This year, classes are scheduled on the Veterans Day holiday, Thursday, November 11. Department heads and supervisors should communicate to their classified and professional employees whether they will be required to work on that day.

Department heads and supervisors are encouraged to make every effort to consider requests to have the holiday off for employees who are veterans.

For employees who are required to work, the following state attendance rules will apply:

Classified employees who work on November 11 will be compensated according to their holiday waiver status. Those who have NOT elected to waive additional money for holiday work will receive holiday pay per their bargaining unit agreements. Employees who waived additional money for holiday work will receive compensatory time off instead of additional holiday pay. Classified employees who wish to inquire about their current holiday waiver status may contact the Payroll Office at 878-4124.

UUP-represented and M/C employees who are eligible to observe holidays and are required to work on November 11 will be granted a compensatory day off. The compensatory day off should be scheduled at a time agreeable to the employee and his or her supervisor within one year of the holiday.

Employees who are not required to work on November 11 do not need to charge leave accruals for that day.

The midterm grading window for fall 2021 is now open in Banner and closes at 9:00 p.m. Friday, October, 29. In addition to a midterm grade, faculty members can mark how regularly a student has attended a course by entering 0 (never attended), 1 (sporadic, unsatisfactory attendance), or 2 (consistent, satisfactory attendance) in the “Hours Attended” field. Midterm grade submissions for all registered students are helpful for campuswide academic intervention and retention efforts.

Students will be able to view their midterm grades in Banner, Degree Works, and the Bengal Success Portal as soon as they are posted. Advisers can obtain copies of midterm grading reports for their academic intervention use through their deans’ offices.

Thank you for your commitment to our students’ success.

The midterm grading window for fall 2021 is now open in Banner and closes at 9:00 p.m. Friday, October, 29. In addition to a midterm grade, faculty members can mark how regularly a student has attended a course by entering 0 (never attended), 1 (sporadic, unsatisfactory attendance), or 2 (consistent, satisfactory attendance) in the “Hours Attended” field. Midterm grade submissions for all registered students are useful as these grades are helpful for campuswide academic intervention and retention efforts.

Students will be able to view their midterm grades in Banner, Degree Works, and the Bengal Success Portal as soon as they are posted. Advisers can obtain copies of midterm grading reports for their academic intervention use through their deans’ offices.

Thank you for your commitment to our students’ success.

The fall 2021 “Conversations in and out of the Disciplines” series continues Friday, October 29, as Meg Knowles, associate professor of media production (Communication Department), presents “Researching Family for Documentary: Runaway, a Case Study.” The talk, followed by a brief Q&A, will begin at 3:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 320. Masks are required. Everyone is welcome.

Please also mark your calendars for the final talk of the semester: Cameron Herman, assistant professor of sociology, will present “‘In Here, I’m Away from the Trouble’: How Black Youths’ Neighborhood Experiences Inform Their Participation in Recreation Center Programs” on Friday, November 19, via Zoom (details forthcoming).

Speakers for spring 2022 are Sue Maguire (Anthropology), Gehan Senthinathan (Social and Psychological Foundations of Education), and Natalie Szymanski (College Writing Program and English).

The “Conversations” series was started over a decade ago by Ann Colley, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emerita of English, to “celebrate and draw attention to the research being done in various departments at Buffalo State College.” Over the last decade, colleagues from Anthropology, Art Conservation, Art History, Biology, Chemistry, English, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, and Secondary Education, among others, have shared their work with the Buffalo State and Buffalo communities.

Buffalo State College Intercollegiate Athletics will host a blood drive in conjunction with ConnectLife on Thursday, October 28, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Houston Gym.

Blood supplies are critically low throughout our region. All ConnectLife donations stay local. Your donation will help save lives in our community!

Donors can make appointments in advance. (Walk-ins are also accepted.)

Beginning Sunday, October 24, you must dial 10 digits (area code + telephone number) for all off-campus calls, including those in the 716 area code. On and after this date, off-campus calls dialed with only seven digits may not be completed, and a recording will inform you that your call cannot be completed as dialed. You must hang up and dial again using the area code and the seven-digit number. You must also continue to use the same access code (either 9 or 8) that you do now to call off-campus numbers.

This change is required as part of a national change to accommodate a new hotline number for National Suicide Prevention. This change will not affect the cost of a call, only the way in which it is dialed.

This change does not affect four-digit on-campus calls. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Telecommunications, 878-3333.

Come and learn the basics of reading topographic maps on Tuesday, October 26, during Bengal Pause (12:15 to 1:30 p.m.) in Classroom Building A209. The goal is to give you background you can use for hiking or other outdoor activities. We will look at how contour lines can help you understand land forms, use scales to find distance, and learn some map symbols. We'll also discuss where to obtain topo maps so you can use your skills on your next adventure. This event will be led by Camille Holmgren, department chair and professor of geography and planning, and is open to all students, faculty, and staff.

Additional Applied Geography Bengal Pause activities will take place throughout the fall 2021 semester. Each activity is a low-stress, relaxed affair (many outdoors) designed to provide you with a unique hands-on experience. Consider these sessions an antidote to Zoom! Updated informational posters can be found in the Classroom Building, Science and Mathematics Complex, and Campbell Student Union. More information is available under the “Applied Geography Bengal Pause” link on the left side of the Geography and Planning Department website under News and Events.

These activities are brought to you by the Buffalo State Grant Allocation Committee and the Geography and Planning Department.

Please join us for the Teaching and Learning Center’s session "Student Advising 101: The Faculty Point of View" on Monday, November 1, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in Butler Library 134 or virtually thorough Blackboard Collaborate. This session will be led by Carlos Jones, associate dean of the School of Arts and Sciences; Kathy Wood, associate dean of the School of Education; Kelly Frothingham, associate dean of the School of Arts and Sciences; and Julian Cole, interim associate dean of the School of the Professions.

The conversation will take us from the nuts and bolts of getting started to some ways to keep them coming back.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center today, October 25, for the seminar "The Ecological Consequences of Precipitation Variability in Southwestern Rangelands," presented by Daniel Potts, department chair and professor of biology at Buffalo State College, from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 422. All students, staff, and faculty are welcome.

Abstract
An emerging consensus acknowledges increasing precipitation variability as a hallmark of anthropogenic global change. How aridlands, often characterized by episodic resource abundance and scarcity, will respond to future precipitation variability is of broad ecological interest. Understanding the ecological consequences of an increasingly variable future climate is critical to maintaining the biodiversity of aridlands and to managing the goods and services they provide.

Please join the Biology Department and the Great Lakes Center for the seminar "The Ecological Consequences of Precipitation Variability in Southwestern Rangelands," presented by Daniel Potts, department chair and professor of biology at Buffalo State College, on Monday, October 25, from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 422. All students, staff, and faculty are welcome.

Abstract
An emerging consensus acknowledges increasing precipitation variability as a hallmark of anthropogenic global change. How aridlands, often characterized by episodic resource abundance and scarcity, will respond to future precipitation variability is of broad ecological interest. Understanding the ecological consequences of an increasingly variable future climate is critical to maintaining the biodiversity of aridlands and to managing the goods and services they provide.