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, February 12, from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the Burchfield Penney Art Center (second floor). Specific topics 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, call the SBDC at ext. 4030. For further information, please visit the SBDC website.
 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" Monday, January 20, is Martin Luther King Day, and SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher is urging students, faculty, staff, alumni, retirees, and friends to volunteer in one of many opportunities for service. Below is a list of service opportunities in Western New York. Please consider getting involved and recognizing Dr. King's legacy of community building.

Hamburg Food Bank
Date: Monday, January 20
Time/Location: Volunteer registration and MLK Day kickoff will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the
Hamburg Memorial Youth Center, 200 Prospect Avenue, Hamburg, NY 14075.
Description: The Western New York Regional Volunteer Center (in partnership with the Service
Collaborative of Western New York Inc. and the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County) will celebrate MLK
Day 2014 with the Village of Hamburg and the Food Bank of Western New York. AmeriCorps members,
students, and community volunteers will mobilize to turn Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and teachings into community action. Volunteers will work together to collect nonperishable items and canned goods
from the front porch of each household in the Village of Hamburg.
Contact: For more information, please click here.

Healthy Community Meals Project
Date: Friday, January 24
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Description: Help the Matt Urban Hope Center provide healthful options in the Urban Diner by Friends of
Night People. Volunteers will prepare healthful meals to be served in our free community diner from
11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Then, have the opportunity to serve dinner and engage clients around the issue of making healthful meal choices from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Contact: For more information, please click here.

Cards of Kindness
Date: Monday, January 20
Time: 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Description: Support the Boys and Girls Clubs of Buffalo. Volunteers will assist club members with making
Cards of Kindness for elderly people who live in nursing homes.
Contact: For more information, please click here.

Red Cross Safety and Prevention
Date: Monday, January 20
Time: 9:00 a.m. to Noon
Description: Support the American Red Cross Serving Erie and Niagara Counties by spreading awareness
on the topic of fire safety and prevention. We will canvass neighborhoods that have high annual rates of
house fires to try to help reduce these numbers.
Contact: For more information, please click here.

University at Buffalo Campus Activities
Also Open to the General Public
Date: Monday, January 20
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Description:
1. Sorting and organizing donated tools for the University Heights Tool Library
2. Tool refinishing and repair for the University Heights Tool Library
3. Photo cataloging and labeling tool inventory for the University Heights Tool Library
4. Renovation work in Community Space for the University Heights Tool Library
5. Assisting in food collection for the Food Bank of WNY

Additional information:
Interested volunteers who do not have a current affiliation with the University at Buffalo should
sign up online.
Contact: Amy Myszka, (716) 645-5357 or amyszka@buffalo.edu

Jamestown Community College
County: Chautauqua County
Date: Monday, January 20
Time: 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
Location: 62 Allen St. Jamestown, NY 14701
Description: Boys and Girls Club of Jamestown – Children’s Activities
Volunteers needed: 8
Contact: Kim Irland, director of campus life, (716) 338-1004 or kimberlyirland@mail.sunyjcc.edu

An incident of workplace violence could have lifelong consequences for employees and their families. Human Resource Management offers Workplace Violence/Domestic Violence Prevention Training for all employees. Sessions are conducted by Sam Lunetta, retired University Police lieutenant. Annual participation in this training is mandated for all public employees under New York State Labor Law Section 27-b.

Topics include recognizing warning signs for potential violence, assessing risk in various work settings, what to do and not to do if presented with a violent situation, and campus resources available to prevent violence. 

Please visit the Human Resource Management website for a list of 13 scheduled classes, which begin January 16. You may register on the website or by phone at ext. 4822.

This mandated training is also available online for those unable to attend the group sessions. Employees may access the program on ANGEL. (Go to the "Campus Group" section and select the"Workplace Violence Prevention Group.")

An online refresher course is also available on ANGEL for employees who completed the Workplace Violence Prevention Training last year. Attendance at one of the scheduled training sessions will also fulfill the annual training requirement.

Despite a rough start, teacher candidates from Buffalo State's departments of Elementary Education and Reading and Exceptional Education have arrived in the Dominican Republic and are posting messages to their blogs so that we can follow their progress. Please visit our program page to learn more about the activities built into this unique teaching and learning experience and encourage our global student ambassadors. Read the student blogs at http://buffalostatedominicanrepublic.weebly.com.

Applications for the Robert J. Elmes Jr. Memorial Scholarship are now available for the spring 2014 semester. All CSEA Local 640 members and their dependent children registered at Buffalo State for at least 3 credit hours for the spring 2014 semester may apply for the $250 scholarship. Applications were mailed to all CSEA members and must be completed and returned to Mary Codick in Caudell Hall 101 by Monday, February 10. If you did not receive an application or if you need a new one, please contact Mary Codick, ext. 6121. Thank you and good luck.

The Research and Creativity Council Incentive Program is accepting applications until Friday, January 17, for funds to promote faculty creativity and research. Please submit applications to the Sponsored Programs Pre-Award and Contract Services Office in Bishop Hall 24. Three council members will be appointed to review all applications received by the above deadline.

Incentive funds administered by the Research and Creativity Council are intended to promote faculty creativity and research. Their ultimate goal is to generate additional funded programs. One year after receiving an incentive award, recipients will be required to submit a full report documenting the use of these funds and to submit a grant proposal to an outside sponsoring agency through the Sponsored Programs Pre-Award and Contract Services Office. Submitting a proposal through the Buffalo State College Foundation does not meet this requirement. Recipients are also obligated to participate in the Faculty and Staff Fall Forum, which takes place in October.

Expenditures considered for support under this program include travel to consult with a funding source, secretarial assistance, student assistance, consultation with grant specialists, preparation of specialized support materials for a proposal (e.g., graphs, drawings, resource books), release time, and any other expense that can be justified. Funds cannot be requested for the purchase of computers. Also, it is not the council’s intention to directly pay an individual for writing a proposal.

The application is located on the Sponsored Programs website.

The Winterim 2014 workshop "Laugh Louder, Live Longer," presented by Bruce Baum, that was canceled because of the blizzard has been rescheduled for Monday, January 13, at 9:00 a.m. in E. H. Butler Library 208.

Please go to the registration page and sign up. You'll be glad you did.

The Buffalo State Sustainability Council is pleased to host "Gardening for Wildlife and You" as part of the Winterim 2014 series of workshops. This session, to be held from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 14, in E. H. Butler Library 210, will discuss the dynamics of gardening in an area frequented by wildlife. It is no surprise that the plants best loved by humans are also favorites of wild animals. While this can sometimes be a challenge, there are ways to share the bounty among all who wish to partake. This workshop will offer tips and recommendations for gardening with both you and wildlife in mind. We’ll cover garden plantings from containers to large plots in this one-and-a-half-hour seminar. Register on the Workshop Registration System.

Students can learn about the National Student Exchange program and how affordable it is to take courses at another campus within the United States or Canada. Information sessions will be held on Thursday, January 30; Tuesday, February 4; and Thursday, February 6 at 12:15 p.m. in Bacon Hall 209. Hope to see your students there.

The Tools of Engagement Project (TOEP) is an on-demand discovery learning professional development project designed to encourage faculty and staff members to explore emerging technologies. This session follows the informational session to provide some hands-on assistance and consultation about TOEP. TOEP highlights tools and resources to help you become familiar with photo sharing, audio, video, blogs, wikis, online applications, social bookmarking, citation management, and many other freely available online tools. Our focus is on your use of these tool sets to support student learning.

TOEP runs through spring 2014 and can be completed in as little as 30 minutes a week. Faculty and staff members selected through peer review will receive funding to be used toward professional development (valued at $300). Other incentives, including iTunes gift cards, will also be awarded. Visit the TOEP website for more information; register for this workshop through the Workshop Registration System.