Our second candidate for the position of athletic director at Buffalo State College is Ron Prettyman. Mr. Prettyman will present to the campus community during a virtual open forum on Thursday, April 16, from 1:00 to 1:50 p.m. via Zoom videoconferencing. If you would like to attend this forum, please sign up by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 15. The candidate’s curriculum vitae is available on the search website and will also be available during the teleconference forum.

The search committee encourages the campus community to provide feedback by completing an online survey, which will be open from 8:00 a.m. Thursday, April 16, to 11:00 p.m. Friday, April 17; responses will be anonymous. For more information, please visit the search website. Questions may be directed to Sarah Young, search chair. Thank you for your ongoing support and participation in this important process.

We’ve seen a dramatic increase in spam and phishing e-mail in recent weeks, as spammers try to take advantage of people during this uneasy time. These messages often look legitimate and appear to be from “Information Technology,” the “IT Help Desk,” or someone else you know like your dean, director, or chair. If you examine the e-mail addresses closely, however, you’ll notice that they did not come from Buffalo State addresses. Please use extreme caution with e-mail and check with the Help Desk first if you aren’t certain whether a message is legitimate.

Here are some other tips to help you determine if an e-mail you received is legitimate or a phishing scam.

If you receive messages like these, you are advised to delete them immediately. If you received any of these messages and mistakenly clicked on the link, it is imperative that you change your password immediately! Clicking on the link may have no noticeable effect but may result in your account being compromised.

To change your password, visit the Buffalo State home page, click "MYBUFFSTATE" on the top left, click "For Faculty and Staff" on the right, and click "Change Your Network Password" under the Technology: Support heading on the left.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the IT Help Desk during regular business hours.

In response to the continuing public health emergency caused by COVID-19, Governor Cuomo has extended through Wednesday, April 29, his directive that non-essential state employees not report to work.

As a result of the governor’s directive, approved Temporary Work Location/Flexible Work Schedule Agreements at Buffalo State will be extended automatically. It is not necessary for employees to submit requests for extension of these agreements.

Terms of the original, approved agreements will remain in effect, as follows.

The employee agrees to, and understands, the following:

• I am responsible for creating a work plan, including hours worked and work performed; and I must submit my signed document to my supervisor or manager.
• I will be available for work-related discussion online or by phone.
• I will need to use my own equipment, supplies, and telephone/Internet connection to perform job duties.
• I must continue to fulfill my professional obligation and must continue to meet the performance expectations of my position.
• If I do not produce a work product and my essential functions are not performed, I will charge my leave accruals in order to be paid.
• In the event of any circumstances that make work from an alternative location impracticable, my supervisor may require me to report to the regular work site OR charge appropriate leave accruals.
• I am subject to the same federal and state laws, policies, and procedures applicable to employees at the regular college work site.
• The college is not liable for injuries to third parties at the alternative work location or liable for damages to the employee’s personal or real property.
• Any approved temporary request is subject to revision, suspension, or revocation based on future guidance by the college or the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER) and/or SUNY or the Research Foundation of SUNY.
• These protocols will be in place only as current circumstances involving the COVID-19 pandemic warrant.

Should you have concerns that you are unable to continue the terms of the original agreement, please contact your supervisor immediately. Thank you.

In an effort to centralize many of the virtual and remote resources, opportunities, and information that support employee development, the Professional Development Center has created a Virtual and Remote Resources page for staff and faculty, which includes opportunities and resources offered on campus, health and well-being activities, and interactive tours. We have also updated our Spring 2020 Professional Development Webinars and Workshops page to include webinars offered by our staff, and free webinar opportunities we have located through other organizations. We will continually update these pages with new information and opportunities throughout the remainder of the spring 2020 semester.

If you have a resource, webinar opportunity, or information you would like to add to the Professional Development Center's website or advertise using the workshop registration system, LibCal, please e-mail the Professional Development Center.

If you have been using Zoom for web conferencing during COVID-19 remote operations, please be aware of a recent breach that has compromised individual accounts. If you used your Buffalo State e-mail address and password to set up a Zoom account, it is recommended that you change both your Zoom and Buffalo State passwords, and do not use the same password for both accounts.

Please note: Blackboard Collaborate is the official web conferencing tool supported by Buffalo State College.

Never use the same password for more than one account. Once your user name and password are compromised, criminals will use the information to try to access banking systems, payroll systems, and vendor systems (Amazon, Wegmans, Macy’s, Barnes & Noble, etc.).

Please refer to these articles for more information:

Tips for Creating a Secure Password/Passphrase

Safe Computing Best Practices

What Is Blackboard Collaborate?

Web Conferencing at Buffalo State

Using Blackboard Collaborate: Avoid Unwanted Visitors

As we continue to prioritize the safety of our students, faculty, and staff with operational modifications because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will offer all summer 2020 courses—across all three sessions—exclusively via remote instruction. 

Most courses that were originally scheduled for face-to-face or hybrid instruction will be transitioned to remote instruction. In the event that a face-to-face or hybrid course cannot be offered online, students will be notified of the cancellation and be given the opportunity to register for another course online.

A full list of course offerings can be found on the Summer Session website.

I would like to thank all faculty members for their tremendous efforts and hard work over the past month as we have transitioned to remote instruction. I am inspired by your dedication to our students and all that you are doing to ensure their success.

As you work with your students and advisees, please encourage them to register for summer—and fall—courses to remain on track toward their degrees. If you encounter students who are experiencing financial difficulties or other obstacles that may impede their registration, please help them identify and access the many resources available to help them stay on track financially and academically:

• Summer Financial Aid
• Emergency Relief Program
• Bridge the Gap Fund
• Virtual Advising through Academic Commons
• Keep Learning website

Again, thank you for all you are doing to support our students and Buffalo State College!

Our third candidate for the position of athletic director at Buffalo State College is Brian Miller. Mr. Miller will present to the campus community during a virtual open forum on Friday, April 24, from 1:00 to 1:50 p.m. via Zoom videoconferencing. If you would like to attend this forum, please sign up by 5:00 p.m. Thursday, April 23. The candidate’s curriculum vitae is available on the search website and will also be available during the teleconference forum.

The search committee encourages the campus community to provide feedback by completing an online survey, which will be open from 8:00 a.m. Friday, April 24, to 11:00 p.m. Saturday, April 25; responses will be anonymous. For more information, please visit the search website. Questions may be directed to Sarah Young, search chair. Thank you for your ongoing support and participation in this important process.

In response to the continuing public health emergency caused by COVID-19, Governor Cuomo has extended to Friday, May 15, his directive that non-essential state employees not report to work.

As a result of the governor’s directive, approved Temporary Work Location/Flexible Work Schedule Agreements at Buffalo State will be extended automatically. It is not necessary for employees to submit requests for extension of these agreements.

Terms of the original, approved agreements will remain in effect, as follows.

The employee agrees to, and understands, the following:

• I am responsible for creating a work plan, including hours worked and work performed; and I must submit my signed document to my supervisor or manager.
• I will be available for work-related discussion online or by phone.
• I will need to use my own equipment, supplies, and telephone/Internet connection to perform job duties.
• I must continue to fulfill my professional obligation and must continue to meet the performance expectations of my position.
• If I do not produce a work product and my essential functions are not performed, I will charge my leave accruals in order to be paid.
• In the event of any circumstances that make work from an alternative location impracticable, my supervisor may require me to report to the regular work site OR charge appropriate leave accruals.
• I am subject to the same federal and state laws, policies, and procedures applicable to employees at the regular college work site.
• The college is not liable for injuries to third parties at the alternative work location or liable for damages to the employee’s personal or real property.
• Any approved temporary request is subject to revision, suspension, or revocation based on future guidance by the college or the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER) and/or SUNY or the Research Foundation of SUNY.
• These protocols will be in place only as current circumstances involving the COVID-19 pandemic warrant.

Should you have concerns that you are unable to continue the terms of the original agreement, please contact your supervisor immediately. Thank you.

This week has been our Take Back the Night week on social media, with a virtual version of Take Back the Night on April 22. Teal is the color for sexual assault awareness and prevention, and we are planning an "Orange Friday Goes Teal" post for this Friday, April 24. I would love for you all to participate to show support for our student survivors and anyone affected by sexual violence by wearing teal for a photo. People may hold a sign in their photos featuring the hashtags #WeShatterSilence and/or #BSCConsentConvos. Please send photos to Nina Pierino, sexual violence prevention coordinator, by Friday, April 24.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect more and more aspects of our society, Buffalo State College has developed new procedures—consistent with guidance from SUNY System Administration—for spending controls to help mitigate the wide-ranging financial impact this situation continues to have on our campus budget.

These new procedures are effective immediately and will remain in place indefinitely. A document (PDF, 420 KB) has been developed to outline and detail new procedures in the categories of salary-related expenditures and hiring practices, non-salary-related expenditures (OTPS spending constraints), and controls on capital project expenditures. The spending controls pertain to State, Research Foundation administrative, and Buffalo State College Foundation expenditures.

I urge all faculty and staff members who manage campus budgets to review these new procedures and work with their respective supervisors and division heads to adjust operations accordingly. It is imperative that we work creatively and collaboratively to implement these controls to strategically reduce our operational expenditures.

During the virtual College Senate meeting on May 8, I will present an update on our previous three-year budget rebalancing efforts. The presentation will also provide an overview of the 2020–2021 budget forecast, including anticipated impacts on state appropriations and tuition revenue due to COVID-19. A summary of the presentation will be shared with the full campus community via the Daily Bulletin during the week of May 11.