Throughout September, RITE will continue migrating faculty and staff Outlook accounts (e-mail and calendar service) from our current on-premise e-mail environment, Exchange 2007, to the new cloud-based Office 365 platform. Mailboxes will continue to be migrated in batches, alphabetically by department, until all accounts have been converted. A schedule of departments and their anticipated migration dates is available on the RITE website.

We strongly encourage everyone to review the Office 365 Migration Guide to prepare for the move to the new mail system and to learn what to expect before, during, and after the transition. You will also find answers to many questions on our Office 365 FAQ page, including the impact on accessing e-mail on mobile devices and the significant enhancements and benefits available. RITE will also host weekly drop-in sessions in Butler Library 318 (CyberQuad) to provide an open forum devoted to answering questions and solving problems that you may encounter while navigating the new Office 365 environment. The drop-in session schedule is available on the Office 365 Training page.

Please note: Some users may experience a brief disruption to e-mail service while their mailboxes are being converted. If this happens, Outlook will display a "Disconnected" message in the status bar at the bottom of the window. This is normal and should last only 15–20 minutes. You may need to restart Outlook a few times to regain connectivity once the migration has been completed. After migration, you can continue to access your e-mail from your campus workstation using the desktop version of Outlook 2013 (PC) or Outlook 2011 (Mac). No reconfiguration is necessary; however, to access the web version of Outlook, users must visit https://outlook.office365.com/owa/buffalostate.edu.

Please send your questions, comments, and concerns to the RITE Support Desk via e-mail. If you encounter a problem with your e-mail or calendar after the migration, please call the Support Desk at 878-4357 as soon as possible.

Registration is now open for the Human Trafficking: Strategies for a Solution conference, to be held on campus Friday and Saturday, October 14 and 15.

The conference will feature international scholars in human trafficking who will discuss such topics as cultural tolerance of trafficking, the use of social media, vulnerable populations, and life experiences of survivors. Federal, state, and local governmental and nongovernmental practitioners working on the front lines will inform the discussion. To learn more about modern-day slavery locally, nationally, and abroad or for registration details, please visit the conference website.

This event is sponsored by the SUNY Conversations in the Disciplines program. Additional support has been provided by the Buffalo State President's Office, Provost’s Office, School of Arts and Humanities, School of Natural and Social Sciences, School of the Professions, University College, and Criminal Justice Department.

The Provost’s Office is accepting nominations for faculty to serve on the General Education Task Force. Interested faculty members may self-nominate or may be nominated by their colleagues. The task force will be charged with making recommendations to fulfill the strategic plan’s call for a meaningful and substantive change to the general education curriculum that aligns with the college’s mission. Nominees should consider this a two-year commitment. Please send all nominations directly to me at perreaml@buffalostate.edu.

Buffalo State has an enormous network that serves to support the Buffalo community. Another example is our new participation in the New York State Mentoring Program...

Please follow my blog at http://kateconwayturner.tumblr.com.

I returned to Borgne, Haiti, over the Labor Day holiday to continue to support education in Haiti through my work with H.O.P.E. For this trip, I was accompanied by Buffalo State graduate Takisha Morancy (biology 2016)...

Please follow my blog at http://kateconwayturner.tumblr.com.

I am pleased to announce the membership of the 2016–2018 President’s Council on Equity and Campus Diversity:

Co-Chair: Lisa Morrison-Fronckowiak, Director, Disability Services
Co-Chair: Keunyoung Oh, Associate Professor, Fashion and Textile Technology

Katherine Bertel, Academic Outreach and Engagement Librarian, Butler Library
Atta Ceesay, Assistant Professor, Political Science
Mary Codick, Secretary, Teacher Certification Office
Marie Curran, Head Softball Coach and Sr. Women's Administrator, Intercollegiate Athletics
Eve Everette, Assistant Director, Anne Frank Project
Marlon Gayadeen, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice
Ruth Goldman, Assistant Professor, Communication
Carlos Jones, Associate Dean, Arts and Humanities
Luke Krieg, Chair and Professor, Sociology
Monet Lewis, Graduate Assistant, Equity and Campus Diversity
Paula Madrigal, Assistant Director of Prevention and Health Promotions, Weigel Health Center
Roswell Park, Director, Academic Support Programs
Jason Parker, Diversity Program Coordinator, Equity and Campus Diversity
Amy Pedlow, Assistant Chief of Police, University Police
Holly Quicksey, Assistant  to the Dean, University College
Sarah Young, Director, Student Life
Jing Zhang, Assistant Professor, Elementary Education and Reading

Presidential Liaison: Karen Clinton Jones, Chief Diversity Officer

The President’s Council on Equity and Campus Diversity was established in 1996 at Buffalo State College to address discrimination, harassment, and campus climate issues as they relate to recruitment and retention of students, faculty, and staff; curriculum development; and student life on campus. The president receives and reviews recommendations from the council. The chief diversity officer provides administrative support for the council.

I am pleased to announce the following appointments to the 2016–2017 Community Policing Advisory Committee:

Chair: James Sobol, Chair and Associate Professor, Criminal Justice
Co-chair: Michael Heflin, Director, Residence Life

Peter Carey, Chief of Police, University Police
Jerod Dahlgren, Director of Public Relations, College Relations
Patrick Freeman, University Police Officer 1, University Police
Karen Clinton Jones, Chief Diversity Officer, Equity and Campus Diversity
Charles Kenyon, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students, Student Affairs
Joan McCool, Director, Counseling Center
Amy McMillan, Associate Professor, Biology
Richard Myers, University Police Officer 2, University Police
Amy Pedlow, Assistant Chief of Police, University Police
Amy Rosen-Brand, Associate Director, Disability Services
Ron Smith, Professor, Communication
Daniel Vélez, Associate Vice President, Student Success
TBD, United Students Government Representative
Jeremiah Perez Torres, Undergraduate Student Representative
Pilar Nelson, Graduate Student Representative
 
The Community Policing Advisory Committee is a standing committee that serves in an advisory role to the president and the vice president for finance and management on the community-oriented policing philosophy and problem-solving initiatives of the Buffalo State campus community in partnership with the University Police Department.

The committee represents the Buffalo State community in creating, evaluating, and implementing a community-oriented policing philosophy designed to create an environment that focuses on crime prevention, problem solving, and education through partnerships among University Police, students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors. The committee is charged with the following:

• Review the issues involved in community policing, campus safety, and crime on campus.
• Develop ways to increase student, faculty, and staff input in University Police functions and initiatives.
• Identify ways to enhance positive interactions between the University Police and its constituents.
• Review complaints, trends, and statistics over regular intervals to determine the effectiveness of community policing programs and highlight any issues that need addressing.
• Act as an advocate for University Police to the campus community and administration to support community policing initiatives.
• Coordinate activities and share information with the Campus Safety Forum.
• Provide advice on other police-related issues brought to it by the president or the vice president for finance and management.
• Provide recommendations to the president and the vice president for finance and management on ways to enhance community policing on campus. Recommendations should include performance indicators or assessment strategies to help evaluate the outcomes of the recommendations, as well as an estimate of the financial and human resources needed to implement the recommendations.

I am pleased to announce the membership of the 2016–2017 Campus Civic Action Plan Work Group:

Co-chair: Alex Means, Assistant Professor, Social and Psychological Foundations of Education
Co-chair: Laura Hill Rao, Coordinator, Volunteer and Service-Learning Center, Career Development

Darryl Carter, Director, STEP Program, Precollegiate Programs
Patrice Cathey, Director, Liberty Partnerships Program, Precollegiate Programs
Lisa Fronckowiak, Director, Disability Services
Joy Guarino, Associate Professor, Theater
Jevon Hunter, Wood-Beals Endowed Chair, School of Education
Charles Kenyon, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students
Paula Madrigal, Assistant Director of Prevention and Health Promotions, Weigel Health Center
Catherine Mazzotta, Assistant Professor, Social Work
Kathleen McNerney, Assistant Professor, Speech-Language Pathology
Don Patterson, Director, Upward Bound, Precollegiate Programs
Jeffrey Scharoun, Alumnus, Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration
Melissa Slisz, Staff Assistant, President’s Office
Gary Welborn, Associate Professor, Sociology

This group is tasked with developing the Civic Action Plan for Buffalo State College. The plan will serve as the college’s guide for the upcoming year and will also provide a template for further planning.

I am pleased to announce the following appointments to the 2016–2017 Committee on Undergraduate Retention:

Co-Chair: Mark Severson, Dean, School of Natural and Social Sciences
Co-Chair: Daniel Vélez, Associate Vice President for Student Success

Lynn Boorady, Chair and Associate Professor, Fashion and Textile Technology
Jerry Boyes, Director, Intercollegiate Athletics; Head Football Coach
Maria Brickhouse, Coordinator, Academic Center for Excellence, EOP
Connie Cooke, Director, Financial Aid
Brian Dubenion, Student Retention Specialist, Student Success
Stanley Friesen, Associate Professor, Design
Yves Gachette, Director, Institutional Research
Dwight Hennessy, Professor, Psychology (Spring 2017)
Jevon Hunter, Woods-Beals Endowed Chair, School of Education
Kimberly Kline, Chair and Professor, Higher Education Administration
Lisa Rafferty, Associate Professor, Exceptional Education
Jennifer Toohey, Assistant Professor, Theater
Gregory Wadsworth, Associate Professor, Biology
Susan Wright, Director, Student Accounts

Ex Officio: Hal Payne, Vice President for Student Affairs
Ex Officio: Melanie Perreault, Provost

The Committee on Undergraduate Retention provides recommendations that will increase the persistence, retention, and graduation rates of undergraduate students.

The committee’s charge is as follows:

1. Review, gather, and interpret information from other institutions or external programs that can illuminate these concerns.
2. Investigate and review best practices that currently exist on the Buffalo State campus.
3. Review Buffalo State current information and quantitative data available related to this issue.
4. Gather new information or survey portions of the campus community to provide insight into this issue.
5. Develop recommendations that are relevant to all or selected portions of the campus student community.
6. Make recommendations on short-term and long-term goals related to higher persistence, retention, and graduation rates.
7. Submit proposals that address retention needs to the President’s Cabinet.
8. Report at the end of each semester (orally and in writing) on the state of undergraduate persistence, retention, and graduate rates and the impact of current or new programs to address these issues.
9. Advise the cabinet on the continuation, development, or elimination of programs that affect persistence, retention, and graduation rates.

At its May 6, 2016, meeting, the College Senate voted to recommend to the president the following revision to the current DOPS Policy on Critique and Evaluation Period:

Buffalo State College
DIRECTORY OF POLICY STATEMENTS
Policy Number: I:16:01                                                          
Date: May 2016
Subject: Critique and Evaluation Period (CEP)

Critique and Evaluation Period (CEP) is scheduled at the end of each semester. CEP is designed to provide a single class meeting during which the instructor and students have an extended period of uninterrupted time to conduct appropriate end-of-course activities. CEP is designed for classes that meet more than once a week during the semester. Classes (evening or day) that meet only once a week have sufficient time for final evaluation; therefore, they will follow their regular schedule (exams to be scheduled during CEP).

The following regulations govern CEP:

• All instructors are expected to meet their classes at the scheduled time during CEP and to prepare an appropriate activity that reflects the academic goals of the course and the intent of CEP.
• An instructor may choose, should he or she prefer, to hold a final exam, review, critique of papers, course summations, individual presentations, demonstrations, etc.
• Instructors will not schedule a final exam prior to CEP. Instructors may not change the date and time of their final class periods during CEP. In the event of an emergency, instructors should confer with the appropriate dean and notify the vice president for academic affairs.
• CEPs will be scheduled for one-hour-and-fifty-minute periods. Instructors are not to increase or decrease the scheduled CEP time.
• In the event of an emergency that closes the school, CEPs scheduled for the time of the closing will be rescheduled as appropriate.
• Faculty members must post office hours during which they will be available during CEP week to meet with students.

I hereby approve the language for the DOPS I:16:01 Policy on the Critique and Evaluation Period (CEP) at Buffalo State College. I charge the provost with the responsibility of incorporating the new language into the Faculty Handbook and disseminating it broadly and widely to all faculty, students, and staff. This revision should be considered effective as of May 12, 2016.