campus.

Any questions regarding your W-2 form should be directed to the Payroll Office at 878-4124.

Nominations will be accepted through Thursday, February 11, for the 2015–2016 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Classified Service. This SUNY system-level award recognizes classified service employees for excellence and superior service to students and the community at large. Members of the Buffalo State community are encouraged to submit nominations for deserving colleagues.

The nomination form and award guidelines are available online. Thank you.

Nominations will be accepted through Thursday, February 11, for the 2015–2016 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Classified Service. This SUNY system-level award recognizes classified service employees for excellence and superior service to students and the community at large. Members of the Buffalo State community are encouraged to submit nominations for deserving colleagues.

The nomination form and award guidelines are available online. Thank you.

Nominations will be accepted through Thursday, February 11, for the 2015–2016 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Classified Service. This SUNY system-level award recognizes classified service employees for excellence and superior service to students and the community at large. Members of the Buffalo State community are encouraged to submit nominations for deserving colleagues.

The nomination form and award guidelines are available online. Thank you.