Under the terms of the 2016–2022 UUP contract, discretionary awards will be additions to base salaries rather than one-time lump-sum payments.

The contract provides for a pool equal to 1 percent of the total basic annual salaries of UUP employees as of June 30, 2021. One half of that pool will be available for discretionary awards, and one half is to be used to address salary equity, compression, and inversion.

Discretionary salary increases will appear in paychecks dated December 22, 2021. For the portion of the 1 percent pool that is to be distributed at the discretion of the president, the campus will follow guidelines used for past discretionary awards. For the portion of the 1 percent pool that is to be distributed to address salary equity, compression, and inversion, the campus will continue to follow State, SUNY, and UUP guidelines and methodology.

The following documents are available on the Human Resource Management website:

• 2021 UUP Discretionary Award Schedule (PDF, 49 KB)
• 2021 UUP Discretionary Award Process Outline
• 2021 UUP Discretionary Award Nomination Form (DOCX, 25 KB)

Please note that eligible employees may self-nominate for a discretionary award by completing a Nomination Form and submitting it to their department chair, director, associate vice president, or other direct supervisor by September 29, 2021. Self-nominations and nominations initiated by supervisors and department heads will continue to be forwarded through all appropriate approval levels. Please refer to the process outline for eligibility requirements.

Employees will not be notified of the recommendation at each level. There will be an opportunity to appeal after the president has made her decisions and sent out letters to employees informing them of their awards. Award letters will be sent on November 3, 2021. A brief period to submit appeals will follow the distribution of award letters.

If you have any questions regarding the discretionary process, please contact Lydia Kawaler, manager of personnel operations.

The 14th year of Buffalo State College’s own interdisciplinary lecture series “Conversations in and out of the Disciplines” begins Friday, October 15, when Anita Senthinathan, assistant professor of speech-language pathology, presents “Speak Up! Sensorimotor Integration for Speech in Parkinson’s Disease” at 3:00 p.m. in Ketchum Hall 320. Her talk will be followed by a brief Q&A. Masks are required. Everyone is welcome.

Please also mark your calendars for the second and third talks of the semester: Meg Knowles, associate professor of media production (Communication Department), will present “Researching Family for Documentary: Runaway, a Case Study” on Friday, October 29, at 3:00 p.m. (format TBD); and 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.

Guest artist Lusie Cuskey, an assistant faculty member with Theatrical Intimacy Education, will deliver a workshop with the Buffalo State College Theater Department’s and Casting Hall Productions’ cast of Heathers: The Musical on Friday, October 1, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Savage Theater and Communication Building’s Flexible Theatre. Theatrical Intimacy Education empowers artists with the tools to ethically, efficiently, and effectively stage intimacy, nudity, and sexual violence.

Campus members are welcome to observe the workshop and participate in a Q&A.

Lusie Cuskey is a visiting assistant professor of theater at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama. She recently earned her Ph.D. in theater studies from the University of Kansas. Dr. Cuskey has worked as an actor, director, teaching artist, and technician in Kentucky, New York, Kansas, and Oregon and throughout the upper Midwest. Her research interests include queer musical theater and performance pedagogy, including intimacy education.

Please join us for the next installation of the Data Science and Analytics Fall 2021 Seminar Series, "Bioacoustic Classification of Avian Calls from Raw Sound Waveforms," presented by Francisco Bravo Sanchez, Ph.D. student at Central Queensland University, on Wednesday, November 10, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Talking Points

• The use of autonomous sound recordings in fauna surveys and their challenges
• Traditional sound processing techniques (sound transformations), their use in deep learning, and possible biases when applied to bioacoustic sounds  
• SincNet, a new approach applying machine learning directly to the sound 
• Testing SincNet in a public bioacoustic dataset and comparative results 

Join the Zoom meeting
Meeting ID: 876 7626 4290
Passcode: 493431

Join by phone:
(646) 876 9923 (New York)
Find your local number.

The Admissions Office will host two in-person Fall Open Houses for prospective students and their families on Saturday, October 16, and Saturday, November 13, from 9:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Each event will begin with a welcome address from the president in the Performing Arts Center. Guests will have the opportunity to tour the campus, meet with faculty and student support services, discuss financial aid options, explore career opportunities, and tour the surrounding cultural corridor. For more information, please visit our Open House web page and check out the Open House video.

In addition to the two in-person Open House events, the Admissions Office will offer several virtual presentations as part of our Virtual Open House Series. Students will have the opportunity to attend live virtual presentations hosted by Buffalo State faculty and staff and ask questions via live chat.

If you have questions or would like to volunteer to help greet our guests, please contact Tom Karanas, assistant director of admissions, 878-4408.

Stop by the Campbell Student Union lobby on Wednesday, October 13, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and learn how you can support and volunteer alongside 716 Squash, one of Buffalo State College's community partner organizations. Be a part of Buffalo State’s civic and community engagement mission!

716 Squash will be on campus looking for volunteers and hoping to speak with Buffalo State students who might be interested in volunteering to help students in the areas of high school math, ELA, and the sciences.

The mission of 716 Squash is to empower youth in the city of Buffalo to reach their full potential as students, athletes, and engaged citizens by providing long-term support and life-changing opportunities through education, mentoring, service, and squash.

If you have questions or comments, please email the Civic and Community Engagement Office or call 878-3919.

Please join the Data Science and Analytics Interdisciplinary Unit for the first talk in the fall DSA seminar series, "Pretend It's a Puzzle," presented by Catherine March, network design and optimization manager at Rich Products, on Wednesday, October 20, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 216. The session will cover the following topics:

• Supply chains are puzzles with more than one right answer 
• Take it with you: transferring lessons from banking to supply chain
• What problem are you trying to solve? 

Please join us for Beginner Yoga, facilitated by Susan Kincaid, certified yoga therapist and YMCA group exercise instructor, on Monday, September 27, and Monday, October 25, from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. in Butler Library 210. 

For more information and to register, please visit the Workshop Registration System.

We are excited to announce that the Weigel Wellness Center will again offer free in-person yoga classes for students in Houston Gym 125:

Mondays at noon
Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m.
Instructor: Lorena Mathien, associate professor of business

Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:00 p.m.
Saturdays at noon
Instructor: HEAL BFLO

Reminders: Buffalo State College has a mask mandate in place for everyone in campus buildings. All masks must be CDC approved (no gaiters, bandanas, or masks with vents). Masks must be worn over the nose and mouth at all times (with the exception of drinking water during yoga). Mats and cleaning products are provided; however, you are strongly encouraged to bring your own.

Classes are first-come, first served. Please stand in the box number on the floor that corresponds to the number on the sign-in sheet, so that in the event that there is a positive case, we can provide as much information to our contact tracers as possible without having to quarantine/test the whole class. This is critical. The Heath Center staff is stretched very thin as it is; we would hate to have to cancel any classes or have any issues arise. 

An exercise waiver must be signed the first class that you attend and will be kept on file for the semester.

This event is free for all students. Before participating in any exercise program, please consult with your primary care physician, and do not attempt any exercises that you are not comfortable doing. Please bring your own mat and mask, and socially distance during the classes. Bring a water bottle.

Please contact Thomas Trzepkowski, emergency response and fitness center coordinator, or Paula Madrigal, assistant director of prevention and health promotions, with questions.

The NYS Department of Health (DOH) continues to work with the NYS Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to provide the Walk with Ease Program. This self-directed program can be done on your own time, at your own pace, over six weeks. Participants are encouraged to walk up to 30 minutes, three times a week. The program was designed for adults with arthritis but is appropriate for most adults regardless of disability status and can be modified to suit your individual needs and goals. Upon registering, participants receive a free guidebook in the mail, which provides tips on getting more physically active, a stretching and strengthening routine, and information on health-related topics. The program can help you reduce pain, stiffness, and other arthritis symptoms; improve balance and flexibility; increase strength; increase walking pace; and be more active and independent.

For more information or to sign up, please visit the Walk with Ease website. 

Walk with Ease is a statewide program of the NYS DOH Arthritis Program and is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.