I  am pleased to announce the members of the search committee for the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Buffalo State College:

Co-Chair: Julian C. Cole, Interim Associate Dean, School of Arts and Humanities
Co-Chair: Jill Norvilitis, Professor, Psychology

Aaron Daniel Annas, Director, Television and Film Arts
Lisa Marie Anselmi, Chair and Associate Professor, Anthropology
Atta Ceesay, Chair and Associate Professor, Political Science and Public Administration
Ricky Fleming, Professor, Music
Annemarie Franczyk, Associate Professor, Communication
Daniel Potts, Chair and Associate Professor, Biology
Talia Rodriguez, WSPN Associate Director, Civic and Community Engagement
Stephen Saracino, Professor, Art and Design
Hongliang Xu, Professor, Mathematics

Committee Support: Kimberly Taylor, Administrative Assistant 1, Theater

This committee is charged with soliciting and evaluating nominations and applications for the position of dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. The committee will begin its work immediately with the goal of having the dean of the newly formed school in place by January 2021. Please join me in thanking Julian Cole, Jill Norvilitis, and all the members of the committee for their willingness to take on this important task for Buffalo State.

As our campus community continues to adjust to new and innovate ways of working and learning during this unsettling time, we would like to invite members of the campus community to recognize and submit nominations for individuals who have gone above and beyond in their role to ensure the entire campus community receives excellent support on and off campus. Please submit nominations for the President’s Caring Bengal Award by 5:00 p.m. Friday, October 9. Please visit the award website for more information about the award criteria and recipient selection process or to submit a nomination.

Award Description
Each of us knows a faculty member, staff member, or administrator who transforms the work and personal lives of their colleagues by supporting them with compassion, care, respect, and collegiality. These caring colleagues in our community can be found at every level of our institution, and although they create positive work experiences for each person they encounter, their contributions to our community sometimes go unnoticed. To recognize these supportive colleagues in our community, each month faculty, staff, and administrators across all ranks, unions, and titles can be nominated by a colleague or student to receive the Caring Bengal Award.

The Faculty and Staff Recognition Committee, which includes faculty and staff representation from UUP, CSEA, the College Senate, and the Professional Staff Caucus, will review award nominations and select the award recipient each month. Each month, award recipients will be announced by me in the Daily Bulletin.

Please contact Jonathan Hulbert, director of leadership and organizational development, with questions about the President’s Caring Bengal Award.

New York State enacted legislation in 2018 requiring all employers, including Buffalo State College, to ensure that their employees complete sexual harassment prevention training by October 9, 2020. The following training requirements meet all New York State requirements for sexual harassment prevention training. The Equity and Campus Diversity Office is offering the following options to comply with this requirement:

1. 2020 Recertification: Staff and Faculty Who Completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training
If you completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training, you need to complete only the 2020 Recertification training by October 9, 2020. Employees can complete the online training in their offices or anywhere else that they have access to Blackboard Learn at a time that is convenient for them. The training takes between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. Once you log in to Blackboard and access the training folder, please read all the directions and complete the required actions described.  

2.  2020 Certification: New Staff and Faculty Who Have Not Completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training
If you have not completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training, you need to complete only the 2020 Certification training by October 9, 2020. Employees can complete the online training in their offices or anywhere else that they have access to Blackboard Learn at a time that is convenient for them. The training takes between 45 minutes and one hour to complete. Once you log in to Blackboard and access the training folder, please read all the directions and complete the required actions described.  

3. Employees Who Do Not Have Access to Blackboard
For employees who do not have access to Blackboard (for example, Facilities staff members), the Equity and Campus Diversity Office is coordinating options to complete the training with your supervisor. Please contact the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, 878-6210, for more information.

Accessing the 2020 Recertification and Certification Training
The sexual harassment prevention training videos may be accessed through the "My Organizations" section of Blackboard Learn. The training link is titled "New York State Sexual Harassment Learning Modules." Completing the training videos and reviewing Buffalo State’s Policy and Procedures on Sexual Harassment complies with the college’s obligation to provide the sexual harassment prevention training and your requirement as a New York State employee to receive and complete sexual harassment prevention training.

For more information, please visit the Equity and Campus Diversity website or review the list of frequently asked questions. For all other questions, please contact the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, 878-6210.

New York State enacted legislation in 2018 requiring all employers, including Buffalo State College, to ensure that their employees complete sexual harassment prevention training by October 9, 2020. The following training requirements meet all New York State requirements for sexual harassment prevention training. The Equity and Campus Diversity Office is offering the following options to comply with this requirement:

1. 2020 Recertification: Staff and Faculty Who Completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training
If you completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training, you need to complete only the 2020 Recertification training by October 9, 2020. Employees can complete the online training in their offices or anywhere else that they have access to Blackboard Learn at a time that is convenient for them. The training takes between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. Once you log in to Blackboard and access the training folder, please read all the directions and complete the required actions described.  

2.  2020 Certification: New Staff and Faculty Who Have Not Completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training
If you have not completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training, you need to complete only the 2020 Certification training by October 9, 2020. Employees can complete the online training in their offices or anywhere else that they have access to Blackboard Learn at a time that is convenient for them. The training takes between 45 minutes and one hour to complete. Once you log in to Blackboard and access the training folder, please read all the directions and complete the required actions described.  

3. Employees Who Do Not Have Access to Blackboard
For employees who do not have access to Blackboard (for example, Facilities staff members), the Equity and Campus Diversity Office is coordinating options to complete the training with your supervisor. Please contact the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, 878-6210, for more information.

Accessing the 2020 Recertification and Certification Training
The sexual harassment prevention training videos may be accessed through the "My Organizations" section of Blackboard Learn. The training link is titled "New York State Sexual Harassment Learning Modules." Completing the training videos and reviewing Buffalo State’s Policy and Procedures on Sexual Harassment complies with the college’s obligation to provide the sexual harassment prevention training and your requirement as a New York State employee to receive and complete sexual harassment prevention training.

For more information, please visit the Equity and Campus Diversity website or review the list of frequently asked questions. For all other questions, please contact the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, 878-6210.

New York State enacted legislation in 2018 requiring all employers, including Buffalo State College, to ensure that their employees complete sexual harassment prevention training by October 9, 2020. The following training requirements meet all New York State requirements for sexual harassment prevention training. The Equity and Campus Diversity Office is offering the following options to comply with this requirement:

1. 2020 Recertification: Staff and Faculty Who Completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training
If you completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training, you need to complete only the 2020 Recertification training by October 9, 2020. Employees can complete the online training in their offices or anywhere else that they have access to Blackboard Learn at a time that is convenient for them. The training takes between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. Once you log in to Blackboard and access the training folder, please read all the directions and complete the required actions described.  

2.  2020 Certification: New Staff and Faculty Who Have Not Completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training
If you have not completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training, you need to complete only the 2020 Certification training by October 9, 2020. Employees can complete the online training in their offices or anywhere else that they have access to Blackboard Learn at a time that is convenient for them. The training takes between 45 minutes and one hour to complete. Once you log in to Blackboard and access the training folder, please read all the directions and complete the required actions described.  

3. Employees Who Do Not Have Access to Blackboard
For employees who do not have access to Blackboard (for example, Facilities staff members), the Equity and Campus Diversity Office is coordinating options to complete the training with your supervisor. Please contact the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, 878-6210, for more information.

Accessing the 2020 Recertification and Certification Training
The sexual harassment prevention training videos may be accessed through the "My Organizations" section of Blackboard Learn. The training link is titled "New York State Sexual Harassment Learning Modules." Completing the training videos and reviewing Buffalo State’s Policy and Procedures on Sexual Harassment complies with the college’s obligation to provide the sexual harassment prevention training and your requirement as a New York State employee to receive and complete sexual harassment prevention training.

For more information, please visit the Equity and Campus Diversity website or review the list of frequently asked questions. For all other questions, please contact the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, 878-6210.

I am pleased to announce that Jamie E. Warnes has been named interim associate vice president for human resource management (HRM). Ms. Warnes has served as officer in charge of the department since December 2019 and has played a key role in Buffalo State College’s response to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Ms. Warnes has been part of Buffalo State’s HRM team for 13 years. She has served in successively more responsible roles during that time, including as assistant manager of personnel operations and manager of classified employment and employee relations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Medaille College and professional in human resources certification (PHR) from the Human Resource Certification Institute. She is also a Society for Human Resource Management certified professional (SHRM-CP). 

I am also pleased to announce that Carey L. Seneca has been named Buffalo State’s interim manager of recruitment and classification, overseeing smooth operation of the college search process. She has served as assistant manager for personnel for three years, and previously served in human resources roles at PWS Equity Corporation and Elmira College. Ms. Seneca holds a bachelor’s degree and a master of business administration from the University at Buffalo. She is certified as a professional in human resources (PHR) by the Human Resource Certification Institute and is a Society for Human Resource Management certified professional (SHRM-CP). 

Both appointments are effectively immediately. Please join me in welcoming Ms. Warnes and Ms. Seneca to their interim positions. I greatly appreciate their willingness to serve in these roles.

All Buffalo State College faculty and staff members are invited to the first Diversity Dialogue of the semester, “Justice by a Different Name,” featuring John Torrey, assistant professor of philosophy, today, September 29, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom videoconference. RSVP is required.

The Equity and Campus Diversity Office will host three Diversity Dialogues each semester this year, directed at faculty and staff members who wish to engage with each other on contemporary and sometimes difficult topics. These Diversity Dialogues will be an opportunity to dig in, learn from one another, and collaborate. 

We hope you will join us! Stay tuned for our future Diversity Dialogues (PDF, 685 KB).

Last spring, I appointed a task force charged with creating the foundational structure for a new School of Arts and Sciences, which will be established ahead of the 2021–2022 academic year and meld the best of the current schools of Arts and Humanities (A&H) and Natural and Social Sciences (NSS).

Over the summer, the task force, led by Carol DeNysschen, professor and chair of the Health, Nutrition, and Dietetics Department, and Mark Warford, associate professor and chair of the Modern and Classical Languages Department, drafted the mission, vision, and values statements, bylaws, and tenure and promotional procedures for the new school. They also created a job description for the founding dean, which is now posted. I recently established a search committee to review the applications and conduct interviews beginning in mid-November.

I invite you to visit the new School of Arts and Sciences Task Force web page within Academic Affairs to learn more about the reasoning behind creating the new school and our vision for how it will best meet the needs of our students. The page also contains a timeline of the entire process and a draft report of all that the task force has accomplished to date.   

However, the process is not finished. All faculty and staff members within A&S and NSS will have the opportunity to comment and provide anonymous feedback on the report via an e-mailed survey. A number of smaller focus groups, selected by the department chairs from each school, will discuss bylaws and the report in further detail. A final document will be presented to President Katherine Conway-Turner on Friday, November 6.

The Emergency Response Planning Group and University Police will conduct a test of the college’s outdoor emergency alert horn at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, October 22.

People who are outdoors during the test will hear a series of three loud 60-second horn blasts emanating from the central heating plant. Please note: the horn is primarily intended to be audible at outdoor locations on campus—not inside buildings.

In a real emergency, the horn would sound for a minimum of five full minutes. If a real emergency alert is signaled, immediately seek shelter and await further instructions communicated via Buff State Alert, e-mail, suny.buffalostate.edu, or direct instructions from University Police. For more information on Buffalo State’s comprehensive emergency response plan, please visit the UPD website.

Approximately 30 minutes before the test horn sounds, the college will issue a campuswide test of the Buff State Alert emergency communication system. At this time, all students, faculty, and staff members who have registered with the service will be sent a test message.

Students, faculty, and staff members are strongly encouraged to enroll in Buff State Alert, or modify their preferences, by visiting the Buff State Alert website and logging in with their Buffalo State username and password. Those who do not have a Buffalo State username or password but want to receive text messages from Buff State Alert can sign up by texting the phrase “buffalostate” to 79516.

New York State enacted legislation in 2018 requiring all employers, including Buffalo State College, to ensure that their employees complete sexual harassment prevention training by October 9, 2020. The following training requirements meet all New York State requirements for sexual harassment prevention training. The Equity and Campus Diversity Office is offering the following options to comply with this requirement:

1. 2020 Recertification: Staff and Faculty Who Completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training
If you completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training, you need to complete only the 2020 Recertification training by October 9, 2020. Employees can complete the online training in their offices or anywhere else that they have access to Blackboard Learn at a time that is convenient for them. The training takes between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. Once you log in to Blackboard and access the training folder, please read all the directions and complete the required actions described.  

2.  2020 Certification: New Staff and Faculty Who Have Not Completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training
If you have not completed the 2019 Sexual Harassment Training, you need to complete only the 2020 Certification training by October 9, 2020. Employees can complete the online training in their offices or anywhere else that they have access to Blackboard Learn at a time that is convenient for them. The training takes between 45 minutes and one hour to complete. Once you log in to Blackboard and access the training folder, please read all the directions and complete the required actions described.  

3. Employees Who Do Not Have Access to Blackboard
For employees who do not have access to Blackboard (for example, Facilities staff members), the Equity and Campus Diversity Office is coordinating options to complete the training with your supervisor. Please contact the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, 878-6210, for more information.

Accessing the 2020 Recertification and Certification Training
The sexual harassment prevention training videos may be accessed through the "My Organizations" section of Blackboard Learn. The training link is titled "New York State Sexual Harassment Learning Modules." Completing the training videos and reviewing Buffalo State’s Policy and Procedures on Sexual Harassment complies with the college’s obligation to provide the sexual harassment prevention training and your requirement as a New York State employee to receive and complete sexual harassment prevention training.

For more information, please visit the Equity and Campus Diversity website or review the list of frequently asked questions. For all other questions, please contact the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, 878-6210.