If you are teaching in a room equipped with a SMART Board or other interactive whiteboard (Promethean, eInstruction, etc.) this semester and would like training on how to use it, please contact Todd Benzin in Classroom Support, ext. 4538. You may also obtain more information about interactive whiteboards on campus on the Instructional Resources website.

The Western New York Blackboard Users Group (WNYBUG), formed by staff members of Buffalo State's Instructional Resources Department and Hilbert College to support the Blackboard user community, will host an eLearning Day at Hilbert College on Friday, October 17. More information regarding registering for this free event and submitting presentation proposals is available online. Vendors and representatives of Blackboard will be in attendance. Do not miss this special event. Also, please visit the WNYBUG website for more information about how to join the WNYBUG.

Members of the Students of Concern Care Team are available to attend meetings or gatherings of faculty and staff members to provide information and share strategies and techniques for working with students of concern on campus. Upon request, we will attend chairs' meetings, departmental meetings, office gatherings, or other group meetings.

The Care Team seeks to identify and provide support for students in distress who may threaten harm to themselves or others. Your help in providing notice of any students of concern is essential to keeping our campus community safe. Notify the Care Team whenever a student’s behavior gives reason for uncertainty about possible harm so that we can investigate the situation, develop a plan for action, and follow up with appropriate intervention.

To contact the Care Team, please

• complete an online report via the website,
• e-mail the team, or
• call the Dean of Students Office at ext. 4618.

Questions about the operation of the team should be addressed to Charles B. Kenyon, associate vice president and dean of students, ext. 4618.

If you wish to invite members of the team to meet with your department or office to discuss “red flag” warning signs, ways to report a concern, legal or FERPA issues, or how to respond when confronted by a student in distress, please contact Amy Rosen-Brand, associate director of disability services, ext. 4500.

If you are scheduled to teach in a classroom that is not equipped with a smart console, but you need access to a Windows PC or DVD/VHS player during that time, the Instructional Resources Office has smart carts available to meet your needs.

Smart carts are equipped with a projector, a Windows 7 PC, a DVD/VHS player, and computer speakers. They can be reserved for time slots on selected dates or for regularly recurring days throughout the semester.

To reserve a smart cart, please call ext. 4535 or send e-mail to irloan@buffalostate.edu. Alternatively, you can stop by Bulger Communication Center 204 during business hours to make the reservation in person. Please know the time, date, location, and frequency that you will need the cart. Training sessions can be arranged in advance if needed.

Users are responsible for the pickup and return of scheduled smart carts. To optimize availability for others, please be sure to return carts promptly at the end of your reservation.

Please join us for the grand opening celebration of Buffalo State’s Year of the Innovator on Thursday, September 18, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall. The event will feature an informative and interactive discussion with a panel of five innovative entrepreneurs who have built businesses using innovation in specific ways, exemplifying the ethos of the academic theme. Applied innovation can occur in multiple ways, including product development, manufacturing technology, marketing, leadership, human resource development, and creative designs. This event is sponsored by the School of the Professions. 

For further information, please contact Susan McCartney, director of the Small Business Development Center, ext. 4030.

Buffalo State members of United University Professions (UUP) are invited to the free annual UUP Fall Kickoff Barbecue on Friday, September 5, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Perry Quad (rain location: Campbell Student Union Social Hall).

Enjoy delicious barbecued chicken or veggie burgers, macaroni salad, coleslaw, potato salad, rolls and butter, beverages, and cupcakes. Food is fresh from Krolick’s. Come and meet your UUP colleagues and enjoy quality back-to-school time together. State and chapter UUP leaders will be at the event.

The barbecue is a UUP members-only event. To verify membership status, examine your pay stub. The paystub should say “UUP Member” on the lower right. If it says “UUP Agency Fee,” you are not a member. UUP membership carries many entitlements, including voting on contracts and in local chapter elections, and eligibility for benefit programs in retirement. To check on membership status or to become a full UUP member, please contact chapter assistant Jean Yarwood, ext. 5732. There is no additional cost for membership.

We look forward to seeing you at the annual UUP Fall Kickoff Barbecue. Please register online for the picnic by Friday, August 29. Registration also makes you eligible for prizes.

The Volunteer and Service-Learning Center's Alternative Break program will host two information sessions for students interested in learning more about the upcoming Alternative Fall Break trip, Honoring Veterans and Homelessness Awareness, which runs Friday, November 7, through Sunday, November 9, in Buffalo. Through pre-trip orientation meetings and hands-on service projects with several local community organizations, students will come to better understand ways in which to honor our servicemen and women and how homelessness affects veterans in Western New York.  

Information Sessions

• Tuesday, September 16, 12:30–1:30 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 306
• Thursday, September 25, 12:30–1:30 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 306

The Alternative Break program is a unique community service experience that is open to Buffalo State students who are interested in influencing a community through service, learning about social justice, and becoming active citizens. This student-led program of the VSLC offers Alternative Break trips during fall, winter, spring, and summer breaks.

More information and applications are available on the VSLC website. Students are encouraged to contact the VSLC with questions or concerns at (716) 878-5811 or vslc@buffalostate.edu.

The Small Business Development Center presents “Survive and Thrive: Essentials for Starting Your Own Business,” a workshop covering all the essential information needed to start a business, on Wednesday, September 17, from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the Burchfield Penney Art Center (second floor).

Specific topics will include creating a business plan; competition analysis; and tax, legal, and insurance issues. The workshop is free for Buffalo State faculty, staff, students, and alumni and U.S. military veterans and $20 for all others.

Registration will take place immediately before the workshop, from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. To register in advance, please call the SBDC at ext. 4030. For further information, please visit the SBDC website.

Established in 2001, Campus House is a comfortable, quiet, and affordable spot on campus for lunch and socializing—designed especially for faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the college. Campus House has been developed as a teaching laboratory for our hospitality students as well as a social club for the Buffalo State community. Campus House offers fine dining and relaxed meeting spaces for club members. Members can stop by for lunch or coffee and watch students learning in the open, state-of-the-art kitchen.

The club reopens for networking hours on Tuesday, August 26, at 4:00 p.m. and for lunch on Tuesday, September 2, at 11:00 a.m. We welcome back all our members, and we wish to extend an invitation to our faculty, staff, alumni, retirees, and friends who are not members to join Campus House today! Visit our website to learn more.

Attention, all students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters of Buffalo State: we will gather as a community of faith to celebrate the annual Convocation and Liturgy of the Holy Spirit at the Newman Center Chapel, 1219 Elmwood Avenue, on Sunday, September 7, at 10:00 a.m. and to formally open the academic year at Buffalo State. We welcome all members of the community to join us as well. A light reception will follow the liturgy. Please inform us of your attendance by phone at 882-1080 or by e-mail at newmancenter@buffalostate.edu.