Any employees who have been inactive on state payroll for more than two pay periods will have their direct deposit deactivated by the Office of the State Comptroller. Employees returning for fall 2023 who had direct deposit in previously semesters and whose information has not changed must request reactivation by submitting the Direct Deposit Reactivation Request Form (DOCX, 60 KB) via email to the Payroll Office.

Buffalo State University participates in the New York State Direct Deposit Program. Through this program, employees may choose to have their net salary partially or entirely deposited directly, via electronic funds transfer, with any financial institution that can receive transactions through the automated clearinghouse system. To enroll, please bring completed original Direct Deposit Forms (PDF, 1.9 MB) to the Payroll Office located in Cleveland Hall 408.

Please share this message with your returning students as well.

Please join the Teaching and Learning Center for the session "Introduction to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at SUNY Buffalo State," presented by Jill Norvilitis, professor of psychology, and Gina Game, research compliance manager for sponsored programs, on Thursday, October 5, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Buckham Hall B145.

Before the review process, researchers must be sure that their project is, in fact, research with human participants as defined by the federal government. To qualify as research with human participants, the following must be true: (1) The participants must be living. The use of records is still considered research with human participants, although oral history and journalism are specifically excluded. (2) The project is a systematic investigation; that is, it is designed to be a study. For example, instances in classrooms where teachers ask students’ opinions on the material to gauge progress are not research; however, if that same teacher designs a study to evaluate two methods of teaching the material to see which is more effective, this would be research if the third criterion is met. (3) The project is designed to contribute to the generalized knowledge. To qualify as research, the person conducting the project must intend for it to be disseminated at some level. On our campus, we also review student projects that may not be disseminated but that meet the first two criteria so that our students will learn the process of research with human participants and because we have contracted with the federal government to do so.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

Please join the Teaching and Learning Center for the session “Designing Successful Writing Assignments in the Age of Chat GPT,” presented by Maggie Herb, associate professor of English and director of the Buffalo State Writing Center, on Thursday, September 28, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Butler Library 134.

With the recent rise of powerful AI (artificial intelligence) tools, many educators are concerned about the effect of these new technologies on the way we teach and assign writing. The good news, though, is that through careful and strategic design of our assignments, we can create opportunities for students to engage in writing that requires critical reflection and metacognitive thinking—processes that rely on human intelligence! This workshop will be interactive, so participants are invited to bring assignment prompts for feedback and revision suggestions.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

The Registrar’s Office has posted the graduation application deadlines (PDF, 116 KB) for the 2023–2024 academic year. All students, graduate and undergraduate, can apply online in Self-Service Banner.

Please encourage students to review their Degree Works audit to make sure all requirements are being met before they apply. Instructions for completing the online application for graduation are available on the Graduation Preparation web page.

Please advise seniors who are expecting to graduate in December 2023 to apply online now! Online applications for December 2023 are due by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, October 1.

Students who miss the deadline should email the Registrar's Office to request late consideration for graduation. Late applicants may experience a delay in the awarding of their degrees.

The minimum number of credit hours for an undergraduate degree is 120. Students should review their Degree Works audit to make sure all requirements are being met before applying. More information and instructions on using the online graduation application system can be found on the Registrar’s Office website.

All Independent Study, Course by Contract, and Special Project applications for undergraduate students and Graduate Individual Study applications for graduate students are due in the Registrar’s Office by Friday, September 1. Forms are available in most academic department offices as well as on the Registrar’s Office Forms and Services web page. All required signatures must be obtained before applications can be processed.

The Career and Professional Education (CAPE) Center is excited to announce that the Part-Time-Job and Internship Fair will be held today, August 31, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Student Union Plaza.

On-campus departments and local organizations will be in attendance, looking to hire Buffalo State students to fill their part-time-job openings as well as paid internships for fall 2023, spring 2024, and summer 2024. A list of the organizations attending is available on the CAPE website.  

Please remind students about the Part-Time-Job Fair and feel free to stop by!

For more information, contact the Career and Professional Education Center, Cleveland Hall 306, (716) 878-5811.

The faculty and staff Bible study will have its first meeting of the fall semester on Friday, September 1, at noon. We meet every other Friday from noon to 12:50 p.m. by Zoom. During the last part of the meeting, we have a time of sharing and prayer. Please email David Ettestad, professor of physics, for the Zoom link or with any questions.

As part of the ongoing construction project, sections of E. H. Butler Library will be inaccessible until August 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. Books located in the affected sections are still available for hold requests.
• Work on the second and third floor Southeast Quad is currently underway and will continue until December 2023. During this time, there is no public access to these areas.
• The elevator near the Ask Us Desk will not be in service until December 2023. The elevator behind Starbucks remains in service.
• The work in StudyQuad and QuietQuad has been completed, and these areas are open to patrons.
• Archives and Special Collections will also be intermittently inaccessible during the project.

Please contact Joe Riggie, head of information management, with questions regarding the construction. Contact Dan DiLandro, head of archives and special collections, with questions about the Archives and Special Collections.

More details are available on the library’s website. Your cooperation and understanding are appreciated as this important update is underway.

CORRECTION APPENDED

A New Hire Benefits Orientation will be held Thursday, September 7, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. in the Grande Conference Room, Cleveland Hall 418.

This orientation is for new hires who have yet to complete their health insurance and retirement paperwork and may have questions after reviewing the materials that were sent to them previously.

Registration is required. RSVP by email with your name; please use the word Orientation in the subject line.

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Correction: August 28, 2023
The original version of this announcement, published August 28, 2023, listed an incorrect the time for the event. The correction has been made.