From the Senior Adviser to the President for Equity and Campus Diversity
Buffalo State College is committed to the need for proper treatment of all members of the college community. The college can achieve its educational mission only in an atmosphere of mutual respect that is free from intolerance and that offers equal opportunity to all. Every member of the college community shares the responsibility for addressing incidents of disrespect for dignity of others, acts of discrimination, racism, bigotry, harassment, exclusion, abusive language, or mistreatment of individuals or groups.

Among the goals of the college is the empowerment of a diverse population of students to succeed as citizens of a challenging world. The college is dedicated to maintaining an atmosphere of intellectual vitality, collegiality, and collaboration. It will not have attained its goal until and unless all in its midst obtain fair and equitable treatment in employment and education. For this reason, Buffalo State College condemns and pledges itself to fight against all acts of invidious discrimination, bias, intolerance, or harassment.

Racial discrimination is a particularly serious problem. The goals of the college are undermined and human dignity is offended where employment or educational benefits, opportunities, or privileges are denied or restricted on the basis of race, religion, color, or national origin, or where a racially hostile environment exists. Racial discrimination and illegal discrimination of any sort limit the opportunity for individuals to realize their potential and deny them the rigors, joys, and fulfillment of intellectual curiosity.

Therefore:

It is the policy of Buffalo State College to provide an employment and educational environment free from invidious discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or marital or veteran status. It shall be a violation of this policy for any agent, student, or employee of Buffalo State College to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or marital or veteran status against any individual with respect to the terms of employment, education, or benefits of any program or activity at Buffalo State College.

We have been notified by Verizon that the campus voice mail system will be down for maintenance between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. today, Wednesday, September 8.  Voice mail will be unavailable for approximately an hour during that interval. Please contact the Telecommunications Office at ext. 3333 if you have any questions.

Submitted by: Judith B. Basinski, Computing and Technology Services

From the President
The next meeting of the Buffalo State College Council will be held at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 14, in Cleveland Hall 518.

Agenda
1. Call to Order
2. Action Items
  - Approval of Minutes: September 14, 2010
3. President’s Report
4. Committee Reports
5. Announcements
6. Adjournment

As utility installation progresses on the north side of campus, the entrance to Lot R—off Iroquois Drive—will be unavailable tomorrow, Thursday, September 16, and Friday, September 17.

To maintain access to Lot R, an alternate entrance/exit has been established. Drivers will be directed by local signage onto west Tower Dormitory Road between Lot R and Tower 4. Students, faculty, and staff are urged to use caution when driving on Iroquois Drive on Thursday and Friday.

As always, your patience is appreciated as we undertake this important project.

Questions about this project can be e-mailed to VPFM@buffalostate.edu. Please refer to www.buffalostate.edu/construction for the latest information about campus construction.

From the Chair of the Senate Curriculum Committee
The SharePoint online curriculum review system will no longer send out e-mail reminders that a course proposal awaits your review. The course proposal routing sheet should serve as sufficient notification that a course proposal has been forwarded to your section of SharePoint. Please continue to submit new course proposals and course revisions according to the established submission procedures listed in the curriculum handbook and posted on the Curriculum Committee Web site. An electronic copy of all new course proposals and revisions should continue to be uploaded to the SharePoint online curriculum review system according to the procedures described on the course proposal page. For course revisions, one electronic copy of the existing course proposal must also be uploaded to the appropriate departmental archives section of SharePoint.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
All eligible classified and unclassified employees may observe the following holidays in academic year 2010–2011 without charge to accruals:

Labor Day
Monday, September 6, 2010

Columbus Day
Monday, October 11, 2010

Election Day*
Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Veterans Day
Thursday, November 11, 2010

Thanksgiving Day
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Christmas Day**
Saturday, December 25, 2010

New Year’s Day
Saturday, January 1, 2011

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Lincoln’s Birthday*
Saturday, February 12, 2011

Washington’s Birthday
Monday, February 21, 2011

Memorial Day
Monday, May 30, 2011

Independence Day
Monday, July 4, 2011

* Election Day and Lincoln’s Birthday have been designated as “floating holidays’ in lieu of fixed holidays for all employees except those represented by Council 82.  UUP-represented employees observe Election Day on the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 26, 2010. Classes are scheduled on both floating holidays, so all other eligible employees will receive credit for a holiday on those dates and may arrange with their supervisors to use them on a date of their choice before the holiday recurs. 

** Christmas Day and New Year’s Day holidays fall on a Saturday and will be observed on their calendar dates. Employees who are eligible to observe holidays (except security services unit employees), and for whom Saturday is not a regular workday, will be credited with a day of holiday leave.  Agency Law Enforcement represented employees will receive vacation leave on these dates.

The Special Health Insurance Option Transfer Period will end on Tuesday, August 31. The new health insurance rates effective October 1, 2010, can be viewed on the HR Web site. If your premium cost is increasing, you may change to a lower cost option. Also, regardless of the change in the cost of your current option, you may change into an option for which the premium has decreased.

Employees who wish to change their health insurance plan during the Special Option Transfer Period have until Tuesday, August 31, 2010. If you wish to make a change during this Special Option Transfer Period, you must complete and return the option transfer form to Cleveland Hall 410.

You may want to review "Choices," a summary of health insurance plans, before you decide to change insurance carriers or to remain with your current carrier for your health insurance coverage.

No action is required if you wish to keep your current health insurance option.

Please Note: the regular annual Option Transfer Period, held at the end of the calendar year, will be available and you will have the opportunity to review health insurance plan options and rates for 2011 as you normally do.

For questions, please contact Human Resource Management at ext. 4821.

From the Vice President for Finance and Management
The campus is asked to comply with the following procedures to help the Mail Room (Campbell Student Union 112) receive and distribute mail more efficiently. Mail Room hours are 7:15 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Please visit these links to view policies and procedures for Metered Mail, Intercampus Mail, and Bulk Mail, as well as Services Not Available in the Mail Room.

Mail Room staff members are available to answer any questions at ext. 5515. Thank you for your cooperation.

From the Chair of the College Senate
If you have submitted an application form to be considered as a member of a specific committee, your information has been forwarded to the chairs of the College Senate standing committees. The chairs will make the final decision after reviewing all candidates. The Senate Office does not make decisions regarding choosing committee members.

From the Chair of the Senate Curriculum Committee
Michael Lazich, associate professor of history and social studies education, is the new chair of the College Senate Curriculum Committee (CSCC).  He has initiated several changes to the Curriculum Committee page on the College Senate Web site, including updated links on submission procedures, forms and templates, and the SharePoint system. The first meeting of the CSCC will be on Tuesday, September 14, in the Carmine Grande Conference Room, Cleveland Hall 418.  A complete schedule is posted on the Curriculum Committee Web site.  There are still several course proposals awaiting revisions to complete the standard approval process of the Curriculum Committee. If you have recently been sent a reminder, please submit those revisions to the Senate Office so we can finalize their approval before the new fall semester begins. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.