Cultural Café, a monthly event that brings together members of the Buffalo State College community over conversation, culture, and coffee, continues Friday, November 5, with a focus on the Indian festival Diwali. Please join us at 3:00 p.m. in the Global Study Lounge on the third floor (north side) of Butler Library. This is a great opportunity to meet new people and find common ground with other internationally minded members of the community in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. Sponsored by the Equity and Campus Diversity Office, Butler Library, and Global Engagement.

The Buffalo State College Counseling Center will offer a new program to assist students in reducing harms associated with marijuana use. Cannabis Screening and Intervention for College Students (CASICS) aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to make empowered choices regarding their use.

Marijuana use among college students is the highest it has been in 35 years and is associated with negative physical, mental, emotional, relational, and academic effects. With marijuana becoming legal in New York State, there can be a lot of conflicting messages and confusion about the risks of use, and many students may find that their marijuana use is having a harmful effect on their lives.

As faculty and staff members, we are often the first to identify that a student is struggling, and we are in a unique position to support our students. If you would like more information about CASICS, how to have a conversation with a student about his or her marijuana use, or how to refer a student to the program, please contact Ashley Maracle, L.C.S.W., case manager and senior counselor in the Weigel Wellness Center.

This program is being evaluated as part of a doctoral capstone project through the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. If you’re willing and able, please complete a brief survey (about 7–10 minutes) about any information you have received about student marijuana use or CASICS.

View the informed consent.

Principal Investigator
Ashley Maracle
1300 Elmwood Ave.
Weigel Wellness Center 205
Buffalo, NY 14222

Any faculty or staff member who receives information about student marijuana use or CASICS, including the above information, is eligible to participate in the study. If you have any questions about this study, please contact Ashley Maracle, 878-4436. If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact Gina Game, IRB administrator, SUNY Buffalo State Institutional Review Board, 878-3093.

Open enrollment for the 2022 NYS Flex Spending Account (FSA) begins Tuesday, November 2, and ends at 10:00 p.m. Monday, November 29. The program helps eligible state employees save money on necessary health- or dependent-care expenses because the money set aside in these 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 employees set aside any amount from $100 to $2,750 for the 2022 plan year to pay for health-care expenses that are not reimbursed by their health insurance or other benefit plan. Please note: only medically necessary medical, hospital, dental, vision, hearing, and prescription drug expenses for the employee, their spouse, and eligible dependents can be reimbursed by the HCSA.

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

The Adoption Advantage Account allows employees to set aside up to $14,440 to pay for expenses related to the adoption of an eligible child with pre-tax dollars. This benefit is available to M/C employees and those represented by CSEA, PEF, UUP, NYSCOPBA, and PBA.

If you wish to take advantage of this benefit, please submit your application for enrollment online or by telephone at (800) 358-7202. You will need your NYS EMPLID number, which is located on your pay stub, to complete your application. The deadline for 2022 enrollment is Monday, November 29, 2021, at 10:00 p.m. and is strictly enforced. Please be sure to enroll by November 29. If you are enrolled for the 2021 plan year, you must re-enroll to continue your benefits in 2022.

Important note: Employees who do not work for 26 consecutive pay periods should consider electing a shorter time frame for their deductions, so they do not lose coverage while off the payroll. For example, faculty members who are not paid through the summer should elect to have all deductions taken in the spring semester to have coverage for all of 2022.

Please let your students know that spring 2022 scholarship applications are now available in the Campus Application Portal for Scholarships (CAPS)! Students may apply for spring 2022 scholarships until Wednesday, January 12, 2022.

Please email scholarship@buffalostate.edu with questions.

Please join the Chemistry and Physics departments for the seminar “An Overview of GIBCO Cell Culture Media at Thermo Fisher Scientific,” presented by Michelle T. Ferreri, director of feasibility, cell culture, and cell therapy bioproduction at Thermo Fisher Scientific, on Thursday, October 28, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 170.

Please join us for the next talk in our "Conversation with Hef," series, "Afghanistan: The Human Cost of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)," on Tuesday, November 9, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Technology Building 160. This presentation is being provided to all students, particularly OEF veterans, as a method or outlet for conversation support therapy. Counselors from the Buffalo State College Counseling Center will be on hand to provide additional support.

Please email Brad Baumgardner, coordinator of military and veteran services, with questions.

Information about "Conversations with Hef" can be found on the Inclusion and Equity website.

The Theater Department and Casting Hall Productions are proud to present Heathers: The Musical, directed by associate professor of theater Jennifer Toohey. Book, music, and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy. Musical direction by Lucas Colon, ’19. Choreographed by Robin Barker. 

"Heathers: The Musical is the darkly delicious story of Veronica Sawyer, a brainy, beautiful teenage misfit who hustles her way into the most powerful and ruthless clique at Westerberg High: the Heathers. But before she can get comfortable atop the high school food chain, Veronica falls in love with the dangerously sexy new kid, J. D. When Heather Chandler, the Almighty, kicks her out of the group, Veronica decides to bite the bullet and kiss Heather’s aerobicized a**...but J. D. has another plan for that bullet."

Only three performances remain: October 28 and 29 at 8:00 p.m. and October 30 at 2:00 p.m. in Warren Enters Theatre, Upton Hall.

Tickets are available through the Rockwell Hall Box Office, online at theater.buffalostate.edu, or by phone at (716) 878-3005.

The Governor’s Office of Employee Relations has reached an agreement with all unions and Management/Confidential (MC) employees to further extend the expiration date of all unused annual leave to December 31, 2022. You may recall that GOER negotiated agreements allowing extended carryover of unused annual leave through the end of this calendar year.

The Research Foundation will parallel SUNY in allowing employees to carry over all unused vacation time through December 31, 2022; however, please note that the maximum number of days (30) that will be paid out upon separation remains unchanged.

The SUNY and RF Time and Attendance Systems (TAS) will be updated to reflect this extension. Please contact the Human Resource Management Office (professionals) or Payroll Office (classified employees) with questions.

Please join us for a virtual panel discussion, “Dealing with Disasters and Emergencies in WNY,” presented by Buffalo State’s Political Science and Public Administration Department, on Monday, November 29, from 5:00 to 6:15 p.m.

Disaster and emergency management is unique in Western New York because of its varied landscape. Additionally, the area has had a significant influence on national disaster and emergency management policy that is often overlooked. In this webinar, moderated by Associate Professor Jason Rivera, we will explore Western New York’s history of disaster and emergency management, differences between urban and rural emergency management practices, and recent challenges highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please register online to receive the meeting link.

New York State’s executive order banning state-funded travel to North Carolina (issued March 28, 2016) has expired. Travelers may now travel to North Carolina on official state business with the appropriate approvals.

The order banning travel to Mississippi (issued April 5, 2016) remains in effect.

Please contact Accounts Payable at (716) 878-4117 for any state- or Buffalo State College Foundation–funded travel questions.

Please contact Buffalo State Sponsored Program Operations at (716) 878-6700 with questions concerning SUNY Research Foundation–funded travel.