From the Vice President for Finance and Management
Preface
This serves as a notice to new employees and a reminder to others of the procedures to follow during snow emergencies and other extraordinary circumstances. Offices and other facilities operated by the state may be closed only by order of the governor; however, the college president or his designee is authorized to cancel classes and recommend that all but essential service* employees not report to work.

Policy and Procedures
The president has delegated the authority to cancel classes and services to the vice president for finance and management. University Police is responsible for monitoring all relevant weather conditions and reporting to the vice president for finance and management.

If the decision to close the college and cancel classes is made before the start of the workday, the vice president for finance and management will inform University Police. If the decision to close is made once classes are in session, the vice president for finance and management will consult with the provost/vice president for academic affairs and notify University Police of the decision. University Police will notify College Relations, who will notify the following broadcast stations in either case:

AM Radio
WBEN-AM 930
WNED-AM 970
WECK-AM 1230
WHLD-AM 1270
WLVL-AM 1340
WJJL-AM 1440
WWKB-AM 1520

FM Radio
WBFO-FM 88.7
WBNY-FM 91.3 (campus)
WBUF-FM 92.9
WBLK-FM 93.7
WJYE-FM 96.1
WGRF-FM 96.9 (97 Rock)
WKSE-FM 98.5
STAR-FM 102.5
WEDG-FM 103.3
WHTT-FM 104.1
WYRK-FM 106.5

Television
WGRZ-TV 2
WIVB-TV 4
WKBW-TV 7
YNN Buffalo (Time Warner Cable Channel 9)

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From the Vice President for Finance and Management
Campuses of the State University of New York adhere to two schedules for records retention and disposition—a SUNY Schedule for education records and a General Schedule for state government records—to ensure that records are retained appropriately and, once their retention periods have lapsed, disposed of routinely.

SUNY has recently updated its schedule, and is reminding campuses to comply with the schedules and the accompanying SUNY policy. Please visit www.buffalostate.edu/recordspolicy for links to the policy and schedules, and for information on how to comply.

If you have not already done so, please designate a records management coordinator for your area, and please forward that person’s name to Jill Powell, campus records management officer, at powellja@buffalostate.edu. The coordinator will organize records retention and disposition activities in your area, and will be your unit’s contact person for updates and other information.

Thank you.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
All contracts and agreements that involve the use of college-owned equipment, supplies, or facilities and/or require the college to provide any nature of services shall be approved prior to execution, and signed by the appropriate vice president and the associate vice president for finance and management/comptroller, or an authorized designee. Purchasing agreements for goods or services may be signed only by the college president, the vice president for finance and management, the associate vice president for finance and management/comptroller, or an authorized representative from the procurement office. Any other college employee who signs a contract or agreement may be held personally responsible for its performance (payment, liability, etc.). Any contract executed by an employee without express prior authorization is not valid or binding on Buffalo State College. The Public Officers Law is meant to protect state employees only in the performance of their official duties. Employees place themselves at potentially great financial risk by entering into such agreements, written or oral, on behalf of the college without express prior written authorization.

Lot U, which is located directly east of Caudell Hall off Iroquois Drive, will be closed on Friday, October 22, for resurfacing. Questions about this project may be e-mailed to VPFM@buffalostate.edu. Thank you for your patience.

The following grants were awarded through the Research Foundation at Buffalo State College in November. For more information, contact the principal investigator or the Research Foundation at Buffalo State College.

November 2010
Kim Irvine, Professor, Geography and Planning
$6,639 (Continuation)
Indiana University
“Management of Sturgeon Point, NY, IADN Site”

Sharon Raimondi, Professor, Exceptional Education
$96,034
U.S. Department of Education via subcontract from the University at Buffalo
“Preparing Special Education Doctoral Leadership Personnel for the Digital Age”

John Siskar, Associate Professor, Art Education
$110,398 (Continuation)
Buffalo Board of Education
“Urban Art Teacher Academy—Year 3”

In order to better align business office names with associated functions, the former Accounting Office has been designated as two offices: Accounts Payable and Travel Services (CLEV 414, ext. 4117) and IFR and Recharge Accounting (CLEV 413, ext. 3086). Please make note of these names. Thank you.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
This policy describes the assignment, use, and management of desk and cellular telephones and mobile computing devices by employees of Buffalo State College.

Policy
Desk and cellular telephones and portable computing devices are to be used for official business-related activities only. Personal use of telephones should be limited to emergency calls. Payment for reimbursement of personal desk or cellular telephone calls should be forwarded to the Accounting Office. Personal use of laptops and other mobile computing devices should be kept to a minimum.

Cellular Telephones
Cellular telephones and broadband cards may be assigned only to employees whose duties and responsibilities require immediate or remote communications capabilities. The assignment of cellular telephones and broadband cards must be approved by the vice president for finance and management, who will review assignments annually to ensure compliance with this policy.

Each employee assigned a mobile device shall be primarily responsible for its security and maintenance, and must immediately report any theft, loss, damage, or vandalism of the unit.

New York State law prohibits the use of handheld cellular phones while driving.

Questions about this policy may be directed to the Vice President for Finance and Management’s Office, ext. 4311.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
For all emergencies on campus, call University Police directly at 6333. Calls to 911 will be redirected by the City of Buffalo 911 operator to University Police and could waste valuable response time. The blue-light phones located throughout the campus and in most campus parking lots are a direct link to University Police and will ensure an immediate response. Call University Police at ext. 6333 with questions or concerns regarding campus safety.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
The Emergency Response Planning Group and University Police will conduct a test of the college’s outdoor emergency alert horn at 1:30 p.m. today, Thursday, October 14. People who are outdoors during the test will hear a series of three loud one-minute horn blasts emanating from the central heating plant. Please note: the horn is primarily intended to be audible at outdoor locations on campus, not inside buildings.

In a real emergency, the horn will sound for five full minutes. If a real emergency alert is signaled, immediately seek shelter and await further instructions communicated via NY-Alert, e-mail, www.buffalostate.edu, or direct instructions from University Police.

At 12:30 p.m. today, approximately one hour before the test horn sounds, the college will issue a campuswide test of the NY-Alert emergency communication system. At this time, all students, faculty, and staff who have registered with the service will be sent a test alert via text message, automated phone message, e-mail, or fax.

Faculty and staff may register for NY-Alert through the SUNY employee portal. Thank you for your patience as we test these critical emergency notification systems.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate will be held tomorrow, Friday, October 15, at 3:00 p.m. in Classroom Building C122. The complete schedule is available on the College Senate website.