From the Chair of the College Senate
Candidates are being sought for all Senate standing committees in preparation for the 2009–2010 academic year. Please consider membership on a standing committee. A committee member’s term is two years, renewable upon request. The application form is available on the Committees page of the Senate Web site, along with instructions for completion. Chairs of the College Senate standing committees will establish committees, in most cases, prior to the first meeting of the College Senate in September. Final reports of the standing committees are now posted on the College Senate Web site.

From the Chair of the College Senate
M. Scott Goodman, chair of the Budget and Staff Allocation Committee, is in need of members for his committee for the 2009–2010 academic year. The Committee Interest Form is available on the Committeespage on the Senate Web site for those who are interested in serving.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The first meeting of the College Senate will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, September 11, in Classroom Building C122. The complete schedule for the College Senate is available on Senate Web site. The agenda for the meeting will be posted by the end of the week.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
All employees who had NYSHIP family coverage as of February 1, 2009, should have received information at their home address from the New York State Department of Civil Service (Employee Benefits Division) and Budco Health Services Solution to verify the eligibility of all dependents on their plan as of February 1, 2009.

It is very important that employees immediately read all the materials they received and follow the instructions by the stated deadlines. It is imperative that employees respond to this communication before October 5, 2009.

• Employees must provide Budco with documentation to prove eligibility for allenrolled dependents (this must be documentation from the list they provide). Send copies of the documents. Do not mail original documents as they will not be returned.
• If employees fail to provide the required documentation or fail to respond, their dependent(s) will be removed from coverage effective February 1, 2009.
• If any dependent is removed for failure to provide proper documentation, employees will be responsible for repaying all claims paid under NYSHIP for the removed dependent as early as the date the dependent was first added to coverage.

This is an independent audit being conducted by Budco Health Services Solution on behalf of the NYS Department of Civil Service. The Employee Benefits Office is unable to participate in this audit. All questions concerning this project and the materials received must be directed to Budco at (888) 358-2198. More information about the project is available on the NYSHIP Web site.

From the Chair of the College Council
Melissa Brinson, town clerk of Tonawanda, New York, and president of the Kenmore-Tonawanda Board of Education, has been appointed to the Buffalo State College Council by Gov. David Paterson. Brinson, who succeeds Anne Laura Koessler Brosnahan, whose term has expired, will serve until June 30, 2016.

Brinson is an alumna of the University at Buffalo, earning her B.A. in legal studies with academic distinction. She also completed a leadership program for women at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 2005, Brinson was elected to a three-year term on the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Board of Education, and reelected to serve another three-year term commencing July 1, 2008. She was elected president of the board by her colleagues in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

In 2007, Brinson was elected Tonawanda town clerk, the first woman in the town’s history to hold the position. Previously, she held several leadership positions on the Tonawanda Town Council, including councilwoman at-large and chair of several planning committees, with a specific focus on energy, environment, and intergovernmental cooperation.

Brinson is the recipient of two 2008 awards: Business First’s “Forty under 40” and the Tonawanda News’inaugural “Women of Distinction.”

Brinson resides in the Town of Tonawanda with her husband, Colin, and their four children.

From the Chair of the College Senate
M. Scott Goodman, chair of the Budget and Staff Allocation Committee, is in need of members for his committee for the 2009–2010 academic year. The Committee Interest Form is available on the Committeespage on the Senate Web site for those who are interested in serving.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The first meeting of the College Senate will be held at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow, September 11, in Classroom Building C122. The agenda for tomorrow’s meeting and the complete schedule for the College Senate are available on Senate Web site.

From the Interim Provost
I encourage the Buffalo State community to nominate deserving colleagues for Chancellor’s, President’s, and Distinguished Teaching and Service awards. A schedule for the receipt of nomination packages follows. Guidelines are available on the Academic Affairs Web site.

Nominations with supporting materials for Distinguished Teaching Professor or Distinguished Service Professor, or for the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching; Professional Service; Librarianship; Scholarship and Creative Activities; or Faculty Service are due to the provost, Cleveland Hall 519, by the following dates (the third Monday in October each year).

October 19, 2009 (academic year 2009–2010)
October 18, 2010 (academic year 2010–2011)
October 17, 2011 (academic year 2011–2012)

Nominations with supporting materials for the President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Advisement; Advancement of Equity and Campus Diversity; Career Achievement for Faculty; Career Achievement for Professional Staff; Faculty and Staff Mentoring; Librarianship; Research, Scholarship, and Creativity; Service to the College; Teaching; or as an Undergraduate Research Mentor are due to the provost by the following dates (the first Monday in March each year):

March 1, 2010 (academic year 2009–2010)
March 7, 2011 (academic year 2010–2011)
March 5, 2012 (academic year 2011–2012)

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 Senate Curriculum Committee for review and approval:

New Courses:
CHI 301 Chinese Conversation and Composition I.Prerequisite: CHI 202. Review and practice of simple grammar concepts first introduced in Chinese 101-202. Introduction to additional grammar, vocabulary, written characters, and aspects of Chinese culture. Further development of students’ existing proficiency skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension.

CHI 302 Chinese Conversation and Composition II.Prerequisite: CHI 301. Further review and practice of simple grammar concepts first introduced in Chinese 101-202. Continued practice of more complex grammar and syntax introduced in CHI 301. Introduction to additional grammar, vocabulary, written characters, and aspects of Chinese culture. Further development of students’ existing proficiency skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The complete schedule for the College Senate is available on the College Senate home page. Topics to be addressed during this year are available on the Newspage.