In 2021, Buffalo State College will reach its 150th year of existence as an educational institution. I have appointed a committee to begin planning for this important milestone in our history. The committee is charged with developing and coordinating activities in the coming years that will culminate with our Sesquicentennial Celebration in 2021. One hundred fifty years is an extraordinary achievement that will be marked by a proper celebration. As we look back over the years of teaching, scholarly and creative activities, and service to this community and beyond, we can be tremendously proud of our legacy and our contributions to our students, the city, and the region. The planning committee will begin its work soon. I look forward to celebrating with the entire Buffalo State community in 2021!

Co-chairs:
George Hole, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus, Philosophy
Timothy Gordon, Vice President for Student Affairs

William Benfanti, Associate Vice President for Government Relations and Alumni Affairs; Interim Vice President for Institutional Advancement (March 1, 2018)
Rene Bonila, Graduate Student Association Representative
Rebecca Catalano, Professional Development Assistant, Professional Development Center
Benjamin Christy, Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities
Daniel DiLandro, Head of Archives and Special Collections, Butler Library
Bonita Durand, Chief of Staff, President’s Office
Thomas Koller, Senior Associate Director, Intercollegiate Athletics
Lisa Krieger, Assistant Vice President for Finance and Management
Monique Maxwell, President, United Students Government
Kevin Miller, Dean of the Graduate School
Carolyn Morris-Hunt, Chief Operating Officer, Burchfield Penney Art Center
Latrese Myers, Alumni Board Representative
Wendy Paterson, Dean of the School of Education
Howard Reid, Chair of the College Senate and Professor of Psychology
Mark Severson, Dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences
Timothy Walsh, Associate Vice President for College Relations
Rita Zientek, Interim Dean of the School of the Professions

The Campbell Student Union staff continues to work with various offices to repair the damage caused by the water main break two weeks ago. Below are updates that may be of interest to you.

Elevator. The elevator continues to be out of service. We do not have a firm date for when it will be back online because of the nature of the damage. Anyone who has mobility issues or needs that would require use of the elevator should work with the staff at the Student Union Information Desk for assistance.

Basement, Game Room, and Student Organization Offices on Basement Level. The Grab and Go on the basement level is open, but all other rooms and offices have been assigned temporary locations throughout the campus. Affected student groups have been assisted in relocating their offices. 

Prayer and Meditation Space. This space will be located in Butler Library 108 starting Thursday, February 22.

The next meeting of the Buffalo State College Council will be held at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, in Cleveland Hall 518.

Agenda
1. Call to Order
2. Action Items
--  Approval of the Minutes: December 12, 2017
3. Chair’s Report
4. President’s Report
5. Committee Reports
6. Announcements
7. Executive Session (If Necessary)
8. Adjournment

I am pleased to announce the following appointments to the newly established Social Media and Online Response Task Force:

Co-chairs:
Timothy Walsh, Associate Vice President for College Relations
Colleen Callahan, Associate Director of Web Community and Development, College Relations

Robert Baumet, Director of Business Services, Finance and Management
Curtis Brickhouse, Associate Director of Residence Life
Sandra Burnham, Assistant Director of International Admissions, Undergraduate Admissions
David Cox, Director of New Student and Family Programs
Darlene DiCesare, Staff Assistant, University Police
Bradley Fuster, Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Academic Affairs
Paula Madrigal, Assistant Director of Prevention and Health Promotions, Weigel Wellness Center
Monique Maxwell, President, United Students Government
Natalie Murphy, Alumni Communications Manager, Alumni Affairs
Lea Nuwer, Senior Financial Aid Adviser, Financial Aid
Dean Reinhart, Associate Director of Admissions, Undergraduate Admissions
Daniel Vargas, Graduate Recruitment Coordinator, Graduate School
Jeffrey Ventura, Associate Director of Athletics for Sports Information and Athletics Compliance, Intercollegiate Athletics
Jason Welborn, Manager, RITE Support Desk, RITE
Samantha Wulff, Marketing Manager, Dining Services

The Social Media and Online Response Task Force is charged with developing a campuswide protocol and aligning appropriate staff members to establish communication policies and procedures, point persons, duties, and responsibilities for monitoring and responding to Buffalo State constituent impressions—both positive and negative—generated via social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat) and search engine websites (Google, Bing, Yelp).

The task force, proposed by College Relations, was composed from recommendations by the vice presidents, the provost, and department supervisors. The group will meet three or four times in the spring 2018 semester. The initial meeting will be held in early March.

Please join the Buffalo State community in "One Million Acts of Good," an event to create healthful snack packs for Milligan’s Food Pantry and Friends of Night People, on Wednesday, February 28, at noon in the Campbell Student Union lobby. This event is held in partnership with Cheerios and the Ellen Show. Bring your colleagues and be sure to share your experience and photos at #BSCforGood and #OneMillionActsofGood to give Buffalo State a chance to be recognized on the Ellen Show.

The New York State ACE Women’s Network annual conference, “Building an Authentic Bridge to Community,” featuring keynote speaker Maren Showkeir, will be held April 5 and 6 at the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown, New York.

ACE’s board of directors and presidential sponsor Margaret Drugovich, president of Hartwick College, have designed this year’s conference, which speaks to all women in higher education. The conference will address how to honor the diversity of conversations to create the most purposeful, meaningful, and effective difference for our future.

Ms. Showkeir has 25 years of experience in writing, managing, and teaching and has worked with many organizations to increase business results by establishing authentic conversations and creating cultures of accountability.

This year, the New York State ACE Women’s Network Board invites all institutional representatives to attend a pre-conference workshop on Thursday, April 5, at 1:30 p.m., for the opportunity to sign up for 15-minute sessions throughout the afternoon with a president for advice, feedback, and networking.

Please register by Sunday, March 25, to get the early bird rate.

The Career Development Center (CDC) will host its 2018 Job and Internship Fair on Tuesday, March 13, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. This event is open to students from all majors and class years, as well as alumni.

Students, staff, and faculty will have the opportunity to meet with local, regional, and national employers recruiting for full-time and paid internship opportunities. A record number of employers will be in attendance this year, representing a diverse cross section of industries. Many of the recruiters are alumni, eager to hire Buffalo State students and graduates!

The Job and Internship Fair is a great opportunity for our students to explore a variety of jobs and paid internships. Please encourage students to dress professionally and bring multiple copies of their résumé.

More information, including a list of participating employers, is available on the CDC website.

When the relationship between the United States and Cuba began to normalize in December 2014, campuses across the country quickly began to discuss how we could collaborate with Cuban higher education institutions...

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

Many individuals on the Buffalo State campus have been the victims of phishing e-mail. You have likely seen our awareness postings in the Daily Bulletin about phishing e-mail, and you may have received e-mail from a campus account that was compromised.

This month, RITE, in cooperation with the SUNY Security Operations Center (SOC), will launch a phishing test with active campus e-mail addresses drawn from the HR database. The phishing test will commence the week of March 12 and continue through the week of March 19.

What is a phishing test? In this case, SUNY SOC will send a phishing e-mail to all Buffalo State employees with an active e-mail account. The phishing e-mail will look a lot like phishing e-mail you’ve already received—and hopefully deleted.

If you recognize the e-mail as a phishing e-mail, please forward it to phishreports@buffalostate.edu and then delete it. If you click on the link in the phishing e-mail, you’ll be taken to a page that will tell you that you’ve been phished, and that it is a test.

SUNY SOC will send us a report to tell us how many individuals clicked on the link. The report will not include names or e-mail addresses. The report will simply tell us how many people clicked on the link and how many did not. Only you will know if you clicked on the link. RITE will share outcomes with the campus via the Daily Bulletin.

All faculty and staff members are invited to participate in a research study examining how faculty and staff view the roles of the liberal arts and applied experiences at Buffalo State. The results will be compared with those of a similar survey administered to students. This study is being completed through the Provost Faculty Fellows Program. To participate, please visit the Buffalo State Faculty Survey. Please contact Howard Reid, professor of psychology; Karen O’Quin, dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences; or Jill Norvilitis, chair and professor of psychology, with questions.