A free express shuttle service connecting students, faculty, and staff who park in outlying lots along Rockwell Road and Letchworth Street to the center of campus will begin scheduled operation on Monday, February 8.

The “MGC Direct” will pick up riders in Lots M and G and take them directly to Lot C (Cleveland Hall circle) from 9:00 a.m. to noon when classes are in session.

Lot M pickup locations will be at blue-light phones 34 and 42, while riders from Lot G can catch the shuttle on the north side of the maintenance barn. The first 100 riders on the MGC Direct will receive a coupon for a free cup of coffee or other beverage at any campus food service location.

Services have also been added to the overnight escort shuttle van, which now operates from 4:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. seven days a week. The evening shuttle stops for riders at blue-light phones. The shuttle runs clockwise around campus, thereby providing those who are parked in Lots G or M a return trip to their cars after 4:30 p.m.

Please refer to the Van Escort Routes map (PDF) on the University Police Web site.

Feedback is encouraged and can be e-mailed to VPFM@buffalostate.edu.

All faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend the campus presentation by Kathryn Cruz-Uribe, provost and vice president for academic affairs, California State University at Monterey Bay, Wednesday, February 3, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210.

Dr. Cruz-Uribe’s curriculum vitae and her full campus interview schedule can be found at www.buffalostate.edu/president/cruz-uribe.xml.

If you are unable to attend the campus presentation or your constituent group meeting, we encourage you to review her credentials online and provide your input based upon that review.

The Presidential Search Advisory Committee has made the following options available to the campus community to provide input:

- Complete the online survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/buffalostatepresidentialsearch.

- Complete the questionnaire available at the campus presentation and each constituent group meeting.

- E-mail your comments to the chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee at presidentsearch@buffalostate.edu.

- E-mail your comments to the chair of the Search Advisory Committee at presidentsearch@buffalostate.edu.

To the Buffalo State College Community:
The response to the announcement of the presidential candidate finalists has been tremendous and enthusiastic. I thank all of you who have taken the time to review our finalists’ credentials in preparation for their upcoming campus visits. I want to alert you to a change to the original schedules. A session for the candidates to meet with faculty has been added. This change has been updated in the schedule on the Presidential Search Web page at www.buffalostate.edu/president/documents/intsched_update.pdf.

I hope that each member of the Buffalo State College community of faculty, students, and staff will attend at least one session with each candidate. It will also be important for you to provide your insights and perspectives on each candidate. You can provide your input in one of three ways:

- Complete the online survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/buffalostatepresidentialsearch.

- Complete the questionnaire available at the campus presentation and each constituent group meeting.

- E-mail your comments to the chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee at presidentsearch@buffalostate.edu.

- E-mail your comments to the chair of the Search Advisory Committee at presidentsearch@buffalostate.edu.

Thank you again for your support as we select the next president of Buffalo State.

Howard Zemsky
Vice Chair, Buffalo State College Council

Faculty and staff are asked to recognize that some Buffalo State students may be affected, directly or indirectly, by the recent earthquake in Haiti as a result of having family and/or friends from this devastated country. We have asked students to submit a leave of absence form if they are unable to return for the spring semester and to contact Charles Kenyon, dean of students, if they are delayed in returning to campus as a result of the Haitian earthquake. 

We are asking faculty to assist students by accommodating requests to make up work that is missed due to the impact of the earthquake. Also, students in need of grief counseling or other support for coping with the tragedy should be referred to the College Counseling Center, Weigel Health Center, second floor, ext. 4436.
Resources can be found at the Counseling Center’s Web site. 

In the weeks ahead, students, faculty, and staff will offer various opportunities to support the citizens of Haiti in their time of need. If you wish to participate in these opportunities, please contact Jean Gounard, director of international student affairs, at ext. 5331.

From the Chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee

During the first two weeks in February, Buffalo State College will welcome to campus our finalists for the position of president. The candidates will have the opportunity to meet with many constituent groups during their visits. The finalists will also give a presentation to the campus community that all faculty, students, and staff are invited to attend.

Biographies for each finalist, along with the date, time, and location of his or her campus presentation, full campus interview schedule, and curriculum vitae can be found here:

Candidate 1: Kathryn Cruz-Uribe
Candidate 2: Aaron Podolefsky
Candidate 3: William Lowe
Download the full Campus Interview Schedule (PDF).

I encourage all members of the Buffalo State College community to participate in as much of this process as possible to help us select the candidate best suited to lead our college in accomplishing our goals and identifying new opportunities for us to explore in the future. Several opportunities for providing your input will be announced next week. In the meantime, if you wish to communicate with me, please contact me at presidentsearch@buffalostate.edu.

Sincerely,

Howard Zemsky
Chair, Presidential Search Advisory Committee
Vice Chair, Buffalo State College Council

Lot S, the 12-space staff parking lot at the north end of Upton Hall, has been reopened. It had been off line to accommodate work on the college's new electrical substation, located just west of the lot.

Also, the walkway between Caudell Hall and Butler Library, which had been enclosed due to Student Union Quad rehabilitation work, is open once again.

Thank you for your patience, and please email with any questions.

The letters from President Podolefsky notifying UUP employees that they have been awarded a discretionary salary increase for 2010 were mailed on Tuesday, October 26. UUP employees who did not receive an award letter are reminded that they may appeal the decision by November 3, 2010. The procedures for filing an appeal may be found online.

Faculty and staff are invited to attend our 23rd annual Academic Convocation on Thursday, September 16, at 12:15 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall. The year’s convocation address will be given by Immaculée Ilibagiza, a miraculous survivor of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. We will also recognize colleagues who are recipients of SUNY and President's awards. If you would like to participate in the academic processional, please complete and return the response form, which can be found on the Academic Affairs Web site. All respondents will be contacted with directions for the formation of the academic processional. A reception will immediately follow.

I am extremely pleased to report that SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher has selected Dr. Aaron Podolefsky to serve as the next president of Buffalo State College, subject to approval by the SUNY Board of Trustees at its March 23 meeting in New York City. I believe that both the entire Presidential Search Advisory Committee and the College Council are very gratified by this important and welcome news. Our search process began in the spring of ’09, and in my early communications, we stated that our goal was to have a new president hired by the summer of 2010. If approved by the Board of Trustees, Dr. Podolefsky will begin his presidency on July 1, 2010.
 
As you may recall, Dr. Podolefsky has an extensive and successful background in public higher education and currently serves as president of the University of Central Missouri. His biography and CV are available on the Buffalo State Web site. His wife, Ronnie Podolefsky, is a civil rights attorney and a very dynamic person, and we are pleased and proud to welcome her as well to the Buffalo State College community.
 
Dr. Podolefsky embraces the importance of our vital mission and core values, including outstanding education, research, service learning, access, and diversity. He is extremely bright and engaging and will be a forceful advocate for our college in SUNY and throughout the community, the state, and the country.
 
Dr. Podolefsky will visit campus shortly after spring break; we will provide details of that visit when they are finalized.
 
I want to take a moment again to thank the members of the search committee, including our administrative staff, for their outstanding work. Pat them on the back, shake their hands, or give them a hug! At a minimum, please thank them for their outstanding service to our college. I also want to thank the members of the College Council for their vital participation and support, and I want to thank everyone who participated in our search process with your important attendance and feedback. Thank you, all.
 
We owe thanks, of course, to Chancellor Zimpher and her staff at SUNY, particularly Aimee Bernstein, who was very helpful and served as the SUNY liaison. I’m very proud of the highly constructive collaboration we had with SUNY.
 
I also want to thank Dr. Ponton and the entire administration for “stepping up” and assuming new and challenging assignments for the good of Buffalo State College. We could not have completed a successful search without their steady and outstanding leadership.
 
I want you to know that chairing the search committee was really such a wonderful honor, and I thank College Council Chairman John Hoskins for giving me that opportunity, and for all his support of Buffalo State College, our search committee, and of me personally throughout this process.
 
Sincerely,
 
Howard Zemsky
Vice Chair, Buffalo State College Council

Monday, August 23, Tuesday, August 24, and Saturday, August 28, are move-in days for resident students. To facilitate the move-in for our students and their families, some parking areas near residence halls will be reserved for move-in activity and not available for faculty, staff, and students.

The following lots will be impacted this week:
 
-Lot A-1 (Rockwell Road, north and south sides) from Cleveland Circle Drive west to the entrance of lots F/ F-1 and G.
-Lot C
-Lot D (Academic Drive), except parking spaces designated for persons with disabilities
-Lot D-1
Additionally, please note that numbered-reserved and general-reserved parking spaces in lots D and D-1 will not be available for usual staff parking on Tuesday, August 24, and Saturday, August 28. 
 
University Police officers and Residence Life staff will be available to direct students and their families. Thank you for your cooperation.