The CSEA Local 640 Veterans Committee is looking for members. If interested, please feel free to attend our next meeting on Tuesday, December 6, at noon in Bacon Hall 110. We will be discussing upcoming events and making holiday cards for soldiers. Pizza will be served. We hope to see you there.

Please join the Anne Frank Project in January for two days of kinesthetic workshops in our story-based learning (SBL) curriculum using story as a vehicle for community building, conflict resolution, and identity exploration. This training is free and open to all members of the Buffalo State community interested in incorporating SBL into their professional lives. To sign up, please email our teaching artist Roselynn Corrado. 

Training Dates
Wednesday, January 18, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Thursday, January 19, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Campbell Student Union Assembly Hall

During the fall 2022 semester, several wonderful students provided peer note-taking services for Student Accessibility Services.

Peer notetakers are volunteers who have met standards of quality and excellence in order to assist us with ensuring equal access to education for students who receive the note-taking accommodation.

Peer notetaker duties extend beyond just providing a copy of one's notes. Peer notetakers ensure that their notes are tailored to suit the needs of the student(s) they serve. This is not an easy task, because of the level of need that may be required. Taking notes can involve rephrasing content, providing notes in differing formats, and working with Student Accessibility Services to ensure that all notes are up to quality and accessibility standards.

The following students have displayed a high degree of integrity, responsibility, and care, and we thank them for their time and dedication this semester.

Name of Student - Major                        

Rachael Cooper - Dietetics
Emma Cretacci - Childhood Education
Evan Maher - International Relations
Kylie Reach - Dietetics
Jezebel Sunshine - Earth Sciences

Please join us in thanking them for helping us keep Buffalo State a civil and caring academic community.

The Teacher Education Council (TEC) will meet Friday, December 9, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 418. Please note the earlier start time. This will be our last meeting of the fall 2022 semester. TEC representatives will receive an email with last month’s minutes and an agenda for review before the meeting. All TEC representatives and Teacher Education Unit members are encouraged to attend. Meeting participation from non-members is also welcomed; contact your TEC representative for more information.

The State University of New York (SUNY) provides employees with the opportunity to save for their retirement through the SUNY Voluntary 403(b) Savings Plan. Participation in the SUNY Voluntary Savings Plan is a great way to build your retirement savings through pre-tax or post-tax payroll deduction contributions.

Whether you want to enroll in the plan for the first time or you are already enrolled but wish to change the amount of your deferral, you can do so through the SUNY online enrollment and management system. For more information, please call the Employee Benefits Office at (716) 878-4821 or visit the SUNY Benefits website.

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Eligibility
All employees of SUNY who receive compensation reportable on an IRS form W-2 are eligible to participate in the plan.

Please take a moment to review the plan materials before enrolling. Once you are enrolled, you can review and change the amount of your contributions as often as once per pay period, in accordance with campus payroll deadlines for submitting changes, through the SUNY online enrollment and management system.

The exact date that your investment allocations will take effect may vary depending on payroll system deadlines and the policies of the investment provider you chose for plan contributions.

In addition to the SUNY 403(b) Plan, the NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (NYSDCP) also provides a way for you to contribute to a retirement account on both a pre-tax (traditional) and post-tax (Roth) basis through payroll deduction.

Through the pre-tax options (traditional), your contributions plus earnings are not taxed until you withdraw the funds. Distributions are considered ordinary income for tax purposes.

Through the post-tax (Roth) option, your contributions are taxed at the time you make them. Earnings are income tax-free upon qualified distribution if you are 59˝ (for the 403(b) plan) or separated from service (for both 403(b) and 457 plans) and it has been at least five taxable years since the initial Roth deposit.

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How Much Can I Contribute?
For 2023, you can contribute up to $22,500 per year. If you are age 50 or older anytime in 2023, you can contribute an additional $7,500, for a maximum of $30,000.

Each participant is limited to these maximum contribution amounts for all 403(b) and 457 plans, respectively. SUNY employees are able to maximize contributions to both the SUNY 403(b) Plan and the NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (457) concurrently; however, if you also participate in a 403(b) or 457 plan with another employer, you are responsible for tracking and reporting the amount of all of your contributions to the plans so that the total amount of all your annual contributions to all plans in which you participate does not exceed the limit. Deferred Compensation (457) plans may also offer, for eligible participants, the Special Retirement Catch-up Provision for contributions within three years of your elected normal retirement age.

A special limit may apply to your contributions if you “control” (meaning you have more than a 50 percent ownership interest) in another business and you participate in its retirement plan. In determining the annual limit for all contributions described above, you must include all contributions made on your behalf under any defined contribution plans maintained by the other business that you control. You are required to inform the Benefits Office if this situation applies to you. Failure to do so can result in adverse tax consequences to you.

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What Are My Savings Options?
There are several plan options and investment providers to choose from through the SUNY 403(b) Plan. NYS Deferred Compensation Plan also offers its own investment options. Authorized investment providers offer a wide choice of investment options, including stock, bond, and guaranteed funds. Each provider offers individual counseling and assistance on investment information and can review the pre- and post-tax contribution options to best meet your retirement planning needs.

The following authorized plans and investment providers are available to you within the SUNY 403(b) Plan:

AIG/Corebridge Financial 
(800) 448-2542 or (888) 569-7055
https://www.corebridgefinancial.com/rs/suny/home

Fidelity Investments (403(b)(7) Mutual Funds)
(844) FOR-SUNY (844) 367-7869
www.netbenefits.com/SUNY

Teachers Insurance Annuity Associate (TIAA)
(800) 662-7945
www.tiaa.org/suny

Voya Financial
(800) 584-6001
https://suny.beready2retire.com/

NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (457)
(800) 422-8463
www.nysdcp.com

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What Do I Need to Do?
If you wish to enroll or change your enrollment in the NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (NYSDCP), you must contact NYSDCP directly.

If you are currently enrolled and wish to contribute the same biweekly amount in 2023, no action on your part is necessary unless you are currently contributing additional moneys under the “age 50” rule outlined above. Please check your pay stub to be sure your current biweekly contribution for 403(b) deductions with any investment providers with whom you are investing multiplied by the number of remaining pay periods in the year does not exceed the allowable limit. Please be mindful that if you made a change mid-year, you must make sure that your current biweekly amount will result in the correct annual amount you want deferred for 2023.

To change the amount you are now contributing, please use the SUNY online enrollment and management system. For assistance with this process or if you have questions, please contact the Benefits Office.

The Buffalo State Civic and Community Engagement Office will host its eighth cohort of self-identified community leaders during the West Side Promise Neighborhood Change Leaders 2023 program. The self-placed leadership program, which will run over J-Term, includes three hours of online learning and three optional community service days. Applications close December 4. Students, staff, and community members are welcome. Each graduate receives a certificate of change leadership from the CCE Office. 

Participants must be 18 years of age or older and live in the city of Buffalo. 

Please register online.

From the Chair and the Coordinator of the SEFA/United Way Campaign
Dear Colleagues,
As you know, our SEFA/United Way Campaign is nearing an end. We have extended the time for you to pledge to Thursday, December 1. Please consider donating to an agency that serves our community throughout the year. The rising prices of goods and services are difficult for all families, but we who are the representatives of this campaign hope you can find a way to raise the support total from this anchor institution. We are only halfway to the total we raised last year. For those of you who have already pledged, thank you. Please know that your gift means more than a token of support for the college; it is a gift of neighborly responsiveness to all who need the vast services supported by the United Way.

Please consider making your donation today. Please contact your departmental ambassador; Maria Garrity, campaign coordinator; or me, Wendy Paterson, campaign chair, for more information.

Thank you.

Start your holiday shopping at the Burchfield Penney Art Center's Art Is a Gift Holiday Art and Gift Sale Friday, December 2, through Sunday, December 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. More than 30 local artisans whose work includes ceramics, jewelry, fibers, painting, and more will be part of this very special event. Don’t forget to visit the Museum Store for more unique books and gifts.

From the Chair of the College Senate 
The final meeting of the College Senate for fall 2022 will be held Friday, December 9, at 2:00 p.m. in Newman Lecture Hall, Bulger Communication Center 215. Please note the one hour earlier start time. Kimberly Kline, professor of higher education administration, serves as chair of the College Senate for the 2022–2023 academic year. Please?contact?Dr. Kline?with questions. 

We encourage everyone to visit the?College Senate website?to catch up on?Senate news, find?podcasts and minutes?of past meetings, review?reports?and?resolutions, and more.

Nominations will be accepted through Friday, February 17, 2023, for the 2022–2023 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Classified Service.

This system-level award recognizes classified service employees for excellence and superior service to students and the community at large. Nominees should be individuals who not only continuously demonstrate outstanding achievement and skill, but who also demonstrate excellence in activities beyond the scope of their job descriptions.

Members of the Buffalo State community are encouraged to submit nominations for deserving colleagues.

The nomination form and award guidelines are available online. Thank you.