The NY-Alert emergency notification system is now available for Buffalo State faculty and staff members. To sign up, go to the SUNY employee portal, click on “SUNY Secure Sign On” on the right side of the page, select Buffalo State from the pull-down menu, and enter your NT user name and password. Once logged in, click on the NY Alert icon on the right side of the page, and follow the instructions.

This voluntary system delivers text messages, automated phone messages, and e-mails to participants. Examples of situations that could prompt a NY-Alert message include those involving bomb threats, fires, hazardous materials, civil disturbances, pandemics, perpetrators at large, active shooters, hostages, missing people, utility failures, major road closings, flooding, extreme weather conditions, and the closing of campus. NY-Alert is administered by the New York State Emergency Management Office (SEMO). Please note that your personal information is not public and will never be sold or used for any other purpose.

For more information, see the September 20 Bulletin article.

Beginning this year, a new law changed the timing of daylight saving time (DST) to begin two weeks earlier (in March) and end a week later, on the first Sunday in November. Computing and Technology Services updated campus devices in March to account for this change. However, Microsoft has warned that even after Exchange and Outlook are updated on the servers and client machines, users may find that some calendar items occurring in those extended DST periods (March 11–April 1 and October 28–November 4) may be one hour off.

As the end of October nears, we recommend that you keep printed copies of your Outlook/Entourage calendars for the period October 28–November 4 and verify those meeting times on your computer after October 28. Palm and other PDA devices may also be affected by the DST changes, so verify the time on your devices on October 28 as well.

Please call the Computing Help Desk at ext. 4357 with questions.

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 9, at 12:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center North with candidate William Kirschke.

Kirschke 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.

A person fitting the description of the Gates Circle attacker/robber has again been reported in the vicinity of the campus. The most recent report was filed with University Police on Monday evening, October 1. Please share this information with students!

University Police urge students, faculty and staff on or off campus not to go out alone at night and to be especially alert to their surroundings, regardless of the time of day. If you are approached or have any information that may be helpful, immediately call University Police at 878-6333. Please follow the safety guidelines posted on the University Police Web site.

Messages may be placed in the Daily a total of five times. Messages that are repeated excessively tend to dimish the effectiveness of this tool for campus communication. Also remember 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.

Faculty and professional employees in Academic Affairs should be notified by Tuesday, October 9, whether they were recommended for a discretionary award by the provost. Employees who were not nominated by the provost may self-nominate to the president by Thursday, October 11.

The Plaza Café will be open for breakfast service from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. today, Friday September 21. Grill 155 will open for lunch from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Normal hours of operation will resume on Saturday, September 22.

We apologize for any inconvenience, but thank you for your continued patience.

The New York State fire code requires fire drills to be conducted three times per year. Contrary to past practice, the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control now requires that drills be unannounced, with no accommodation for special circumstances (special events, exams, speakers).

Please be prepared to comply with required evacuation procedures.

For more information, visit our Web site, or call the Environmental Health and Safety Office, ext. 4038. Thank you for your cooperation.

All faculty and staff members are invited to share their thoughts on Thursday, September 13, during Bengal Pause (12:15–1:30 p.m.) in Butler Library 210. Through a competitive bid process, Buffalo State has hired Creative Communications Associates, a higher education communication and marketing firm, to develop and produce an image advertising campaign. The campaign will be based upon the college's academic principle, "integrating inquiry and action," and extensive market research. The goal of the campaign is to create a positive, widely recognized brand identity that builds upon the college's reputation for solid academic programs combined with applied learning and service-learning opportunities that lead to strong demand for graduates in the job market. This is a direct outcome of the 2003–2008 Strategic Plan, and several task forces that examined "distinctiveness."

Members of the Creative Communications team—Ed Sirianno, CEO; Richard Langdon, senior director of client services; and Stacy Lautzenheiser, designer—will be visiting Buffalo State. As part of their creative process, they would very much like to meet with as many faculty and staff members as possible to hear about your perceptions of the college, its strengths and weaknesses, and more.

If you cannot attend the open forum and still would like to participate, please contact Claire Jones, ext. 4201 or jonescs@buffalostate.edu.

Bacon Hall, Campus House, Ketchum Hall, Moot Hall, and Rockwell Hall will be without electrical power from 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 21, to 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, August 22. Critical work to the campus electrical system will be performed at this time.

At the close of business on Tuesday, August 21, occupants of these buildings should shut down all networked computers. It is possible that some networked computers, especially those that were not powered down, may experience network connectivity issues when powered back up. Such issues, if any, will be fully resolved on Wednesday morning, August 22. Other devices and appliances can remain in their normal operating state.

Questions or concerns regarding this scheduled outage may be referred to Customer Service at ext. 6111. Thank you for your cooperation.