The School of Arts and Humanities invites the friends and family of former dean Benjamin Christy to attend an online memorial in his honor on Friday, November 20, at 2:00 p.m. Please use this link for access to the event. This special online memorial tribute will also be available for later viewing. For more information, please call 878-6326.

Today is the last day to enroll in the Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP) for 2021. PEP allows eligible CSEA, UUP, PEF, and M/C employees to exchange previously accrued vacation or personal leave for a credit toward their biweekly New York State health insurance costs. Sick leave credits cannot be exchanged under this program.

To participate, eligible employees must file an election form with the Employee Benefits Office, Cleveland Hall 410, by the close of business today. Employees who participated in PEP for 2020 must file a new election form to re-enroll in the 2021 program. Details and enrollment forms can be found on the Human Resource Management website.

For program details, please select your bargaining unit:

• CSEA Program Details and Election Form (DOCX, 26 KB)
• UUP and M/C Program Details and Election Form (DOCX, 22 KB)

The enrollment period for the 2021 Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP) ends Monday, November 30. PEP allows eligible CSEA, UUP, PEF, and M/C employees to exchange previously accrued vacation or personal leave for a credit toward their biweekly New York State health insurance costs. Sick leave credits cannot be exchanged under this program.

To participate, eligible employees must file an election form with the Employee Benefits Office, Cleveland Hall 410, by November 30. Employees who participated in PEP for 2020 must file a new election form to re-enroll in the 2021 program. Details and enrollment forms can be found on the Human Resource Management website.

For program details, please select your bargaining unit:

• CSEA Program Details and Election Form (DOCX, 26 KB)
• UUP and M/C Program Details and Election Form (DOCX, 22 KB)

The Buffalo State College community is invited to our November Diversity Dialogue, "A Self-Care Panel," featuring Pixita del Prado Hill, Ruth Goldman, Meg Knowles, Camilo Maldonado, Heather Maldonado, and Leasa Rochester-Mills on Tuesday, November 17, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom videoconference. RSVP is required.

Each of our panelists boasts a successful career with multiple academic achievements and professional accolades. How do these individuals practice self-care and balance the sometimes-conflicting demands of professional and personal life? Join us to hear what our panelists have to say and to ask your own questions of them. We hope you will join us. 

These Diversity Dialogues are a way to highlight Buffalo State faculty members' work and engage in meaningful and sometimes difficult conversations on contemporary topics. Diversity Dialogues are sponsored and organized by the Equity and Campus Diversity Office. For more information, please visit our website.

Winterim 2021 will be held January 19–22 and is a great opportunity to virtually connect with colleagues and learn from one another. Winterim is the period between the fall and spring semesters when a variety of activities are held to support the intellectual, personal, and professional growth of faculty and staff members. If you or someone you know has knowledge on a particular topic of interest to share with the campus community, please complete and submit the 2021 Winterim Session Submission form by Monday, November 30. If you have questions, please contact the Professional Development Center.

In observance of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week and the Bengals Dare to Care Virtual Workshop on Food Security, Housing, and Racial Justice, the Student Civic Leadership Board and Civic and Community Engagement will host a Bengals Care Collection Drive to support the work of local community partners. This collection will take place on Tuesday, November 17, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the South Wing breezeway. 

Donations will support Friends of Night People and Transition Services Inc. (TSI).

Food: Rice, oatmeal, canned goods, peanut butter, evaporated milk, condensed milk, seasonings, sofrito, crackers, pasta, tomato paste, tomato sauce, dried fruits and vegetables, applesauce, olive oil, granola bars, cereal, nuts, salad oil, sugar, formula, and infant food. Friendsgiving items are also needed such as stuffing, gravy, etc. 

Hygiene: Shampoo, conditioner, wipes, deodorant, soap, body wash, toothbrush, toothpaste, razors, diapers, tampons, and lotion.

Clothing: Because of COVID-19 precautions, we must reject used clothing items. ONLY new, small items such as socks, undershirts, winter hats, gloves, and mittens will be accepted. Please enclose your items in Ziploc bags or prepackaged plastic wrap to avoid the risk of contamination.

We ask that attendees pay close attention to the COVID-19 safety guidelines outlined below: 

1. Staff members, student volunteers, and donors are required to wear face masks and practice social distancing.
2. Temperatures of all participants will be taken using a no-contact thermometer. 
3. Hand sanitizer will be available. 
4. A sign-in sheet will be used for contact tracing purposes.
5. Drop-off station will be sanitized between donations. 
6. Please place all donations in a plastic grocery bag or box and follow all social distancing and zero contact guidelines. 

Thank you for your help and support! It is greatly appreciated. 

Please join us for the rescheduled presentation of the "Elevating Student Success in Our Current Environment Conversation Series: When Access and Opportunity Meet," by Yanick Jenkins, director of the Educational Opportunity Program, on Tuesday, December 8, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. via Zoom. This series is co-sponsored by the Title III Task Force and the Professional Development Center. Please register through the Workshop Registration System.

What does student success mean at Buffalo State College? What are the individual ways that we cultivate student success at the college, and how can we as individuals apply these practices to our own work to support the students we serve? Join us as we learn from our colleagues their definition of student success and the specific practices we as staff or faculty members can apply to better support the intellectual, personal, and professional growth of our students. Each conversation will involve a 10- to 15-minute presentation from a staff or faculty member focused on his or her definition of student success and effective practices that others can apply to their work with students. These conversations will then be followed by a 45- to 50-minute facilitated conversation by a member of the Title III Task Force about how we can apply these practices to our individual work with students. We will also discuss similar practices colleagues found to be effective and build off of the ideas presented to elevate these practices across campus.

About Yanick Jenkins
Born in Au Cap, Haiti, and raised in Spring Valley, New York, Yanick Heriveaux Jenkins has had the honor of serving as the director of the Buffalo State College Arthur O. Eve Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) for 19 years, and as senior adviser for Precollegiate Programs since 2019. As such, she has created an energetic atmosphere for the growth and development of academic scholars and future community leaders.

With a B.S. in social work and a master's in counselor education specializing in counseling minority groups, she worked for eight years as the creator and director of the Office for Multicultural Affairs at D’Youville College. She is also a former EOP adviser at SUNY Brockport and a former HEOP adviser at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has dedicated her life to fostering and supporting the empowerment, leadership, and self-enhancement qualities of all she comes in contact with, paying special attention to those who are marginalized within society.

Ms. Jenkins is the Western New York regional coordinator for the Educational Opportunity Program Directors Group, a 20-year consultant and program facilitator with the National Federation for Just Communities of Western New York, a 2001 graduate of Leadership Buffalo, and an active member of the women’s empowerment group Women in the Spotlight Going Global. She partners with EMBRACE WNY, an organization working toward equality for all Western New York residents, especially in the LGBT community; the Young Miss Buffalo Empowerment Training and Pageant; and the Haiti Outreach Program Pwoje Espwa. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Interested in studying away but not sure where to start? Please join us for our fall 2020 virtual study-away fair on Tuesday, November 17, at 12:30 p.m.

By attending this fair, you will learn the answers to these questions:

What exactly is study abroad/study away?
Why should I study abroad?
What types of programs are available?
Where can I study abroad?
How much does it cost?
What kind of classes can I take abroad?

Please join us. Blackboard Collaborate link.

SUNY Online is pleased to host and showcase the following presentations in celebration of National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) 2020. Registration is not required for these free webinars. View all upcoming webinars on the SUNY Online Teaching website. Slides and recordings will be available after the events.

Access all sessions using this Zoom link.

SESSION HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday, November 11

• Using the Best Practices of Asynchronous Online Learning to Synchronous Online Learning
  10:00–10:45 a.m.

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Thursday, November 12

• SUNY Mental Health Initiative
  11:00–11:45 a.m.

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Friday, November 13

• Distance Learning Leaders’ Response to COVID-19
  11:00–11:45 a.m.
• SUNY Program Design at Scale
  Noon–12:45 p.m.

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For additional campus workshops, please see the Workshop Registration System.

The Geography and Planning Department at Buffalo State College will celebrate Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day on Tuesday, November 17, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. through Blackboard Collaborate.

GIS Day was first celebrated in 1999. The explosion of geospatial technology since then has expanded that idea into a global event that shows how geography and real-world applications of GIS are making a difference in business, government, and society. It's a chance for organizations to share their accomplishments and inspire others to discover and use GIS.

Our GIS Day event will feature guest speakers Scott Thompson, Lisa Matthies-Wiza, and Julie Carter. Mr. Thompson is a 2016 graduate of the Geography and Planning Department and currently serves as a planner for the City of Rochester, New York. He will provide an overview of GIS maps and tools used to support planning work in the city of Rochester. Ms. Matthies-Wiza currently serves as director of the Erie County Office of Geographic Information Services. She will provide an overview of the GIS applications developed during Erie County’s COVID-19 response, and a glimpse into the real-world logistical challenges behind the scenes. Dr. Carter is a lecturer in the Elementary Education, Literacy, and Educational Leadership Department at Buffalo State. Her presentation will highlight the ways preservice candidates in the School of Education use GIS to teach civics and history to fourth-graders in Buffalo schools, as well as how GIS has affected course frameworks and pedagogy in one social studies methods course.

Please join us.
Blackboard Collaborate link