Students from all over the world enroll at Buffalo State, and an important part of their orientation is the opportunity to learn firsthand about our cultural patterns, economic and political outlooks, and everyday language skills. These experiences can assist them in class discussions and in their social relations with other students. It also gives them a better understanding of the American culture they will take back with them to their home countries.

The American Host Family Program is designed to give an international student a family with whom he or she can visit, enjoy an occasional meal, celebrate holidays, participate in community sporting and cultural events, and gain insight about our country and culture. The program also gives host families the opportunity to learn about another country’s culture, holidays, and language. (It is important to note that it will be up to the host family and the student to discuss when and how often they will meet.)

International students are often far from home and do not see their families for months or even years. Some students may find the transition from their home country to our country very difficult. Being without their families and friends and adapting to a new culture and a new school can be difficult in many ways. The warm support of an American family can help alleviate their fears and frustrations.

We hope that your family will be interested in participating in this program.

Please contact Jean Gounard, director of international student affairs, ext. 5331, to join the Buffalo State American Host Family Program.

The International Student Affairs Office is delighted to invite you to join our well-known Faculty-Staff Resource Program for International Students and Scholars at Buffalo State.

As the number of international students and scholars attending Buffalo State is increasing, this program will enable you to link up with an international student or scholar currently attending Buffalo State. Your role would be to support these individuals in whatever they wish to undertake for professional and academic purposes. Your role as a mentor to an international student or scholar will be greatly appreciated.

Please contact Jean Gounard, director of international student affairs, ext. 5331, if you wish to be involved in this exceptional program that promotes and supports the spirit of internationalism on and off campus.

The annual Orange Crush Homecoming and Family Weekend 2014 Food Drive to benefit the Buffalo State Food Pantry will be held on Friday, September 19. Faculty and staff members are encouraged to donate items from the list below to the food pantry. To contribute, please contact Tom Koller, senior associate athletics director and chair of Homecoming, ext. 6514. Please provide your name, office phone, and office location and room number. Buffalo State student-athletes will canvas the campus on Friday between noon and 2:00 p.m. to pick up your donation and move it to the food pantry.

Needed items include cereal, instant oatmeal, peanut butter, canned tuna or chicken, pasta, nonperishable macaroni and cheese items, and canned fruits.

Thank you for your generosity.

Students may immediately access free online tutoring through the Academic Skills Center's new charter membership in SUNY's STAR-NY Consortium. Subjects include mathematics, chemistry, accounting, and writing, and services are available between 7:00 p.m. and midnight. Tutoring is provided by professional tutors and proficient graduate students. Students can easily access tutoring services online. This initiative represents a local partnership with the Residence Life Office, which purchased and contributed whiteboard services to achieve maximum tutoring penetration for residential students.

Please join the Great Lakes Center for the seminar "Recent Changes in the Lower Food Webs of the Great Lakes," presented by Richard Barbiero, Ph.D., senior environmental scientist at Computer Sciences Corp in Chicago, on Thursday, September 25, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science Building 272. Faculty, staff, and students are welcome. Light refreshments will be served.

Discover the digital resources available in Butler Library and beyond to help faculty members create and maintain a web presence for teaching and scholarship. All sessions will be held on Fridays from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Butler Library 181B and will be facilitated by Marc Bayer, scholarly communication librarian. A light lunch will be served.

Session 1: Directories, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias for Reference Use
September 19
Register here

Session 2: e-Books and More
October 17
Register here

Session 3: e-Journals and Beyond
December 5
Register here

Mark Miller, '94, a senior scientist from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, will present "Cystic Fibrosis, Medicinal Chemistry, and the Art of Door Maintenance," a discussion of the company's discovery approach for a new drug to treat cystic fibrosis, on Thursday, September 25, at 12:30 p.m. in Classroom Building B119. His talk will include a brief introduction to cystic fibrosis, the medicinal chemistry process, and the company's clinical results.

Miller graduated from Buffalo State with a B.A. in chemistry in 1994. He did his undergraduate research with Gregory Ebert, professor of chemistry. After earning his Ph.D. in chemistry from UC San Diego in 1999 under the guidance of Timothy Karpishin, Miller began working for Aurora Biosciences in 2000 in their newly formed medicinal chemistry group. Aurora was acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2001. Miller has spent 14 years as a medicinal chemist with a focus on ion channels and transporters. He received the Buffalo State Young Alumnus Achievement Award in 2014. This seminar is supported by Faculty-Student Association.

Please join the Idea Lab for its next meeting on Friday, September 19, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in Rockwell Hall 204. The Idea Lab mission: to constructively share ideas, insights, and experiences that will facilitate the Buffalo State mission and advance creativity, collaboration, and research within our campus community…and beyond!

Exceptional and innovative work is being conducted by faculty and staff members at Buffalo State. We believe that by getting together monthly for facilitated but informal conversations about the work we’re doing, our interests, and our projects—planned or under way—we will create a more innovative, interactive, and constructive campus environment. The Idea Lab is a grassroots project designed to strengthen our institutional capacity and create a platform for new collaborations and unexpected outcomes. Meeting notes will be shared and archived for future reference and inspiration.

Everyone is welcome. For more information, please contact Sue McCartney, ext. 4030.

As part of SUNY's five-year technology plan, SUNY Administration developed an online time and attendance system (TAS) for unclassified, non-hourly employees. The online TAS replaces existing paper time and attendance records. Effective September 2014, faculty members will begin using the online TAS to record their attendance and submit the record on a monthly basis (UUP Article § 23.9) during the academic-year obligation:

• Your first record (September 2014) is due by Friday, October 10.
• If a record is not submitted by the 10th day of the following month, you will receive e-mail reminders until the record is submitted.
• Please do not submit a monthly record before the month is completed.

To orient you to the online system, we created various training guides and resources for self-training, available on the Human Resources website, including a one-page Faculty Quick Guide (PDF). If you are prompted for your SUNY ID, please contact your department secretary or dean's office. This is a one-time need for some users.

Human Resource Management will offer a preview of the system and will address questions during the following optional sessions. To attend, please e-mail Kathy Fortune, secretary 1, with the session number.

Session 1: Monday, September 29; 10:30–11:30 a.m.; Cleveland Hall 416
Session 2: Monday, September 29; 2:30–3:30 p.m.; Cleveland Hall 416
Session 3: Tuesday, September 30; 10:30–11:30 a.m.; Cleveland Hall 416
Session 4: Tuesday, September 30; 2:30–3:30 p.m.; Cleveland Hall 416
Session 5: Wednesday, October 1; 11:00 a.m.–Noon; Cleveland Hall 418
Session 6: Wednesday, October 1; 3:00–4:00 p.m.; Cleveland Hall 418
Session 7: Thursday, October 2; 11:00 a.m.–Noon; Cleveland Hall 418
Session 8: Thursday, October 2; 3:00–4:00 p.m.; Cleveland Hall 418
Session 9: Friday, October 3; 10:00–11:00 a.m.; Cleveland Hall 418
Session 10: Friday, October 3; Noon–1:00 p.m.; Cleveland Hall 418

Please contact Jamie Warnes, assistant manager of personnel operations, ext. 4822, with questions.

Each year, Buffalo State hosts up to 20 international visiting scholars who conduct research, teach courses, and expand the viewpoints in our courses. Join Robert Summers and Michelle Eisenstein of the International and Exchange Programs Office on Tuesday, September 30, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 418 as they introduce the many benefits of hosting visiting scholars. This presentation will examine ways to expand on-campus international programming as well as the nuts and bolts of finding compatible international scholars and arranging their campus visits.

Register online through the CyberQuad Workshop Registration System.

Note: This workshop has been rescheduled from September 25 to September 30.