From the Co-chairs of the School of Arts and Sciences Transition Committee
The School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) Transition Committee (TC) is working diligently to finalize the draft of the bylaws for the SAS meeting and subsequent vote. Below are updates on our progress and reminders about important upcoming dates (including February 19 below). Members of the School of Arts and Humanities and the School of Natural and Social Sciences should send feedback on the Provost’s Task Force’s bylaw recommendations to their TC representative or to Susan Maguire, associate professor of anthropology, by 5:00 p.m. today, January 15. 

Please take note of these dates and review your e-mail for updates from the TC:

Friday, January 22: The TC will send the Committee of the Whole (COW) its A&S bylaw recommendations (based on those of the task force), soliciting official written motions to amend, along with any rationale. 

Friday, January 29, 5:00 p.m.: Written motions to amend are due. No new motions will be considered at the COW meeting (though these previously submitted motions will be able to be amended at the COW meeting). 

Early February: The TC will consider the written motions, combining or tabling, as necessary, in conversation with each motion’s author(s). The TC will recirculate its bylaw recommendations, followed by each motion to be voted on at the COW meeting, followed by each tabled motion. The TC will also send along substantive and technical information for the COW meeting, Zoom “how-to” reminders, Robert’s Rules reminders, and the procedure to un-table a motion.

Friday, February 19, 3:30 p.m.: This is the COW meeting (on Zoom) during which time the COW will discuss and vote on the motions to amend the TC’s recommended bylaws (according to pre-circulated special rules of order). This will be a very big and possibly very long meeting. Please make arrangements to attend, if possible. 

February 20–26: The TC will host an electronic vote on the amended A&S bylaws. 

Note: Please remember that our goal is to establish the School of Arts and Sciences; once we have a foundational set of bylaws in place, we will be able to amend them in the future. Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments. Thank you.

David Ben-Merre, Associate Professor of English
Susan Maguire, Associate Professor of Anthropology

All SUNY staff and faculty members are invited to attend the Zoom conversation "Implicit Bias," led by Eileen MacAvery Kane, assistant professor in the Art Department at Rockland Community College, on Tuesday, February 2, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Ms. MacAvery Kane will share highlights and resources from a five-week training course she recently completed, “NEA/NYSUT Virtual Trainer of Trainers: Implicit Bias, Microaggressions, and Stereotypes.” Her brief presentation will be followed by breakout sessions for discussion of these topics and how they affect us and our students, and strategies to recognize, address, and confront them in ourselves and others.

RSVP online. This webinar is part of the SUNY Virtual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Discussion Forum.

Please join us for the webinar "Blackboard Learn: Grade Center - Q&A," presented by Brooke Winckelmann, instructional designer, on Friday, January 15, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

The Grade Center in Blackboard Learn is more than just a way to record student grades. It is a dynamic and interactive tool, allowing you to collect student submissions, record data, calculate grades automatically, and monitor student progress.

Bring your Grade Center questions to this Q&A webinar. If you have not previously attended a Grade Center workshop, feel free to review the webinar recording "Getting Started with the Blackboard Grade Center."

Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

Buffalo State College will offer free self-assisted tax return preparation sessions in partnership with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. This Facilitated Self Assistance (FSA) tax services opportunity will allow you to complete and file your New York state and federal taxes. Department of Taxation and Finance staff members will provide an overview of the computer software, and you'll have from 90 minutes to two hours to complete your filing with small group support from their volunteers.

Sessions are open to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and any member of the Buffalo community.

Register for a session on the CCE website. Sessions will be held on February 5, 12, 19, and 26; March 5, 12, 19, and 26; and April 2 and 9 at 9:00 a.m., noon, and 2:30 p.m.

Registration is required.

This year, all sessions will be held virtually, and a capacity limit has been set by the Department of Taxation and Finance. A confirmation e-mail and an e-mail with details to join the virtual session will be sent to you one or two days before your registered session. Access to the Internet and a laptop or tablet are required to complete your filing through the session.

For details on what to bring to your session and answers to other frequently asked questions, please visit the CCE website.

Further questions can be directed to Civic and Community Engagement at 878-3919.

Buffalo State College will offer free self-assisted tax return preparation sessions in partnership with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. This Facilitated Self Assistance (FSA) tax services opportunity will allow you to complete and file your New York state and federal taxes. Department of Taxation and Finance staff members will provide an overview of the computer software, and you'll have from 90 minutes to two hours to complete your filing with small group support from their volunteers.

Sessions are open to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and any member of the Buffalo community. Please share this information with students, alumni, or community partners.

Register for a session on the CCE website. Sessions will be held on February 5, 12, 19, and 26; March 5, 12, 19, and 26; and April 2 and 9 at 9:00 a.m., noon, and 2:30 p.m.

Registration is required.

This year, all sessions will be held virtually, and a capacity limit has been set by the Department of Taxation and Finance. A confirmation e-mail and an e-mail with details to join the virtual session will be sent to you one or two days before your registered session. Access to the Internet and a laptop or tablet are required to complete your filing through the session.

For details on what to bring to your session and answers to other frequently asked questions, please visit the CCE website.

Further questions can be directed to Civic and Community Engagement at 878-3919.

Please join the Civic and Community Engagement Office for the webinar "Innovations for Teaching the Deliberative Experience Online: Our Experiences and Experiments Using Common Ground for Action and Online Conferencing Tools" on Thursday, January 21, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. This event is presented by Campus Compact as part of its National Webinar Series and is free to members of the Buffalo State College community. Speakers are Kara Dillard, Kara Lindaman, John Theis, and Verdis Robinson.

Until very recently, deliberative democracy has mainly meant in-person, face-to-face discussions; however, the current crisis has created an opportunity to innovate by experimenting with moving deliberation online. We will share insights we gained from hosting a national week of cross-campus online deliberative dialogues using Common Ground for Action (CGA), a series of weekly campus-based online deliberations, and from several experiments in campus, community, and classroom deliberations using CGA and video conferencing software. Specifically, session attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a short demonstration of CGA, and then we will discuss how to integrate a variety of methods of online deliberation into university classrooms and campus-community deliberative events, how to structure syllabi and assignments for students to get the most from their deliberative experience, and explore best practices with seasoned forum conveners. Presenters represent the diversity of civic engagement in democratic practice across different disciplines at colleges and universities (two-year, four-year), the Kettering Foundation, and the National Issues Forums Institute.

Please register online for this webinar and for as many other presentations in the National Webinar Series as you would like.

Teacher Education Unit faculty members, it is time for our annual program improvement retreat! The retreat will be held on Tuesday, January 26, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom videoconference.

RSVP online by Tuesday, January 19 (deadline extended)

Retreat Focus
You will dig deep into program-level data with colleagues using interactive data dashboards prepared especially for your program. You will explore your candidates' performance on state and unit assessments. You will develop action plans to capture the work you do. You will learn about new remote teaching CAEP requirements as well as updates related to our CAEP accreditation. Come and discover the importance of your role over the next few months. We need you!

The Zoom link will be sent a few days before the retreat.

Please direct questions to Shannon Budin, professor of exceptional education.

The Registrar's Office is pleased to announce two important expansions to the services we provide regarding student names:

1. Students who wish to use a “preferred” or “chosen” name now have the means to do so. This process allows the preferred name to appear on class rosters and other local instances. Diplomas and transcripts will continue to use the student’s legal name.
2. Students who have graduated or have separated from Buffalo State College and have had a legal name change can now update their name to more properly represent themselves.

More information about these services as well as the new Name Change Form (PDF, 200 KB) can be found on the Registrar’s Forms and Services web page.

The President’s Institutional Innovation Advisory Council (IIAC) is offering more focus groups to provide a forum to gather additional ideas and input from the campus community to inform focus areas in the next strategic plan. More specifically, the IIAC is interested in connecting with faculty and staff members to learn more about the many ways our work environment and culture have shifted, what has stayed the same since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ideas for what Buffalo State College should focus on in the strategic plan being created during the spring 2021 semester. Please click of the focus groups links below within your employment category to register for a focus group through the Workshop Registration System.

Focus Groups for Professional Staff (United University Professions)

Friday, January 15, 9:00–10:30 a.m.

Friday, January 15, 1:00–2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, January 20, 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Thursday, January 21, 1:00–2:30 p.m.

Focus Group for Research Foundation Employees

Friday, January 15, 9:00–10:30 a.m. 

Please contact the Professional Development Center with questions.

Winterim provides a variety of activities to support the intellectual, personal, and professional growth of the Buffalo State community. Winterim will be held January 19–22 and is a great opportunity to connect with colleagues and learn from one another. Sessions this year include learning about how to create a cheese board, preventing screen-time burnout, trivia, and many more. Please register for sessions in the Workshop Registration System (LibCal).