Please note that all campus community members, regardless of their vaccination status, are still required to wear a face mask that covers their mouth and nose at all times while on campus, both indoors and outdoors, including in classrooms, conference rooms, and other public spaces, even when 6 feet of physical distancing is maintained.

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is beginning to offer new guidance for vaccinated individuals with regard to face masks, Buffalo State College will continue to adhere to its existing mask mandate until further notice.

Exceptions to mask wearing exist only (1) when students are in their private residence hall room or personal space or (2) when eating a meal in an on-campus facility while seated and appropriately physically distanced. Faculty and staff members are likewise exempt only (1) when alone in their personal office or other space or (2) when eating a meal in an on-campus facility while seated and appropriately physically distanced.

Our campus community has done a remarkable job of adhering to the guidelines and keeping our campus safe and healthy over the past year. As more individuals in our community become vaccinated and COVID-19 cases continue to decline, we can see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel; however, now is not the time to relax the precautions that have kept us and those around us safe. Please continue to wear your mask on campus at all times. Together we can continue to keep Buffalo State a safe place for all students, faculty, and staff.

What is Black love and how do we achieve it? What would it mean for Black people to be truly free, and how can this freedom be accomplished? Please join Africana studies faculty members in a "beyond the classroom" discussion series on April 8, April 22, and May 6 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Students of all backgrounds and majors are welcome.

Some of the most important lessons in life happen beyond the classroom. We will hold three discussions that are about you—you pick the topics; you lead discussion; and you speak on the issues that matter most to your lives. Speak about what you want. Speak how you want. These are safe spaces that may transform your lives for the better—periot! All meetings are on Thursdays, and will use the recurring Zoom link below. Please spread the word.

Zoom meeting link
Meeting ID: 891 4267 6804

Over the next week, students, faculty, and staff members participating in mandatory weekly COVID-19 surveillance (pool) testing on campus will notice changes to the sample collection kits, as well as updates to SUNY Upstate Medical University’s online registration system.

New Funnel Test Kits
Starting Friday, March 26, because of supply chain constraints, swab kits will no longer be used to collect saliva samples. Instead, small disposable funnel kits will be used to collect saliva samples for the test. Test participants will deposit saliva in the funnel, close the test kit, remove the funnel top, cap the tube, shake for five seconds, and place the sample in the collection stand on the attendant’s table. Please allow 5 to 10 extra minutes in your schedule to accommodate this testing change.

Students, faculty, and staff members are encouraged to review this instructional video about the new surveillance testing process.

Test Results to Be Sent via E-mail
Starting Monday, March 29, Upstate Medical University will e-mail test results—both presumptive negative and individual positive—to participants after tests are processed. Past test results will also be available online via Upstate Medical’s web platform. Individuals who receive an e-mail regarding a positive test result should isolate and await instructions from the Weigel Wellness Center or Human Resource Management.

Please note that the date and time of this webinar has been changed.

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The campus community is invited to attend the New York State EAP webinar “To Save or Spend: In Which Financial Direction Are You Heading?” on Thursday, April 1, from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m.

Come and join us as we share creative ways to save more and spend less with the 30-day WellNYS Everyday April Monthly Challenge. During this seminar, Linda Carignan-Everts, EAP wellness coordinator, NYS Work-Life Services, will share many of the April tips, including ideas for saving and spending with NYS benefits, easy ways to save, and thought-provoking things to decrease spending.

To join the webinar: 

Visit the NY State Webex training website.
Enter your name and e-mail address.
Enter the session password: Wellnys2021.
Click "Join Now."
Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

SUNY Online and the SUNY Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching and Technology (FACT²) will host the webinar "Engaging Remote Students: Don’t Worry about Their Cameras!" on Friday, March 26, from  noon to 1:00 p.m.

This session will be facilitated by Matthea Marquart, assistant dean of online education and adjunct lecturer at Columbia University’s School of Social Work.

How do you know whether your students are engaged in learning during your synchronous online classes? Can you tell from their cameras? When your students leave their cameras off, does this make it difficult to feel connected to them? Do you wonder why your students leave their cameras off? In this workshop, we’ll examine why students may be unwilling or unable to use a web camera during your classes and discuss alternative ways of maintaining active engagement with your students.

Register for this free webinar on the SUNY Center for Professional Development website.

The National Weather Service has issued a high-wind warning for Friday, March 26. Please ensure that windows are kept closed and be mindful when opening or closing outside entrance doors to be certain that they re-latch. Thank you.

Please let your students know that the deadline to complete fall 2021 scholarship applications in the Campus Application Portal for Scholarships (CAPS) is quickly approaching. Students may apply for over 100 fall 2021 scholarships until Sunday, April 11.

Please e-mail scholarship@buffalostate.edu with any questions.

Student Accessibility Services at Buffalo State College is privileged to induct the 2021 class of the Epsilon Chi chapter of the Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society.

The Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society was founded in 2004 to recognize the academic accomplishments of students with disabilities. In addition to recognizing academic achievement, Delta Alpha Pi seeks to lessen and eventually eliminate the stigma and negative stereotyping that have historically been associated with disability. The members of Delta Alpha Pi challenge society to view disability as an aspect of diversity, existing on a continuum throughout an individual’s lifespan, and encourage the implementation of universal design, so that the environment (learning, physical, attitudinal), not the individual, adjusts to provide access to all individuals.

Students who become members of Delta Alpha Pi identify themselves as honor students who have a disability. By their open acknowledgment of their disability status, they serve as role models for other students with disabilities and advance the goals of Delta Alpha Pi on their campuses and in the community.

Each year Student Accessibility Services will continue to recognize these students’ academic accomplishments by honoring and acknowledging their determination and perseverance. This year’s class will receive a Delta Alpha Pi letter of recognition and a Certificate of Initiation.

Please visit the Student Accessibility Services website to see the complete list of students who wish to be recognized from all induction years.

Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of these amazing students!

Undergraduate Students
Rebecca Anduja
Josephine Avarello
Ahmir Buckhannon
Samantha Coleman
Nevaeh Dawkins
Fatoumata Drammeh
Emily Ersing
Peter Freeman
Daniel Fronckowiak
Tanner Ghosen
Lainie Kelahan
Caitlyn Malilay
Dennis Mcgannon
Richard Mile
Erin Miller
Patricia O'Donnell
Victoria Singleton
Lauren Stumpf
Madilyn Thompson

Graduate Students
Jacob Bajdas
Charlotte Hull
Cailynn Jaehn
Randolph Lieberman
Elda Pichardo
Courtney Trautmann

Several areas of Buckham Hall will be offline for construction between April 1 and December 31, 2021. The following areas will be inaccessible while work is underway:

• A Wing entrance. Please access A Wing via the B Wing entrance.
• A Wing first floor, except for the offices of the Precollegiate Academic Success Center.
• A Wing second floor.
• E Wing lobby.

This work will prepare Buckham Hall to provide surge space for five departments vacating the Classroom Building, paving the way for extensive rehabilitation of the Classroom Building beginning in fall 2021.

Thank you for your patience as this important project proceeds. Questions may be addressed to vpfm@buffalostate.edu.

Please join us for "Lunchtime Virtual Trivia," facilitated by Andy Binder, director of the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall, on Friday, March 26, from noon to 1:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Need a break? This virtual Zoom trivia contest for Buffalo State faculty and staff members will cover a wide variety of topics, including geography, pop culture, history, science, and random facts. This program is coordinated by the Professional Development Center as part of its Employee Campus Connections, Health, and Wellness Series.

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.