From the Interim President
At its November 13, 2009, meeting, the College Senate voted to forward the following recommendation to the interim president for review and action:

President’s Award for Excellence as a Graduate Research Mentor
Whereas the President’s Award for Excellence as a Graduate Research Mentor will be presented annually to publicly recognize and reward those individuals who have accumulated an exemplary record of guiding and supporting graduate students as they master the skills, methods, and techniques needed to carry out research, scholarship, and/or creative activity, and

Whereas this award recognizes the pivotal role of faculty in ensuring the success of the student experience and the high value placed on this endeavor by the college, and

Whereas the President’s Award for Excellence as a Graduate Research Mentor will use the same selection process as all other President’s Awards of Excellence,

Therefore, be it resolved that the Faculty and Staff Welfare Committee and the College Senate have unanimously endorsed a new President’s Award for Excellence as a Graduate Research Mentor.

I accept the recommendation of the College Senate and hereby authorize the establishment of the President’s Award for Excellence as a Graduate Research Mentor. This award will be included in the next call for nominations for President’s Awards for Excellence to be incorporated in the 2010–2011 cycle.

From the Interim President
In the October 8, 2009, issue of the Bulletin, the recommendation that the language in the “Course Load” section of the undergraduate catalog be revised to include the process by which students on academic probation seek approval to enroll for more than 15 hours per semester was incorrectly attributed to the College Senate.

The policy establishing a maximum of 15 credit hours for students on academic probation was approved by the president on December 11, 2008. No language was included in the policy to address requests from students on probation seeking permission to enroll in more than 15 credit hours:

Course Load
The average course load for undergraduates is 15–16 credit hours a semester. Should a matriculated student desire to register for more than 19 hours, the approval of the appropriate academic adviser must be secured. Students in majors should consult with their faculty adviser, and undeclared students not affiliated with EOP, STAR, SSSP, or AIM should consult with the coordinator of the Academic Advisement Office, Twin Rise 100. The student’s academic adviser will review requests for overload.

Students on academic probation (below a 2.0 cumulative grade point average) can enroll in a maximum of 15 credit hours. All students should consult with their academic adviser for proper guidance.

I hereby authorize further revision to the language in the policy on course load outlined in the undergraduate catalog and modified in December 2008 to include the process for an override of the 15 maximum for students on academic probation. The new language is outlined below. I charge the interim provost with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the new policy effective immediately.

Course Load
The average course load for undergraduates is 15–16 credit hours a semester. Should a matriculated student desire to register for more than 19 hours, the approval of the appropriate academic adviser must be secured. Students in majors should consult with their faculty adviser, and undeclared students not affiliated with EOP, STAR, SSSP, or AIM should consult with the coordinator of the Academic Advisement Office, Twin Rise 100. The student’s academic adviser will review requests for overload.

Students on academic probation (below a 2.0 cumulative grade point average) can enroll in a maximum of 15 credit hours. All students should consult with their academic adviser for proper guidance. Students seeking an override to the 15-credit limit must make the request of and receive approval from their Dean’s Office.

From the Chair of the Senate Curriculum Committee

Advanced to the Curriculum Committee
The following have been received in the College Senate Office and forwarded to the Curriculum Committee for review and approval:

New Program:
Minor in Environment and Society

New Course:
CSP 562 Athletics in Higher Education. Prerequisite: Graduate student status. The role and impact of intercollegiate athletics on American higher education as taught by student personnel administration graduate faculty, including networking and interaction opportunities with athletics administrators and other professionals in the field. Includes administrative and organizational structures, various levels of athletics and professional associations, collegiate governance, and other specialized functions within athletics programs, including a current emphasis on the student-athlete and his or her success.

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Advanced to the Interim President
The following have been approved by the Senate Curriculum Committee and forwarded to the interim president for review and approval:

New Courses:
MST 624 Museum Archives
MST 642 Museum Planning
MST 643 Museum Marketing and Public Relations

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
The rate for personal automobile mileage reimbursement will decrease effective January 1, 2010, from 55¢ to 50¢ per mile. The Office of the State Comptroller’s Web site has been updated to reflect the new rate.

From the Interim President
I have approved the following curricular items, which have been recommended by the appropriate dean, the College Senate, and the interim provost:

New Course:
ECO 691 Seminar in Economic Policy

Course Revisions and Intellectual Foundations Designations:
WORLD CIVILIZATIONS
ANT 411 African Family

WORLD CIVILIZATIONS and DIVERSITY
ANT 307 Urban Anthropology

From the Chair of the Senate Curriculum Committee

Advanced to the Interim President
The following has been approved by the Senate Curriculum Committee and forwarded to the interim president for review and approval:

Course Revision:
BIO 498 Honors Research

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Advanced to the Curriculum Committee
The following have been received in the College Senate Office and forwarded to the Senate Curriculum Committee for review and approval:

New Courses:
PSM 610 Continuous Foundations of Applied Mathematics from a Problem-Solving Perspective.Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission. Problem solving and applications of continuous mathematics, including real analysis, single and multivariable calculus, differential equations, optimization, and Fourier analysis. Emphasis on team building and group management through problem-solving activities.

PSM 611 Discrete Foundations of Applied Mathematics from a Problem-Solving Perspective.Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission. Problem solving and applications of discrete mathematics, including combinatorics, graph theory, logic, linear algebra, number theory, and set theory. Emphasis on team building and group management through problem-solving activities.

PSM 612 Computational Foundations of Applied Mathematics from a Problem-Solving Perspective.Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission. Introduction to algorithm design to implement mathematical models, procedural, and functional programming, programming paradigms, higher-level languages; statistical and visualization software, typesetting software for science and mathematics.

PSM 620 Optimization of Discrete Models.Prerequisite: Admission to the program or instructor permission. Mathematical analysis and solution of real-world problems that optimize linear objective functions subject to systems of linear inequalities; the two-phase revised simplex method; applications in diverse areas such as business management, industry, economics, finance, and game theory.

PSM 621 Empirical Model Building. Prerequisite:Admission to program or instructor permission.Exploratory data analysis, polynomial interpolation, curve fitting, least squares, cubic splines, minimax polynomial, Taylor and Chebyshev series, applications to fitting experimental data.

PSM 622 Modeling Change with Dynamical Systems. Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission. Difference equations, systems of differential equations, Euler and Runge-Kutta methods, error analyses, logistic models; applications to ecology, finance, conflicts, natural and social sciences.

PSM 630 Numerical Linear Algebra. Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission.Numerical algorithms for linear algebra problems, matrix operations, matrix decompositions, solving systems of linear equations, selected problems from applied settings.

PSM 631 Eigenvalue Problems. Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission.Numerical algorithms for eigenvalue problems, matrix factorization, matrices, vectors, eigenvalues, eigenvectors, eigenspaces, eigenvalue algorithms, selected problems from applied settings.

PSM 632 Numerical Calculus. Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission. Numerical methods and algorithms for finding roots of nonlinear equations, numerical integrals, Fourier series, and Laplace transform; selected problems from applied settings.

PSM 640 Linear Regression and Correlation.Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission. Simple linear regression and correlation, multiple linear regression, multicollinearity, multiple and partial correlations, confounding and interaction, sequential methods of model selection.

PSM 641 Design and Analysis of Experiments.Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission. Design of experiments (one, two, and three factors), multiple comparisons, randomized complete block designs, Latin square design.

PSM 642 Nonparametric Statistics. Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission.Introduction to nonparametric tests such as sign test, signed rank test, rank sum test, two-way analysis of variance by ranks, tests of randomness, rank correlation coefficient.

PSM 650 Random Walks and Brownian Motion.Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission. Symmetric random walks, ballot theorem, returns to origin and arcsine laws, gambler’s ruin, Brownian motion, conditional distributions, hitting times, and maxima.

PSM 651 Markov Chains. Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission. Transition matrices, classification of states, limiting probabilities, applications.

PSM 652 Continuous-Time Stochastic Processes.Prerequisite: Admission to program or instructor permission. Exponential distribution, Poisson, Yule, pure birth, birth and death processes, applications.

PSM 660 Logistic Regression. Prerequisite: PSM 640 or instructor permission. Comparison of linear and logistic regression, multiple logistic regression, regression diagnostics, indicator variables, multicollinearity, confounding and interaction, model selection, maximum likelihood techniques, polychotomous logistic regression.

PSM 661 Survival Analysis. Prerequisite: PSM 640 or instructor permission. Survival and hazard functions, life tables, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, Cox regression proportional hazards model, and Cox regression with time-dependent variables; comparison with logistic regression approaches.

PSM 662 Time Series Analysis and Forecasting.Prerequisite: PSM 640 or instructor permission. Time and frequency domain techniques including autocorrelation, spectral analysis, autoregressive moving average and integrated moving average models, Box-Jenkins methodology, fitting, forecasting, and seasonal adjustments.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, November 13, in Classroom Building C122. The agenda is available on the Senate Web site.

The Chair and Agenda meetings will be held on Tuesday November 24, instead of Wednesday, November 25,because of the Thanksgiving recess. They will take place in Cleveland Hall 205.

Responses to Constituent Questions from the October Senate meeting are also posted on the Senate Web site.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management

Introduction
Buffalo State electronic resources (including such services as e-mail, Internet access, and file and print services) are made available to employees to facilitate the official work of the college. These electronic resources are provided for employees and persons legitimately affiliated with the college for the efficient exchange of information and the completion of assigned responsibilities consistent with the mission of the college.

The use of campus electronic resources by any employee or other person authorized by the college must be consistent with this electronic resources policy and other applicable policies.

Principles of Acceptable Use
Buffalo State users of campus electronic resources are required:

• To respect the privacy of other users: for example, users shall not intentionally seek information on, obtain copies of, or modify files or data belonging to other users unless explicit permission to do so has been obtained.
• To respect the legal protection provided to programs and data by copyright and license.
• To protect data from unauthorized use or disclosure as required by state and federal laws, and SUNY and college regulations.
• To respect the integrity of computing systems: for example, users shall not use or develop programs that harass other users or infiltrate a computer or computing system or damage or alter the software components of a computer or computing system.
• To safeguard their accounts and passwords. Accounts and passwords are normally assigned to single users and are not to be shared with any other person without authorization. Users are expected to report any observations of attempted security violations.

Unacceptable Use
It is not acceptable to use Buffalo State electronic resources:

• For activities unrelated to the college mission.
• For activities unrelated to official assignments or job responsibilities.
• For any illegal purpose.
• To transmit threatening, obscene, or harassing materials or correspondence.
• For unauthorized distribution of NYS data and information.
• To interfere with or disrupt network users, services, or equipment.
• For private purposes such as marketing or business transactions.
• For solicitation for religious or political causes.
• For unauthorized not-for-profit business activities.
• For private advertising of products or services.
• For any activity meant to foster personal gain.

E-mail Privacy and Access
E-mail messages are not personal or private. E-mail system administrators will not routinely monitor individual staff members’ e-mail and will take reasonable precautions to protect the privacy of e-mail; however, program managers and technical staff may access an employee’s e-mail:

• For a legitimate business purpose (e.g., the need to access information when an employee is absent for an extended period of time).
• To diagnose and resolve technical problems involving system hardware, software, or communications.
• To investigate possible misuse of e-mail when a reasonable suspicion of abuse exists, or in conjunction with an approved investigation.

Staff members are prohibited from accessing another user’s e-mail without his or her permission.

E-mail messages sent or received in conjunction with college business may:

• Be releasable to the public under the Freedom of Information Law.
• Require special measures to comply with the Personal Privacy Protection Law.

All e-mail messages including personal communications may be subject to discovery proceedings in legal actions.

Management and Retention of E-mail Communications
Applicable to all e-mail messages and attachments:
Since e-mail is a communication system, messages should not be retained for extended periods of time. If a user needs to retain information in an e-mail message for an extended period, the message should be transferred from the e-mail system to an appropriate electronic or other filing system.

Applicable to records communicated via e-mail:
E-mail created in the normal course of official business and retained as evidence of official policies, actions, decisions, or transactions are records subject to records management requirements under the New York State Arts and Cultural Affairs Law (Article 57-A) and specific program requirements.

The college has developed electronic letterhead to be used for the electronic distribution of official college documents (records). The letterhead is available atwww.buffalostate.edu/collegerelations/x550.xml and should be used in Word or e-mail documents that are to be distributed in electronic format only. Questions regarding electronic letterhead usage should be directed to the College Relations Office: Cleveland Hall 307, 878-4201, or collrel@buffalostate.edu.

Examples of messages sent by e-mail that typically are records include:

• Policies and directives.
• Correspondence or memoranda related to official business.
• Work schedules and assignments.
• Agendas and minutes of meetings.
• Drafts of documents that are circulated for comment or approval.
• Any document that initiates, authorizes, or completes a business transaction.
• Final reports or recommendations.

Some examples of messages that typically do not constitute records are:

• Personal messages and announcements.
• Copies or extracts of documents distributed for convenience or reference.
• Phone message slips.
• Announcements of social events.

Record Retention
Records communicated using e-mail need to be identified, managed, protected, and retained as long as they are needed to meet operational, legal, audit, research, or other requirements. Records needed to support program functions should be retained, managed, and accessible in existing filing system outside the e-mail system in accordance with the appropriate program unit’s standard practices.

Users should:

• Dispose of copies of records in e-mail after they have been filed in a record-keeping system.
• Delete records of transitory or little value that are not normally retained in record-keeping systems as evidence of college activity.

Agency Rights
Pursuant to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (18 USC 2510 et seq.), notice is hereby given that there are NO facilities provided by this system for sending or receiving private or confidential electronic communications.

The college reserves the right to log network use and monitor file server space utilization by users and assumes no responsibility or liability for files lost due to violation of file server space allotments.

The college reserves the right to remove a user account or device from the network.

The college will not be responsible for any damages that result from the use of campus electronic resources. This includes the loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, or service interruptions caused by negligence, errors, or omissions. Use of any information obtained is at the user’s risk.

Enforcement and Violations
This policy is intended to be illustrative of the range of acceptable and unacceptable uses of the electronic facilities and is not necessarily exhaustive. Questions about specific uses related to security issues not enumerated in this policy statement and reports of specific unacceptable uses should be directed to the associate vice president for computing and technology services. Other questions about appropriate use should be directed to your supervisor.

The college will review alleged violations of the Policy on the Use of Electronic Resources on a case-by-case basis. Clear violations of the policy that are not promptly remedied may result in termination of network access for the person(s) at fault and referral for disciplinary actions as appropriate.

Policy date: September 2002

From the Chair of the Senate Curriculum Committee

Advanced to the Interim President
The following have been approved by the Senate Curriculum Committee and forwarded to the interim president for review and approval:

New Courses:
CHE 626 Symmetry, Group Theory, and Virtual Spectroscopy
CHE 627 X-Ray Crystallography

New Course and Intellectual Foundations Designation:
ORAL COMMUNICATION
GEG 461 Issues in Southeast Asia Environment and Development

Course Revisions and Intellectual Foundations Designations:
WORLD CIVILIZATIONS
HIS 306 Africa to 1800 (formerly HIS 306 History of Africa to 1919)
HIS 337 Africa since 1800 (formerly HIS 211 History of Africa since 1919)

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Advanced to the Curriculum Committee
The following have been received in the Senate Office and forwarded to the Senate Curriculum Committee for review and approval:

Program Revisions: 
M.S. Professional Applied and Computational Mathematics, MS-NS
M.A. History, MA-NS

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, November 13, in Classroom Building C122. Senators are encouraged to review their ESPs (Electronic Senate Packets). College Senate meetings are open to all members of the campus community. Theagenda for the upcoming meeting is posted on the College Senate Web site.