All faculty members at Buffalo State should have received an e-mail message about the Faculty Textbook Survey currently being conducted. Butler Library and Instructional Resources would like to better understand student and faculty needs and preferences related to textbooks and other resources, and we want to hear your voice.

Please help us with our important research and share your thoughts on textbooks by completing the survey you have already received through your campus e-mail. We will use the data we collect to better understand how textbook costs, format, and availability affect student academic activities and success.

Affordability and accessibility for students are important SUNY-wide initiatives and a potentially important aspect of student retention. Please participate in the Faculty Textbook Survey and encourage your students to participate in this research study by completing the Student Textbook Survey they have received by e-mail.

If you have questions about this study, please contact Ginger Bidell, instructional designer in Instructional Resources, or Leah Galka, academic outreach and engagement librarian in Butler Library.

From the Diversity Program Coordinator
The Buffalo State community is invited to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month with an opening address by Anglica Keen, academic retention specialist at Cornell University, on Tuesday, September 22, at 6:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center East. Her talk is titled "Taking Back Our Name: Honoring the Inter-sectionality of the Latino/Hispanic Identity."

Born Ileana Anglica Keen Chapa, Keen is originally from the border city of Laredo, Texas. As a TRIO undergraduate student herself, she has worked with a variety of communities and served on multiple boards, advising and educating sorority chapters throughout Texas and New York. She received the Toms Batista Award for Outstanding Staff Partner from Cornell's Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives for advocating students' needs, promoting social justice, and educating others about inclusivity.

This event is sponsored by Buffalo State's Equity and Campus Diversity Office, Residence Life Office, and Grant Allocation Committee.

Download the flyer (PDF).

Open enrollment for the 2016 NYS Flex Spending Account (FSA) begins Monday, October 5, and ends Monday, November 9. The account offers two benefits: the Health Care Spending Account (HCSAccount) and the Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAAccount).

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 is available in 2016 for Management Confidential employees and those represented by CSEA, PEF, UUP, Council 82, NYSCOPBA, or GSEU. Pending conclusion of collective bargaining and ratified contracts, the employer contribution may also be available to state employees in other negotiating units. For employer contribution rates, please visit the FSA website.

Participants currently enrolled in the HCSAccount or DCAAccount must re-enroll to continue benefits in 2016. 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 9 deadline for 2016 enrollment will be strictly enforced.

Universities and colleges are prime targets for scams because of their decentralized budgets, ordering practices, and changing personnel. Buffalo State's Procurement Department has been made aware of several recent potential scam attempts.

The most common commodities that are scammed are advertising, copier toner, light bulbs, ice-melting products, office supplies, printer cartridges, and chemicals, but scams can involve any commodity or service that exists.

The best way to avoid a scam is to stay informed, remain alert, and question when something doesn't sound right or seems too good to be true.

Common techniques:

• Telephone or e-mail solicitations offering a "special sale"
• Callers asking what kind of copy machine you have in your office
• Companies offering to send you free samples
• Companies offering to ship a product without a purchase order and bill you later
• Companies sending in an actual tear sheet of a real classified employment advertisement with a phony invoice
• Unknown solicitors calling to ask for your shipping address
• Companies shipping goods that were never ordered and then sending an inflated invoice for payment
• Companies using a name similar to, but not exactly the same as, a company you deal with
• Companies selling items at greatly discounted prices but claiming you need to order now to take advantage of the savings
• Callers who state that the "college's president referred me to you"
• Companies who say they are selling discontinued items at closeout prices
• Callers who ask for your account number or credit card number

If you suspect that you have been contacted by a possible scammer, advise the caller that it would be best to let Procurement Services speak to them and give them the Procurement phone number: (716) 878-4113. Chances are they will not call. If the caller is persistent, please collect as much company information as you can and contact Steve Olsen, assistant to the comptroller for procurement, 878-4113.

The Elementary Education and Reading Department will offer a series of workshops this semester to help students better understand the type of support needed for the second-language learner in a regular classroom setting. Sessions will focus on lesson planning, teaching, and assessment strategies for all core content areas.

Workshops will be held on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to noon in Bacon Hall 115 on September 26, October 24, and November 21. To register, please e-mail cumminmc@buffalostate.edu with the subject line "Workshop registration."

Kevin Railey, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School, will hold a meeting on Friday, September 25, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Classroom Building C122 for graduate faculty teaching or involved in graduate programs. All are encouraged to attend.

The 2015–2016 “Conversations in and out of the Disciplines” lecture series begins Friday, October 2, when Michael Niman, professor of communication, presents "Acephalus Movements: Studying Utopia, Understanding Terror" from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 320. A short, informal wine-and-cheese reception will be held after the talk. All faculty, staff, and students are welcome.

Please also mark your calendars for the other talks this fall:

Katherine Conway-Turner, president of Buffalo State College, will present "Aging within a Family Context: The Mother-Daughter Dynamic" on Friday, October 16, at 3:00 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center's Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Auditorium.

Kelly Frothingham, department chair and professor of geography, will present "Stream Restoration: Local WNY Activity in the Context of National Trends" on Friday, November 6, at  3:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 320.

Chuck Mancuso, professor of music, will present "The Last Great Days of the Buffalo Jazz Club Scene" on Friday, December 4, at 3:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 320.

To recognize President Conway-Turner's invitation to attend the Carnegie Classification presentation, the professional development workshop "Performance Planning and Development" has been moved to noon (from 2:00 p.m.) on Tuesday, September 22, in Butler Library 181B.

Performance management can build relationships while ensuring high levels of work performance. Forms should summarize expectations and align the objectives of employees and supervisors. In this interactive session, participants will apply knowledge and tools to PEPDS forms with greater understanding of the system. Light snacks will be provided.

Please register through the CyberQuad Workshop Registration System. Those who have previously registered do not have to reregister.

The Professional Development Center will offer the next session in the Teaching Commons series on Friday, October 2, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in Butler Library 181B.

Teaching Commons, an ongoing roundtable discussion of twenty-first-century pedagogical practices, offers faculty and staff the chance to share teaching successes and discuss ways to avoid common challenges. In this session, Bill White, director of faculty development, will lead a discussion on differences between coverage and exploration of course material.

Light snacks will be provided. Please register through the CyberQuad Workshop Registration System.

The Professional Development Center is pleased to offer the next session in the Teaching Commons series, "Teaching in the Twenty-First Century," on Wednesday, September 30, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Butler Library 181B.

National Survey of Student Engagement results indicate that twenty-first-century students want classrooms that have high levels of engagement and interest. In this session, Bill White, director of faculty development, will lead a discussion of high-impact practices that have been successful in higher-education classrooms. He will also summarize conversations surrounding curriculum and pedagogy that occurred as part of the spring 2015 One Buffalo State series.

The Teaching Commons series offers faculty and staff members the chance to share teaching successes and discuss ways to avoid common challenges.

Light snacks will be provided. Please register through the CyberQuad Workshop Registration System.