The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive on Tuesday, January 30, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center. As we look ahead to Black History Month, it is important to recognize the need that patients with sickle cell anemia have for life-saving blood. Some patients can need up to 100 units of blood a year! All donors will receive a $20 Amazon gift card by email, plus a Red Cross T-shirt. Call (800) RED-CROSS or visit the ARC website to schedule an appointment or to learn more. Please also note that the American Red Cross is currently experiencing a national emergency blood shortage. All blood types are needed.

Sponsored by the Weigel Wellness Center and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity.

The Beyond Boundaries Screening and Discussion Series is pleased to announce its spring 2024 schedule. All films start at 7:00 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center's Tower Auditorium and are free and open to the public. There is always a discussion after the film.

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Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power (2022)
Thursday, February 15
The passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 represented the beginning of a crucial chapter in the Civil Rights Movement. The battle to come was epitomized in Lowndes County, Alabama, a rural, impoverished town with a vicious history of racist terrorism. In a town that was 80 percent Black but had zero Black voters, laws were just paper without power. This is the story of the local movement and young Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizers who fought not just for voting rights but for Black power in Lowndes County.

Watch the trailer.

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Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (2023)
Thursday, March 14
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project pushes the boundaries of biographical documentary film to reveal the enduring influence of one of America's greatest living artists and social commentators. The film reckons with the inevitable passing of time through a collision of memories, moments in American history, live readings, and visually innovative treatments of Giovanni's poetry. Featuring the voice of Taraji P. Henson. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Watch the trailer.

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Esther Newton Made Me Gay (2022)
Thursday, April 18
The life and times of cultural anthropologist Esther Newton. Her story of awakening to gay life in the 1950s, the women's liberation movement and lesbian-feminism, drag culture, and forging a butch identity that for her is now in conversation with trans-masculinity. Keenly attuned to the cultural and societal forces that shaped her life, Newton guides us through an anthropology of herself. The tone of this film is guided by Newton's love for a sport competitive dog agility that pairs her aging butch body with her beloved dog teammate on an obstacle course that is constantly changing.

Watch the trailer.

The Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium wants to tap into the talent and creativity of our community with a T-shirt design contest. Create a T-shirt for the upcoming total solar eclipse for a chance to win $500. This contest is open to all Buffalo State University students, faculty, staff, and alumni!

Designs must be submitted online by Friday, February 2.

Design Requirements

• Theme must be the total solar eclipse in Buffalo on April 8, 2024.
• Design must be four colors maximum, two to three preferred.
• Design cannot exceed 12 inches wide by 13 inches high.
• Design must not include any copyrighted material.
• Design must be submitted in JPEG, PNG, or PDF format.
• Only one submission is permitted per contestant.

Further details can be found on the submission site. Questions can be directed to planetarium@buffalostate.edu.

Please help us spread the word to students and alumni!

The Anne Frank Project will hold two days of kinesthetic workshops in its story-based learning (SBL) curriculum on Tuesday and Wednesday, January 23 and 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall. SBL uses story as a vehicle for community building, conflict management, and identity exploration. This professional development training shows how to apply the practice in lessons and classroom culture. It is free and open to all members of the Buffalo State University community.

Register today!

Learn more about SBL on the Anne Frank Project website.

Please contact Drew Kahn, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and AFP founding director, with questions.

All SUNY faculty and staff members are invited to submit abstracts for the virtual 2024 SUNY Digital Learning Conference "Educating for Digital Citizenship," sponsored by SUNY Geneseo and SUNY OER Services, and presented by the SUNY Center for Professional Development, on April 18 and 19.

Proposals should relate to the conference tracks (PDF, 86 KB): Digital Activism; Building Public-Facing Digital Projects; Understanding Privacy Online; AI Hype, Risks, and Opportunities; and Evaluating Online Information. Special consideration will be given to presentations that include students. Reviewers are particularly interested in concrete instructional models, proposed or implemented, at the level of classroom or curriculum, for helping students succeed as digital citizens: majors, minors, microcredentials, course units, course assignments, and high-impact practices such as research opportunities and collaborative projects.

Proposals are due by Sunday, January 28, at midnight.

Buffalo State student organizations and campus departments are encouraged to submit programs to be included in the Weeks of Welcome schedule of events for spring 2024.

Weeks of Welcome at Buffalo State University is a series of programs hosted by student organizations and the campus community to welcome our students during the first month of the semester. We are accepting submissions for programs and events taking place between Monday, January 29, and Friday, March 8. We also strongly encourage you to post events taking place after March 8 on Bengal Connect.

More information on programs and events can be found by visiting the Weeks of Welcome Schedule through the Student Leadership and Engagement website.

Sponsor a Weeks of Welcome Event
Requirements to submit an event:

• The event takes place between January 29 and March 8.
• The event is sponsored by a Buffalo State campus department or registered student organization.
• The sponsoring campus department or student organization has a confirmed space reservation with Events Management or the Campbell Student Union.
• The event must be posted on Bengal Connect.

To submit an event, please complete the Weeks of Welcome Program Submission Form. 

If you have questions or would like more information, please email Student Leadership and Engagement.

Do you want to improve your public speaking skills? Join Downtown Toastmasters for an open house and Q&A session with special guest Aaron Mentkowski, WKBW-TV 7's chief meteorologist, on Friday, January 26, at 7:30 a.m. in Caudell Hall 110. Mr. Mentkowski will discuss how Toastmasters helped him achieve success in his broadcasting career. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions during a brief Q&A. This event is free and open to Buffalo State students, faculty, and staff members as well as the general public. RSVP before Saturday, January 20.

We hope to see you there!  

About Downtown Toastmasters
Downtown Toastmasters, a local chapter of Toastmasters International, is open to anyone who wants to become a better public speaker, hone their ability to lead, and join a community that guides members to meet their personal and professional goals. To learn more, please visit the website.

The Buffalo State University community is saddened by the death of Stephanie Barber Geter, project staff associate in the Sponsored Programs Office (Research Foundation), who died January 11, 2024. Mrs. Geter joined the campus in 2009 and retired in 2020. Survivors include her husband, Edwin Geter. Friends may call Tuesday, January 23, at 10:00 a.m. at Elim Christian Fellowship Church, 70 Chalmers Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14214. Funeral to follow at 11:00 a.m. More information is available online.

Active Buffalo State employees can view and print their W-2 Wage and Tax Statement from any computer or smartphone through NYS Payroll Online.

Go to the State Payroll Self-Service website.

1. Log in to www.suny.edu/hrportal.
2. Click on the NYS Payroll Online icon.
3. Complete the verification process the first time you log in. You will need your nine-digit NYS Employee ID obtained from SUNY HR Self Service or your pay stub.
4. For NYS Payroll Online, if you do not have the Payroll Online application on the NY.gov portal, go to https://psonline.osc.ny.gov/ in the same browser session and tab after completing the verification process.
5. Select View W-2.
6. Select Year End Form for required year. (Please be sure that pop-ups are enabled in your browser.)
7. Print the W-2.

Paper copies of the 2023 W-2s will be picked up by the U.S. Postal Service later this month.

Within the NYS Payroll Online self-service system, you can elect to opt out of receiving paper direct deposit stubs. If you are not enrolled in direct deposit, you can enroll anytime by completing the direct deposit enrollment request form (PDF, 2 MB).

Please call the Buffalo State Payroll Office with questions: (716) 878-4124.

The Buffalo State Alumni Association and Liberty Mutual are teaming up to offer a defensive driving course on Saturday, February 24, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center. All members of the campus community alumni, students, faculty, and staff are invited to register for the course and earn up to 10 percent off their auto insurance (regardless of provider). The cost is $30 per person.

To register, please call Buffalo State's representative, Damien Lawrence, at (716) 984-9111 by Wednesday, February 21, to reserve your spot.