Join us today to kick back, relax, and enjoy our $6 Friday Barbecue in the Student Union Plaza from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at Spot Coffee located in the Campbell Student Union Retail Food Court. In the event of inclement weather, the barbecue will be held in the Bengal Kitchen.

See you there!

Please join us for "Reconnecting to Campus: Strategies for Employee Wellness, Productivity, and Self-Care," facilitated by Jonathan Hulbert, director of leadership and organizational development. The following virtual and in-person sessions will be offered. Please register below.

Butler Library 318 Sessions:

• Monday, August 23, 11:00 a.m. to noon
• Thursday, August 26, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.

Virtual Zoom Session:

• Thursday, August 26, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
• Friday, August 27, 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.

Please email the Professional Development Center with questions.

Faculty and staff members are invited to submit their awards, honors, and grants information for print in the annual Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony program. Awards and grants received or announced September 1, 2020, through August 31, 2021, and meeting the criteria below will be listed in the program that is distributed at the ceremony.

• Submit awards and honors from academic, professional, or service organizations at the international, national, or state levels. Do not include awards received from Buffalo State College, the City of Buffalo, or local or WNY-area organizations. 
• Submit significant grants of $50,000 and above, received or announced during the stated period.
• Submit SUNY Awards, such as the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence, received while serving at other SUNY institutions during any career point. Do not include SUNY awards received while serving at Buffalo State.

Additionally, the names of newly hired faculty and staff members—initially hired September 1, 2020, through August 31, 2021—will be included in the printed program as a welcome to Buffalo State.

The online submission forms are open through Friday, September 3.

The campus community is invited to attend the Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony on Thursday, October 14, at 12:15 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall, where the 2021 SUNY and Buffalo State honorees will be recognized. A reception immediately follows. The list of honorees and ceremony information is provided on the Academic Affairs website.

Please contact the Academic Affairs Office with questions about submitting awards or grants information.

From the Interim Associate Vice President for Human Resource Management
SUNY System Administration announced a new SUNY telecommuting policy on August 2, 2021, that may be implemented at the campus level. SUNY’s policy supports telecommuting where it is reasonable to do so, based on the campus’s mission and operational and program needs. The purpose is to support the implementation of telecommuting programs, establish guidelines to clearly articulate expectations, and provide an additional vehicle for employee development while offering campus administration the flexibility to operate a successful telecommuting program and plan for future workforce needs.

The Human Resource Management Office is working with the administration to develop procedures and process requirements related to this new policy. A thoughtful approach is necessary for a successful implementation as we work to maintain Buffalo State College’s strong sense of community, people-centered culture, and collaborative environment.

Buffalo State employees have now transitioned back to their campus work locations, bringing our full community together to begin the next academic year. Employees who are interested in exploring the telecommuting policy are asked to be patient as the college takes the necessary steps for implementation.

The year ahead will be a time of transition for all of us. Just as we have throughout this pandemic, we will continue to adapt to new circumstances together. Thank you for your commitment, resilience, and care for one another during this time.

Blackboard will deploy its Collaborate Ultra v21.14 release on Thursday, August 12, between 2:00 and 6:00 a.m. Collaborate Ultra customers will experience intermittent availability during the maintenance window.

For more information on the update, please see Blackboard's Release Notes for Collaborate Ultra.

Individual Collaborate training can be scheduled through the Innovation and Learning Collaborative Bookings page.

The Buffalo State College community is saddened by the death of Paul A. Andruczyk, instructional support assistant in Instructional Resources (retired), who died August 8, 2021. Mr. Andruczyk joined the college in 1977 and retired in 2003. He is survived by his wife, Irene; two sons; and three grandchildren. Services will be held today, August 11, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Thursday, August 12, from 2:00 to 4:00 and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Amigone Funeral Home (Orchard Park Chapel), 6170 W. Quaker Street. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, August 13, at 10:00 a.m. from Nativity of Our Lord Church, 26 Thorne Avenue, Orchard Park. More information is available online.

Ensemble Video will be upgraded to the latest version (5.7) on Wednesday, August 11, from 4:00 a.m. to roughly 7:00 a.m. The Ensemble Video service will be unavailable for some or all of this maintenance window.

Because the program is moving from version 5.4 to 5.7, users may want to review the version summaries for 5.5 and 5.6 in addition to 5.7. New features include Ensemble Anthem updates, video notes and comments, adding quizzes to YouTube videos, and more.

Individual Ensemble training can be scheduled through the Innovation and Learning Collaborative Bookings page.

Residence Life will move in over 1,600 Bengals on August 26 and 28. We need members of the Buffalo State College community to volunteer to assist with check-in for new and returning resident students. If you are able to assist, please submit your information online, and a representative from Residence Life will follow up with your assignment. Remote volunteer training sessions will be held on Friday, August 20, at various times; please mark your calendars. Please email Residence Life for further information or with questions.   

Please note that all volunteers, residents, and their families will be asked to follow current COVID-19 protocols provided by the college.

Welcome back! If you haven't been to the Barnes & Noble at Buffalo State Bookstore recently, you may notice a few changes. Over the summer, the bookstore and café underwent a complete remodeling and look absolutely stunning! In addition, the Barnes & Noble Starbucks Café seating area is now open.

It's a BOGO party! Come and join us for happy hour on Thursdays from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. and Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Purchase any grande 16-ounce beverage and get one free!* It's a perfect time to treat your colleagues!

Join us on Mondays and score a grande 16-ounce cold brew iced coffee for just $2!**

*Ends Friday, August 27

**Ends Monday, August 23, at 3:30 p.m.

The Weigel Wellness Center will be providing training on interventions for high-risk or problematic alcohol and cannabis use. Regardless of your position on campus or your office’s mission, we all have a stake in reducing the harms caused by alcohol and cannabis misuse, and promoting the safety, health, and success of our students.

Great concern legitimately exists about the high-risk use of alcohol by college students and other young adults. In fact, episodic heavy drinking is the No. 1 risk factor for health and safety harm to college students. 

Cannabis 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 cannabis 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 cannabis use is having a harmful effect on their lives.

Providing CASICS (Cannabis Screening and Intervention for College Students), a prevention program for marijuana misuse using the same core components as BASICS (Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students), will allow you to systematically address this important issue. If you’re interested in receiving training, please complete this registration form.

Please pass this information on to your respective office staff members or any colleagues you believe would be interested. Please email Ashley Maracle, case manager and senior counselor in the Weigel Wellness Center, with questions.