I am pleased to announce that the presidential search firm, Storbeck Search, will conduct three open forum listening sessions with the Buffalo State community on Friday, April 28, in the LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center's Costello Hall. This is your opportunity to ask questions, voice concerns, and share your opinions with Storbeck Search. I encourage all interested members of the campus community to attend one of the following presentations and share your thoughts with our search firm partners.

Advance registration is not required for these open sessions. Light refreshments will be provided.

Session 1
10:00–11:00 a.m.

Session 2
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Session 3
1:00–2:00 p.m.

Sincerely,

Linda A. Dobmeier, ’71
Chair, Buffalo State Council

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About Storbeck Search
With a deep understanding of the unique challenges of higher education leadership and a strong understanding of shared governance dynamics, Storbeck Search brings a collaborative and consultative approach to the presidential search process that is based on collaboration, listening, and trust.

Storbeck Search is a part of Diversified Search Group, the world’s largest woman-founded executive search firm with one of the industry’s most diverse leadership teams. Diversified Search Group operates as a combination of specialty firms (Diversified Search, Alta Associates, BioQuest, Koya Partners, Grant Cooper, Storbeck Search, and Yardstick Management) and is the exclusive U.S. partner of AltoPartners, the international alliance of independent executive search firms.

I cordially invite all Buffalo State University faculty and staff members to the Social Justice Walk Groundbreaking and Farewell Reception on Thursday, May 4, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Science and Mathematics Complex.

Please respond by Thursday, April 27.

As previously announced, Khaleel Gathers will soon leave his position as associate vice president for instructional technology and CIO. Please join us to thank him for his 28 years of service to Buffalo State and celebrate his many accomplishments at a reception on Wednesday, April 26, from noon to 1:00 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 205. Kindly respond by emailing vpfm@buffalostate.edu by Friday, April 21.

As part of an upcoming construction project, sections of E. H. Butler Library will be inaccessible for about 15 months—from May 22, 2023, to August 23, 2024. The project will provide critical and necessary upgrades to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning in the building. The work will mainly affect the book stack areas and Archives and Special Collections spaces, as well as various conference and storage rooms.

During the project, access to print books and other materials on the second and third floors of the library will be significantly constrained or offline for periods of time. Archives and Special Collections will also be intermittently inaccessible during the project.

Faculty members who would like to set aside certain books for student use for their classes during the construction are encouraged to contact Joe Riggie, head of information management, or Ken Fujiuchi, head of information commons. For questions regarding Archives and Special Collections, please contact Dan DiLandro, head of archives and special collections.

More details will be conveyed as planning continues and the project advances. Your cooperation and understanding are appreciated as this important update is underway.

As we prepare to welcome the Class of 2027, Student Leadership and Engagement will host information sessions to educate the campus community on the dates, goals, and components of the summer 2023 Orientation program. Welcoming the entering class, both this summer and in August, is an important milestone for them and our Bengal community. I encourage you to attend the sessions below and be on the lookout for additional information on everyone’s role in welcoming and supporting new students.

All forums will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall.

Summer 2023 Orientation Forums

Friday, April 21
Friday, April 28
Friday, May 5

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NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION DATES: SUMMER 2023

Transfer Students
Session 1 – Tuesday, June 27
Session 2 – Tuesday, July 11
Session 3 – Tuesday, July 18

First-Year Students
Session 1 - Thursday, June 29, and Friday, June 30
Session 2 - Thursday, July 13, and Friday, July 14
Session 3 - Thursday, July 20, and Friday, July 21
Session 4 - Thursday, July 27, and Friday, July 28
Session 5 - Friday, August 18 (Fall Athletes)

More information on Bengal Bound and the last Orientation in August will be communicated at a later date. Please contact Thomas Trzepkowski, assistant director for activities, orientation, and transition, (716) 878-4631, with questions or for more information.

As we prepare to welcome the Class of 2027, Student Leadership and Engagement will host information sessions to educate the campus community on the dates, goals, and components of the summer 2023 Orientation program. Welcoming the entering class, both this summer and in August, is an important milestone for them and our Bengal community. I encourage you to attend the sessions below and be on the lookout for additional information on everyone’s role in welcoming and supporting new students.

All forums will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall.

Summer 2023 Orientation Forums

Friday, April 21
Friday, April 28
Friday, May 5

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NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION DATES: SUMMER 2023

Transfer Students
Session 1 – Tuesday, June 27
Session 2 – Tuesday, July 11
Session 3 – Tuesday, July 18

First-Year Students
Session 1 - Thursday, June 29, and Friday, June 30
Session 2 - Thursday, July 13, and Friday, July 14
Session 3 - Thursday, July 20, and Friday, July 21
Session 4 - Thursday, July 27, and Friday, July 28
Session 5 - Friday, August 18 (Fall Athletes)

More information on Bengal Bound and the last Orientation in August will be communicated at a later date. Please contact Thomas Trzepkowski, activities, orientation, and transition, (716) 878-4631, with questions or for more information.

As announced in the Daily Bulletin on April 14, 2023, Buffalo State University’s Financial Sustainability Plan has been updated, and the Spending Constraints Oversight Committee (SCOC) has been disbanded, effective Tuesday, April 18.

The SCOC was established based on a SUNY and NYS Division of Budget mandate in response to the economic impact of the pandemic across the state. Following our campus budget rebalancing phase from 2017–2018 through 2019–2020, where we reduced the campus budget by $7 million, the campus managed to save an additional $4.7 million in personnel and $2.7 million of Other Than Personal Service (OTPS) expenditures as a result of pandemic spending constraints. The SCOC played an important and effective role in the campus’s reducing OTPS expenses.

SUNY lifted the mandate before the 2022–2023 academic year; however, the president stated that she would permanently reduce campus OTPS budgets by 5 percent, as well as maintain the spending constraint guidelines and the SCOC, until the campus budget reductions were established in spring 2023.

Again, the SCOC has played an important and effective role in the campus’s reducing expenditures by $2.7 million over the last three years.

Please note that the $30,000 review threshold has been eliminated, and such purchase requests can go directly to Procurement Services. Our individual commitment to exercising responsible care with all funds of Buffalo State University is captured in the Acknowledgement of Financial Resource Stewardship. Regarding contracts, however, please note that recent threshold changes that require state comptroller review and approval are in effect and will remain so until further notice.

I echo President Conway-Turner’s gratitude to the members of the SCOC, as well as the entire campus, for their tireless attention to campus expenditures for the past three years. This is most appreciated.

I am pleased to announce that Julie Henry, professor in the Elementary Education, Literacy, and Educational Leadership Department, has received the President's Caring Bengal Award.

Dr. Henry was nominated for the award by Corinne Kindzierski, Assistant Professor in the Elementary Education, Literacy, and Educational Leadership Department. Her award profile can be viewed on the Professional Development website.

I announced the creation and implementation of the President’s Caring Bengal Award in December 2017 to recognize supportive colleagues in our Buffalo State community who not only transform the lives of our students but also help create a caring and collegial environment for our faculty, staff, and administrators.

Nominations for the Caring Bengal Award will be collected again in September. For more information about the award criteria and recipient selection process, or to submit a nomination, please visit the Professional Development website.

Please contact Rebecca Eggleston, staff assistant in the Professional Development Center, with questions about the President’s Caring Bengal Award.

In support of the university’s and the division of student affairs’ strategic goal to increase the number of campus partners educated in career development frameworks by 2026 in order to help refer and assist students, Career and Professional Education (CAPE) is happy to announce the next round of training sessions to become a Bengal Career Champion!

As a Bengal Career Champion, you’ll become more familiar with career resources to help keep your students on track and focused on their careers, as well as learn tips to have more productive career conversations.

Current Bengal Career Champions tell us as a result of the training program, they feel more prepared and more confident guiding students to future career success, as well as referring students to CAPE. They also recommend this training to colleagues.

The next set of trainings will take place on Tuesday, May 16, and Tuesday, May 23, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. (attendance at both sessions is required). To reserve your spot for this in-person training, RSVP no later than Friday, May 5. Please contact CAPE with questions. We look forward to your participation!

The next Bengal Business Forum will be held on Thursday, May 25, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 217. The meeting will cover a review of the 2023–2024 Strategic Resource Planning Process (SRPP) outcomes and an overview of the revised Campus Emergency Plan.

Buffalo State’s Bengal Business Forum provides an opportunity for members of the campus community to learn about and engage with relevant business and administrative matters at the university. It is a place for issues updates, information, and in-depth discussion about financial, administrative, and operational topics.   

All members of the campus community are welcome to attend. To reserve your place and to receive the meeting agenda, please register no later than Wednesday, May 24.

We look forward to seeing you at the next Bengal Business Forum.