From the Chair of the College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee
One University Faculty Senate, one alternate University Faculty Senate, and two at-large College Senate positions will become vacant on August 25, 2014.

The university faculty senator is a senator within both the College Senate at Buffalo State and the SUNY University Faculty Senate. The alternate attends SUNY University Faculty Senate meetings only in the absence of the university faculty senator. All full-time academic and professional employees (PSC) are eligible to run for these seats.

At-large senators represent the entirety of the college. All full-time faculty and professional employees (PSC) are eligible to seek at-large senator positions provided they meet other eligibility requirements (see below).

A call for nominations and information about candidates’ statements can be found on the College Senate website. The call for nominations for all positions began Monday, March 31, and continues through Friday, April 11, at 5:00 p.m. Elections for these positions will run from 12:10 a.m. Monday, April 21, to 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 25.

Eligibility: Current College Senate members who are completing two consecutive terms in their respective positions are not eligible for reelection. For additional information on eligibility requirements, please consult the College Senate bylaws.

Campaigning: The College Senate Elections and Bylaws Committee strongly discourages using college e-mail services for campaigning. Please limit campaigning to the candidate statement posted on the College Senate website (available to the college community Monday, April 14)

Note: Individuals running for a senator position in another election may not also run for at-large senator or university faculty senator positions while the other election is being conducted. If the other election concludes during the period when nominations for at-large or university faculty senators are still being accepted, eligible individuals may self-nominate for either position.

If you are interested in being a candidate, please contact Vince Masci, ext. 5139. We look forward to your participation in the vital process of campus governance.

From the Chair of the College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee
The College Senate will hold elections Monday, April 21, to Friday, April 25.

• Election One: Filling one University Faculty Senate position and one alternate University Faculty Senate position
• Election Two: Filling two at-large College Senate positions

Once again, the College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee will make use of an electronic voting system supplemented by paper ballots to conduct two elections. The first fills one University Faculty Senate (UFS) seat and one alternate UFS seat. The second fills two at-large College Senate seats. All elections are for three-year terms. Voting begins at 12:01 a.m. Monday, April 21, and continues until 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 25.

Our primary goals are to encourage participation in the shared governance of Buffalo State and to share information on each candidate. If you have not already visited the College Senate's Elections Information Site to review candidate qualifications, please do so.

Voter Eligibility

• Election One (UFS senator and alternate UFS senator): All full-time academics and professionals (Negotiating Unit 8) and all managerial (Negotiating Unit 13)
• Election Two (at-large senators): All full-time academics and professionals (Negotiating Unit 8)

Electronic or Paper Ballot
If you plan to vote electronically:

• The election e-booth will be located on the College Senate’s Elections Information Site.
• Log in using your e-mail user name and password.

When you log in, the system will identify the election(s) in which you are eligible to vote. If you think you have been misidentified or some other issue arises, please contact Vince Masci, clerk 1 in the College Senate Office, ext. 5139.

If you plan to vote by paper ballot, you must request a ballot. Ballots will be sent only to voters who request them. Please request a paper ballot in one of the following ways during the election period:

• Call the Senate Office at ext. 5139. Provide your name and phone number. If you leave your message on voice mail, a follow-up call will be made to you before we send out the ballot to make sure we correctly record your name.
• E-mail Vince Masci in the College Senate at collegesenate@buffalostate.edu.

Paper ballots, to be distributed during the second week of April, will contain the same information about each candidate as the electronic site (with the exception of photographs or information from candidates’ web sites, should any of the candidates have web sites) and must be returned to the Senate Office by the close of business Friday, April 25, in order to be counted.

Thank you for your participation in this year’s election. Please share any feedback, questions, or concerns with Bill White, chair of the Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee.

From the Associate Vice President for Sponsored Program Operations
Today is the last date to submit to the Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) any Research Foundation (RF) accounts payable, purchasing, or travel transactions that need to be processed before April 25. A scheduled software upgrade will require the RF business system to shut down from the close of business Friday, April 25, through Friday, May 2. During this shutdown period, SPO will not be able to process RF transactions. A full list of due dates for all SPO transactions is available on the Sponsored Programs website.

The RF business system and reporting environment will soon be upgraded to version R12. Oracle is the business system that houses databases and processes transactions for RF human resources, grants administration, and purchasing/payables. In addition to enhancing functionality, the upgrade will transition the PIAI and QuickView report applications to the new RF Report Center, set to go live Monday, May 5.

Sincerely,
Donna Scuto
AVP for Sponsored Program Operations

From the Associate Vice President for Sponsored Program Operations
Wednesday, April 9, is the last date to submit to the Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) any Research Foundation (RF) accounts payable, purchasing, or travel transactions that need to be processed before April 25. A scheduled software upgrade will require the RF business system to shut down from the close of business Friday, April 25, through Friday, May 2. During this shutdown period, SPO will not be able to process RF transactions. A full list of due dates for all SPO transactions is available on the Sponsored Programs website.

The RF business system and reporting environment will soon be upgraded to version R12. Oracle is the business system that houses databases and processes transactions for RF human resources, grants administration, and purchasing/payables. In addition to enhancing functionality, the upgrade will transition the PIAI and QuickView report applications to the new RF Report Center, set to go live Monday, May 5.

Sincerely,
Donna Scuto
AVP for Sponsored Program Operations

From the Chair of the College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee
The College Senate will hold elections Monday, April 21, to Friday, April 25.

Election One: Filling one University Faculty Senate position and one alternate University Faculty Senate position

Election Two: Filling two at-large College Senate positions

Once again, the College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee will make use of an electronic voting system supplemented by paper ballots to conduct two elections. The first fills one University Faculty Senate (UFS) seat and one alternate UFS seat. The second fills two at-large College Senate seats. All elections are for three-year terms. Voting begins at 12:01 a.m. Monday, April 21, and continues until 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 25.

Our primary goals are to encourage participation in the shared governance of Buffalo State and to share information on each candidate. If you have not already visited the College Senate's Elections Information Site to review candidate qualifications, please do so.

Voter Eligibility
Election One (UFS senator and alternate UFS senator): All full-time academics and professionals (Negotiating Unit 8) and all managerial (Negotiating Unit 13)

Election Two (at-large senators): All full-time academics and professionals (Negotiating Unit 8)

Electronic or Paper Ballot
If you plan to vote electronically:

• The election e-booth will be located on the College Senate’s Elections Information Site.
• Log in using your e-mail user name and password.

When you log in, the system will identify the election(s) in which you are eligible to vote. If you think you have been misidentified or some other issue arises, please contact Vince Masci, clerk 1 in the College Senate Office, ext. 5139.

If you plan to vote by paper ballot, you must request a ballot. Ballots will be sent only to voters who request them. Please request a paper ballot in one of the following ways during the election period:

• Call the Senate Office at ext. 5139. Provide your name and phone number. If you leave your message on voice mail, a follow-up call will be made to you before we send out the ballot to make sure we correctly record your name.
• E-mail Vince Masci in the College Senate at collegesenate@buffalostate.edu.

Paper ballots, to be distributed during the second week of April, will contain the same information about each candidate as the electronic site (with the exception of photographs or information from candidates’ web sites, should any of the candidates have web sites) and must be returned to the Senate Office by the close of business on April 25 in order to be counted.

Thank you for your participation in this year’s election. Please share any feedback, questions, or concerns with Bill White, chair of the Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
Buffalo State is undertaking an initiative* aimed at enhancing bicycling conditions and promoting bicycling on campus. Staff members from the offices of Facilities Planning and Environmental Health and Safety, along with the Parking and Transportation Committee, are working with a consultant team—a group of national experts in developing bicycle-related policy, infrastructure, and program recommendations for colleges and universities.

The planning team is in the process of analyzing existing conditions and preferences and wants to hear what works and what doesn't work for current bike commuters, students living on campus, and those who are interested in bicycling to and within the campus, but don't. For the latter group especially, what would make you more open to bicycling? How can we make the campus a more bike-friendly environment? In order for the team to obtain meaningful feedback, a survey has been created that all are encouraged to complete.

Whether you bike or not, your responses to the survey by Wednesday, April 30, will provide valuable data to the planning team and will help formulate the final recommendations.

* This environmental benefit project is being undertaken in connection with the settlement of an enforcement action taken by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation related to Article 19 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The enforcement action relates to power plant emissions in 1997 and 1998 that were found to exceed the acceptable threshold.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
Buffalo State is undertaking an initiative* aimed at enhancing bicycling conditions and promoting bicycling on campus. Staff members from the offices of Facilities Planning and Environmental Health and Safety, along with the Parking and Transportation Committee, are working with a consultant team—a group of national experts in developing bicycle-related policy, infrastructure, and program recommendations for colleges and universities.

The planning team is in the process of analyzing existing conditions and preferences and wants to hear what works and what doesn't work for current bike commuters, students living on campus, and those who are interested in bicycling to and within the campus, but don't. For the latter group especially, what would make you more open to bicycling? How can we make the campus a more bike-friendly environment? In order for the team to obtain meaningful feedback, a survey has been created that all are encouraged to complete.

Whether you bike or not, your responses to the survey by Wednesday, April 30, will provide valuable data to the planning team and will help formulate the final recommendations.

* This environmental benefit project is being undertaken in connection with the settlement of an enforcement action taken by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation related to Article 19 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The enforcement action relates to power plant emissions in 1997 and 1998 that were found to exceed the acceptable threshold.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
Buffalo State is undertaking an initiative* aimed at enhancing bicycling conditions and promoting bicycling on campus. Staff members from the offices of Facilities Planning and Environmental Health and Safety, along with the Parking and Transportation Committee, are working with a consultant team—a group of national experts in developing bicycle-related policy, infrastructure, and program recommendations for colleges and universities.

The planning team is in the process of analyzing existing conditions and preferences and wants to hear what works and what doesn't work for current bike commuters, students living on campus, and those who are interested in bicycling to and within the campus, but don't. For the latter group especially, what would make you more open to bicycling? How can we make the campus a more bike-friendly environment? In order for the team to obtain meaningful feedback, a survey has been created that all are encouraged to complete.

Whether you bike or not, your responses to the survey by Wednesday, April 30, will provide valuable data to the planning team and will help formulate the final recommendations.

* This environmental benefit project is being undertaken in connection with the settlement of an enforcement action taken by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation related to Article 19 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The enforcement action relates to power plant emissions in 1997 and 1998 that were found to exceed the acceptable threshold.

From the Special Adviser to the Provost for Academic Research Initiatives
This year’s Spring Forum, sponsored by the Research and Creativity Council, will be held on Friday, April 11, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in E. H. Butler Library 210. This year's theme is "Digging for Funding: Finding Fertile Ground." Taking a slightly different approach from previous years, the event will feature a panel discussion during the first hour. Faculty and staff members who have received funding in various ways will discuss their experiences with subcontracting, traditional grant funding, larger scale research grants, and partnering with other higher education institutions. The panel will be followed by roundtables facilitated by successful faculty members who will discuss their own funding, highlighting a variety of sources. RSVP for the Spring Forum on the Sponsored Programs website by Wednesday, April 9.

Sincerely,

Mark W. Severson, Ph.D.
Dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences

From the Chair of the College Senate Bylaws and Elections Committee
One University Faculty Senate, one alternate University Faculty Senate, and two at-large College Senate positions will become vacant on August 25, 2014.

The University Faculty senator is a senator within both the College Senate at Buffalo State and the SUNY University Faculty Senate. The alternate attends SUNY University Faculty Senate meetings only in the absence of the University Faculty senator. All full-time academic and professional employees (PSC) are eligible to run for these seats.

At-large senators represent the entirety of the college. All full-time faculty and professional employees (PSC) are eligible to seek at-large senator positions provided they meet other eligibility requirements (see below).

A call for nominations and information about candidates’ statements can be found on the College Senate website. The call for nominations for all positions began Monday, March 31, and continues through Friday, April 11, at 5:00 p.m. Elections for these positions will run from 12:10 a.m. Monday, April 21, to 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 25.

Eligibility: Current College Senate members who are completing two consecutive terms in their respective positions are not eligible for reelection. For additional information on eligibility requirements, please consult the College Senate bylaws.

Campaigning: The College Senate Elections and Bylaws Committee strongly discourages using college e-mail services for campaigning. Please limit campaigning to the candidate statement posted on the College Senate website (available to the college community Monday, April 14).

Note: Individuals running for a senator position in another election may not also run for at-large senator or University Faculty senator positions while the other election is being conducted. If the other election concludes during the period when nominations for at-large or University Faculty senators are still being accepted, eligible individuals may self-nominate for either position.

If you are interested in being a candidate, please contact Vince Masci, ext. 5139. We look forward to your participation in the vital process of campus governance.