Representatives from Community Blue, Independent Health, Univera, and the Empire Plan will be on campus from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Thursday, November 29, in E. H. Butler Library 210 to answer questions about current health insurance plans and anticipated changes in coverage for 2008. Have your cholesterol and blood pressure checked, or learn about the benefits of massage therapy. Representatives from the CSEA and UUP Benefit Trust Funds will demonstrate how to maximize dental and vision care benefits. Obtain information about the Employee Assistance Program and meet our EAP coordinators.

Academic employees earning an annual salary in excess of $77,661 are required to submit financial disclosure statements for the calendar year 2006 to the New York State Commission on Public Integrity (formerly the New York State Ethics Commission) by November 15, 2007. The commission has contacted required filers by mail. Information and forms are available online.

Academic employees may request an exemption from financial disclosure requirements by submitting an individual exemption request form (found on the above Web site). The request must be postmarked by November 1, 2007. Employees submitting requests for exemption by November 1 will not be required to file the financial disclosure statement by November 15, but may be required to file later if the exemption is not approved. There may be substantial penalties, including fines, for failure to comply with the requirements.

For questions, call Susan Earshen, director of human resource management, at ext. 3042.

The eighth annual Faculty and Staff Research and Creativity Fall Forum, originally scheduled for today, has been rescheduled for Thursday, November 8, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Houston Gym. The change is due to the large number of faculty and staff members who will be attending funeral services for our colleague John Freidhoff.

The goals of this forum are to develop, encourage, and support Buffalo State College faculty and staff research and creativity, and to make collaborative research endeavors and grantsmanship more accessible. This is an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues to identify common scholarly and creative interests. Presentations from last year’s event are currently on display in the lobby of Butler Library.

Welcoming remarks will begin at 12:15 p.m. More information and the presentation abstracts are available online.

The program booklet will be distributed at the event, three gifts baskets will be raffled, and a buffet lunch will be provided. Students are encouraged to attend.

Messages may be placed in the Daily a total of five times. Messages that are repeated excessively tend to diminish the effectiveness of this tool for campus communication. Therefore, messages that are repeated more than five times are deleted. Also keep in mind that the Daily is written for and distributed to faculty and staff members, not students. Thank you for your continued appropriate use of the Daily.

The search committee for the Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Development and Executive Director of the Buffalo State College Foundation invites and encourages the campus community to attend an open forum tomorrow, Thursday, October 25, at 12:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center South 2 with candidate Susanne P. Bair.

Bair will give a brief presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. Attendees will be asked to complete evaluation forms. The search committee is co-chaired by Gary Jones, dean of the School of the Professions, and Jim Brandys, ’71, ’73, Buffalo State College Council member.

The open forum scheduled for tomorrow, October 18, is canceled. The candidate withdrew from consideration. More information about the search will be provided when available.

UUP employees who were not notified by the president that they would receive a discretionary salary increase or who are dissatisfied with the amount of their award may file an appeal by Monday, October 22. Written appeals should be addressed to the president, should contain no more than 600 words, and must be postmarked or hand delivered to the President's Office by 5:00 p.m. Copies (not originals) must also be provided to the director of Human Resource Management (secretary to the Appeals Board) and to the appropriate vice president, dean, director, and department chairperson. Appeal candidates will be notified of the outcome of the appeal by October 30. Award guidelines and a summary of the discretionary process may be found at www.buffalostate.edu/offices/hr/uup_disc.asp.

The New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness will hold a public hearing at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery on Wednesday, October 24, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to solicit input on ways to improve the effectiveness of local governments, including cities, towns, villages, school districts, fire districts, other special-purpose districts, and local public authorities.

The day-long hearing is open to the public, and will allow public comments either in person or in writing. Time will be available for testimony and responses from the audience. No preregistration is required, but time constraints may not permit an opportunity for all to testify. However, all persons will have the opportunity to submit written testimony.

The Commission encourages written testimony to be submitted prior to the hearing via e-mail to localgov@empire.state.ny.us. Testimony will be accepted from both persons in attendance and those unable to attend. Testimony received will be shared with Commission members and will be posted on the Commission's Web site. Testimony should be directed to:

• The most effective means for achieving the Commission's goals of improving local government efficiency and competitiveness.
• Strategies for advancing merger and consolidation of outdated local boundaries and structures.
• New approaches for service sharing, including local initiatives and changes in state law and assistance programs.
• Effective models for regional government, including methods of promoting smart growth and regional economic development.

A webcast of the proceedings will be available after the hearing on the Commission Web site at www.nyslocalgov.org.

The search committee for the Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Development and Executive Director of the Buffalo State College Foundation invites and encourages the campus community to attend an open forum today, Tuesday, October 16, at 12:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center South 2 with candidate Timoleon Siderakis.

Siderakis will be asked to give a brief presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. Attendees will be asked to complete evaluation forms. The search committee is co-chaired by Gary Jones, dean of the School of the Professions, and Jim Brandys, ’71, ’73, Buffalo State College Council member.

Beginning today, when students log on to Banner, they will be asked to participate in the NY-Alert emergency notification system or opt out. Once they have entered emergency notification data or opted not to participate, they will be able to access all Banner functions as usual. Students may change their contact information or opt out of the system at any time. The information students provide is confidential and can be used only for emergency notification.

For more information, please see the September 20 Bulletin article.