Please join the Chemistry Department for the next seminar of the fall 2023 seminar series, "Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Assay for Quantifying Fentanyl and 22 Analogs and Metabolites in Whole Blood, Urine, and Hair," presented by Julie Milbrand, M.S. candidate in forensic science at SUNY Buffalo State University, on Thursday, November 16, at 12:15 p.m in Science and Mathematics Complex 175. 

Abstract
Infamously known for its high potency and lethal capabilities, fentanyl and its analogs have been ravaging through the illicit drug market, fueling the opioid epidemic. Before its illicit use and abuse, fentanyl was FDA approved to be used within the medical field as a pain management medication and has remained one of the most prescribed opioids in the past three decades. Because of the very small amount needed to cause an overdose and subsequent death and the fact that it is highly lipid soluble, it is a relatively difficult task to both detect and quantify the amount of fentanyl or fentanyl analogs in postmortem cases and requires highly sensitive analytical instruments. Previous methods of fentanyl and analog identification included the implementation of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Although this analytical device is sufficient in the detection of the substances within the postmortem samples, the popular methods are not comprehensive enough to include all the known analogs of fentanyl in the market, not validated for detecting analogs in hair—only blood and urine—and include a low sensitivity for analyte detection. With fentanyl and its analogs dominating the opioid-related deaths for the past several years within the U.S., an updated, simple, fast, comprehensive, and sensitive method for detecting and quantifying fentanyl and its many analogs was the goal of this study. Using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to accomplish this task, the authors of this study were able to develop an eight-minute method of detecting 22 different analogs and metabolites of fentanyl, in addition to fentanyl itself, which was validated to have a high sensitivity and low matrix effect among the three matrices tested.

Winterim, the period between the fall and spring semesters when a variety of activities are held on campus to support the intellectual, personal, and professional growth of faculty and staff, will be held January 16–19, 2024.

Winterim is a great opportunity to connect with colleagues and learn from one another. If you have a skill or talent you would like to share with the campus community, please complete and submit the Winterim Session Submission form by Thursday, December 7.

Please contact the Professional Development Center, (716) 878-5364, with questions.

Buffalo State University has a subscription to Read&Write, a literacy support tool that offers help with everyday language tasks. This software is available for all students, faculty, and staff members to use as needed. In addition to providing access to the software download and installation on personal computers, the application is pre-installed on all Buffalo State authorized computers on campus.

Read&Write provides the following study skills features:

• Text-to-speech – Highlights text and reads it out loud, providing multiple means of access.
• Text highlighting – Uses multiple color highlights and extracts them to an MS Word or Google doc to create a notes file.
• Vocabulary list – Highlights words within a reading to create a vocabulary list of the highlighted text.
• Speech-to-text – Dictates content in MS Word.

Please provide this resource to all students, as this product supports struggling readers as well as English language learners.

The download and installation process can be found on the Student Accessibility Services Assistive Technology site. Tutorials on how to use this product are also linked from this site.

To assist students who are trying to find classes that have seats available, please encourage them to use Schedule Planner. While in Banner, students can click on the Schedule Planner link. They can then search for Open Classes Only (classes that have seats available) by selecting this in the Course Status field and then selecting the term (J-Term 2024 or Spring 2024). Schedule Planner is an online planning tool that makes registration for student easier. Schedule Planner simplifies and decreases the amount of time involved in planning a schedule.

Please join the Geosciences Department in celebrating GIS Day on Thursday, November 16, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in Buckham Hall A122. Ali Santora, ’15, will discuss how the City of Buffalo has adopted the use of GIS for operations, communication, administration, collaboration, automation, and integration. All are welcome! Lunch will be provided.

Calling all Teacher Education Unit faculty members: The annual TEU Program Improvement Retreat will be held Wednesday, January 24, 2024, from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. in Bulger Communication Center 216. Breakfast will be available at 8:45 a.m.).

Please register online.

During this data- and action-focused retreat, we will review, reflect on, and discuss the following:

• TPA - What we learned, next steps, how to prepare candidates.
• Student Teaching Evaluations - What they are telling us.
• Closing the Loop - Colleague examples of using assessment outcomes to improve program quality.
• Action Planning - To capture the work you do!

Please direct questions to Shannon Budin, assistant dean and professor of exceptional education.

The enrollment period for the 2024 Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP) is now open and runs through Monday, December 11. PEP allows eligible CSEA, UUP, PEF, and M/C employees to exchange previously accrued vacation or personal leave for a credit toward their biweekly New York State health insurance costs. Sick leave credits cannot be exchanged under this program.

Employees who participated in PEP for 2023 must file a new election form to enroll in the 2024 program. Details and enrollment forms can be found on the Human Resource Management website.

To participate, eligible employees must file an election form with the Human Resource Management Office, Cleveland Hall 403, by close of business (5:00 p.m.) Monday, December 11. 

For program details, please select your bargaining unit:

• CSEA Program Description (PDF, 190 KB) and Enrollment Form (PDF, 545 KB)
• UUP and M/C Program Description (PDF, 130 KB) and Enrollment Form (PDF, 620 KB)

Open enrollment for the 2024 NYS Flex Spending Account (FSA) closes at 11:59 p.m. Monday, December 11. The program helps eligible state employees save money on necessary health- or dependent-care expenses because the money they set aside in their accounts is not subject to federal, state, or Social Security taxes.

The Flex Spending Account offers three benefits:

The Health Care Spending Account (HCSA) lets you set aside any amount from $100 to $3,050 for the 2024 plan year to pay for health care expenses that are not reimbursed by your health insurance or other benefit plan; however, only medically necessary medical, hospital, dental, vision, hearing, and prescription drug expenses for you, your spouse, or your eligible dependents can be reimbursed by your HCSA.

The Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAA) allows your family to set aside up to $5,000 in pre-tax dollars for eligible custodial child care, elder care, or disabled dependent care expenses that are necessary for you and your spouse, if you are married, to work.

The Adoption Advantage Account allows employees to set aside up to $15,950 of pre-tax dollars to pay for expenses related to the adoption of an eligible child. This benefit is available to M/C employees and those represented by CSEA, PEF, UUP, NYSCOPBA, and PBA.

Complete information on the Flex Spending Account can be found on the Governor's Office of Employee Relations website. If you wish to take advantage of this benefit, please submit your application for enrollment online or by phone at (800) 358-7202. You will need your NYS Employee ID number, which is located on your pay stub, to complete your application. Please be sure to enroll by December 11. If you are enrolled for the 2023 plan year, you must re-enroll to continue your benefits in 2024.

The deadline for 2024 enrollment is December 11, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time and will be strictly enforced.

Special guest Sarah Freligh will read from her poetry and fiction at the next Emanuel Fried Drop Hammer Reading Series event on Thursday, November 16, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 302. Ms. Freligh is the author of six books, including Sad Math, winner of the 2014 Moon City Press Poetry Prize and the 2015 Whirling Prize from the University of Indianapolis, and the recently released A Brief Natural History of Women, from Harbor Editions. Her work has appeared in the Cincinnati Review miCRo series, SmokeLong Quarterly, and the Wigleaf 50 and in the anthologies New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction (Norton 2018) and Best Microfiction (2019–2022). Among her awards are poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Saltonstall Foundation. She lives in Rochester, New York.

There will be light food and refreshments. The event is free and open to the public.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) at SUNY, supported by the SUNY Center for Professional Development, is proud to continue to offer the?Access for All Webinar Series.?This series of one-hour online webinars addresses topics of interest related to UDL in higher education. These first two webinars will be offered by Empire State University’s Center for Autism Advocacy: Research, Education, and Supports (CAARES). 

Supporting Our Diverse Student Body: Neurodivergence in Higher Education and Universal Supports? 
Wednesday, November 29
2:00–3:00 p.m.
This?webinar will provide?a?high-level overview of neurodivergence and autism in higher education,?as well as universal strategies?to support student success in higher education environments.? 

Supporting Our Diverse Student Body: Continuation of Universal Supports and Case Study Analysis for Neurodivergent and Autistic Students? 
Wednesday, December 20
1:00–2:00 p.m.?
This webinar will provide an in-depth discussion of universal strategies and will discuss the “why” in supporting self-determination for students with disabilities with a focus on universal supports. We will brainstorm ways we can implement universal design in our work and will engage in case study analysis. 

Register for these sessions.

Additionally, more information can be found on the Universal Design for Learning website.