From the Chair of the College Senate
The first meeting of the College Senate for fall 2020 will be held Friday, September 11, at 3:00 p.m. The meeting format and information will be forthcoming and will be sent along with the electronic Senate packet. A link to the meeting agenda will be posted on the College Senate website. Please contact Vincent Masci, assistant to the College Senate, with questions.

From the Chair of the College Senate
As we continue our personal and professional journeys through this unique year, I wanted to send a note of gratitude and welcome to the fall semester to our campus community on behalf of the College Senate. Never in our lifetimes have we had to endure a pandemic of this nature and scope while managing our unique set of personal and professional circumstances and the emotions that stem from it. Acknowledging the gravitas of the situation(s), I welcome you to the start of a new year and new beginnings. I also want to thank the Buffalo State College community for answering the challenges that we have faced each day for the last six months and for adapting our lives and work. The Senate leadership is thankful for being in communication with the administration over the summer. I look forward to our continued dialog and important work in representing the students, staff, and faculty in strengthening our cross-cultural and caring Buffalo State community.

Thank you and welcome to the fall 2020 semester.

Bhakti Sharma

The Buffalo State College community is saddened by the death of R. Bruce Baum, professor emeritus of exceptional education, who died December 21, 2020. Dr. Baum joined the college in 1972 and retired in 2010. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia Siener-Baum, and two children. A private graveside service will be held. Friends may view a virtual service on the Mesnekoff Funeral Home’s Facebook page today, December 23, at 11:00 a.m. More information is available online.

The campus Mail Room and Central Receiving will return to COVID-19 procedures with reduced staffing from December 21, 2020, through January 8, 2021. Under these procedures, mail is received, sorted, and held at the Mail Room, and department representatives are required to retrieve items via curbside pickup. 

Staff members may pick up departmental mail and parcels at the Mail Room, located on the south side of Clinton Center, by calling 878-5729 to make arrangements.

To request delivery of heavy or large items to your building’s mail room, please call Central Receiving at 878-5729.

Michael Spogli, TIAA’s financial consultant, will be available for personal financial consultations with Buffalo State College faculty and staff members via telephone on Thursday, December 24.

Mr. Spogli can provide tools to help you meet your financial and retirement goals and answer any questions you may have regarding planning, budgeting, meeting your savings goals, managing your investments, calculating contributions to meet your retirement needs, or overcoming financial obstacles.

If you have never met with a financial adviser, this is a great opportunity to get acquainted and get help planning for a more secure financial future.

To arrange a telephone consultation, please visit the TIAA website. 

Mr. Spogli is also available other days throughout the month to fit your schedule. If you would like to arrange a telephone consultation on a date other than the one listed above, please call or e-mail Michael Spogli, (585) 246-4631.

During the fall 2020 semester, several wonderful students provided peer note-taking services for Student Accessibility Services.

Peer notetakers are volunteers who have met standards of quality and excellence in order to assist us with ensuring equal access to education for students who receive the note-taking accommodation.

Peer notetaker duties are extended beyond just providing a copy of their notes. They ensure that their notes are tailored to suit the needs of the student(s). This is not an easy task, because of the level of need that may be required. Taking notes can involve rephrasing content, providing notes in differing formats, and working with Student Accessibility Services to ensure that all notes are up to quality and accessibility standards. 

The following students have displayed a high degree of integrity, responsibility, and care, and we thank them for their time and dedication this semester.

Notetaker - Major                        

Messiayah Bido - Pre-Social Work
Kaitlyn Burr - Speech-Language Pathology
Jessica Fernandez - Political Science
Colina Greenidge - Social Work
Jessica Harle-Mould - Psychology
Caitlyn Heffler - Television and Film Arts
Grace Krizen - Dietetics
Desiray Slaughter - Health and Wellness
Katherine Tait - English
Bethanie Tinoco - Dietetics 
Taylor Valenti - Pre-Social Work

Please join us in thanking them for helping us keep Buffalo State College a civil and caring academic community.

Campus leadership is investigating the need for an online payment solution (i.e., e-commerce, electronic payment). If your department or program currently uses or needs an online payment solution, please complete this quick survey. When you log in, we will collect your name, department, and e-mail address. Thank you.

Attention, Teacher Education Unit faculty members: Assessments due! Please remember to have students submit necessary materials and/or complete required surveys on Taskstream before leaving this semester. Faculty members, please conduct your evaluations of student submissions before the end of the fall 2020 semester.  

Required assessments may include practicum evaluations (with dispositions), student teaching evaluations, exit surveys, advanced program capstone projects, and any program-level assessments you use.

• Questions about assessment processes (especially in time of COVID) can be directed to Shannon Budin, professor of exceptional education.
• Questions about Taskstream access should be directed to Tiffany Fuzak, research analyst.

Reminder: Program Improvement Retreat (via Zoom) for all TEU faculty: Tuesday, January 26, 10:00–11:30 a.m. RSVP online.

Art and Design students at Buffalo State College have been working very hard through the ever-changing and challenging times this past academic year. A new exhibition features a selection of student work from the 100- and 200-level studio classes. These artworks were executed by our students under the direct supervision of our dedicated studio faculty and informed by the historical context provided by our art history faculty scholars. We are all very proud of our students’ work.

View the Fall 2020 Art and Design Student Exhibition

Weeks of Welcome at Buffalo State College is a programming series hosted by student organizations and the campus community to welcome our students back for the start of another successful semester. As with the past semester, we will be going virtual for spring 2021.

Information on programs and events can be found on the Weeks of Welcome schedule through the Student Leadership and Engagement website. Campus departments and student organizations are encouraged to submit programs to be included in the Weeks of Welcome schedule of events.
To submit an event, please complete a Weeks of Welcome program submission form.

Please e-mail Mason Meiler, programming coordinator for Student Leadership and Engagement, with questions.