SEFA/United Way Campaign
Many thanks to all who participated in the Buffalo State College 2001 SEFA/United Way Campaign. I am proud to report that because of the remarkable success of our campaign, the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County has selected Buffalo State to receive the 2001 award for Outstanding Campaign Team in the Government/SEFA category!
Together, we raised $160,012.27, a significant increase over last year's total of $134,153.00. This figure reflects a 73 percent rate of participation among Buffalo State College employees. Our department solicitors did an outstanding job, with 52 departments boasting 100 percent participation. The number of leadership givers increased to 41 from 28 last year. Additionally, we are grateful to our participating faculty emeriti, who increased from 10 to 25 since last year, for their combined donation of $5,415.00!
I congratulate the members of the 2001 SEFA/United Way Campaign Committee for their success. These include Hal D. Payne, vice president for student affairs, who served as campaign chair; Theresa Stephan Hains, director of the Weigel Health Center, who served as campaign coordinator; Gail Maloney, senior associate athletics director, who served as leadership coordinator; and Susan Robson, Weigel Health Center customer service coordinator, who served as assistant campaign coordinator.
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Other committee members were faculty and staff Barbara Bardak, secretary, Research Foundation; Sharon Bessinger, personnel administrative assistant, Research Foundation; Kelly Boos, assistant to the dean, natural and social sciences; Rock Doyle, manager of clinical information systems, Weigel Health Center; Susan Earshen, director of human resource development, Human Resource Management Office; Timothy Ecklund, associate vice president for residence life and auxiliary services; Carolyn Fusco, staff associate, arts and humanities; Rose Gilmore, nurse 1, Weigel Health Center; Maryruth Glogowski, director, E. H. Butler Library; Deborah Jones, admissions assistant, Admissions Office; Jill Powell, staff associate, Institutional Advancement and Development Office; Dale Swain, general mechanic, Campus Services and Facilities Office; Roger Wisniewski, deputy chief, University Police; and Rita Zientek, senior staff assistant, Teacher Certification Office; and students Fred Cabrera, president, United Students Government; Maisha White; and Vanessa Gonzalez. I also thank Professor Emeritus Horace Mann for launching our first-ever emeriti campaign.
Our campaign lived up to the theme "Creating Hope in the City of Light." Through our generous support of the services funded through SEFA/United Way, we have demonstrated that Buffalo State College is a caring and purposeful academic community.
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College Council Meeting
The next meeting of the Buffalo State College Council will be held at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 5 in Moot Hall 113.
Agenda
- Call to Order
- Action Items
Approval of Minutes: September 26, 2001
- Council Chair's Report
- President's Report
- Reports by College Council Committees
Facilities Development
Governmental Relations/Advocacy
Student Affairs
- Announcements
- Adjournment
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Blackboard Site Requests
To support the growing demand for course sites on Blackboard, the Distance Education Office has implemented new request procedures, including the completion of an online course request form, available at www.buffalostate.edu/offices/disted/BBform.html.
Request forms must be submitted both for new sites and for existing sites that will be carried over for spring 2002. A separate form must be submitted for each site request, including classes with the same course number but different call numbers.
The Distance Education Office must receive all requests by Thursday, December 20 to ensure proper enrollment by the beginning of the semester. Requests received after December 20 cannot be accommodated for the spring semester.
New Blackboard users are required to attend one two-hour training session, Introduction to Blackboard. Sessions will be offered Tuesday, January 8 and Tuesday, January 15 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. in CyberQuad, E. H. Butler Library 318. Registration is required. See http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/registration for registration and schedule information.
New users who do not participate in introductory training will have their spring course sites deactivated.
We hope these new procedures will improve communication between faculty, the Distance Education Office, and Computing and Technology Services. Please call the Distance Education Office at ext. 6910 with questions or concerns about the new procedure.
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Faculty Speaker Series
The Student Union Board (SUB) invites faculty members to speak to students on intellectual or public policy issues about which they are passionate. Talks may be individual or panel presentations and may be scheduled for 12:15 p.m. Tuesdays (Bengal Pause), 3:00 p.m. Tuesdays or Thursdays, or 6:30 p.m. Thursdays. Contact Ari M. J. Silverstein, chair of the speaker series, at ext. 6728. We encourage this initiative toward stimulating the extracurricular life of the mind on campus.
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TIP Challenge Grants
Given their success over the past three years, the Transformative Technology Initiatives to Invigorate Instructional Practices (TIP) Challenge Grants will be funded for the 2001–2002 academic year. TIP activities are designed to achieve two broad goals: first, to comply with Buffalo State's mission and institutional priorities, and second, to create an open budgetary process that allows for more input in advance of expenditures, provides rationale for choice of expenditures, and increases accountability through a public evaluation process.
All members of the campus community are eligible for funding. TIP will fund several projects, with funds totaling $25,000, during the spring 2002 semester, based upon the following criteria:
- Projects must be collaborative, not individual. Projects developed by individuals from different areas of campus (e.g., cross-departmental, faculty/staff/students with common interests) will be given higher scores in the evaluation process than projects developed by members of a single department.
- TIP grants can be used for desktop hardware and software, conference hosting, speaker and consultation fees, and student support, but not extra service or individual travel expenses.
- Projects that received funding in the past will be considered only after new proposals are funded.
All funded participants will be expected to participate in the fourth annual Technology Celebration during the spring semester.
Timeline
| Thursday, October 25 |
Applications available on the TIP Web site |
| Friday, December 7 |
Preliminary, full TIP proposals submitted |
| Mid-January |
Funded projects announced |
How to Apply
Download the application from the TIP Web site at www.buffalostate.edu/orgs/tip. A brief description of previous TIP projects also can be found at this site. Direct questions and applications to Abby Reish or Nancy Herrmann, ext. 6910, reishah@buffalostate.edu or herrmanl@buffalostate.edu.
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Student Art Show and Sale
Plan now for the fifth annual Student Art Show and Sale from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 5 and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Thursday, December 6 in Upton Gallery.
This special arts and humanities event highlights student work from the Art Education, Design, and Fine Arts Departments. The sale will feature an exciting array of work in many different media at reasonable prices. This is a great opportunity to find unusual holiday gifts or to decorate your office or home while supporting Buffalo State students. A portion of the proceeds from this year's sale will be donated to relief efforts in New York City.
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Exhibition: Nancy Belfer: Textile Art
The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is pleased to present Nancy Belfer: Textile Art, the first in a series of exhibitions to celebrate the accomplishments of craft art masters from Western New York.
The exhibition of work by Belfer, professor emeritus of design, will be on view December 1–February 24. Faculty and staff are invited to attend the members' preview reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 30.
The artist will present a slide lecture about her work at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 5 in the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. The talk is free and open the public.
For more information, visit www.buffalostate.edu/news/pressrelease.asp?prid=87.
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Employee Benefits Enrollment Deadline
Friday, November 30
- Sick-Leave Exchange Program (for M/C- and UUP-represented employees).
Employees who participated in the Sick-Leave Exchange Program during 2001 must reenroll to participate during 2002.
- Health Option Program (for CSEA- and PEF-represented employees).
Employees who participated in the Health Option Program during 2001 must reenroll to participate during 2002.
- Cancellation of health insurance.
- Change from family to individual coverage. (Note: Without a qualifying event, the 10-week waiting period still applies to first-time health insurance enrollees and to those who wish to add previously eligible dependents to their plans.)
- Change of pretax status for insurance deductions.
Details and election forms are available at www.buffalostate.edu/offices/hr/benefits.htm. Call the Human Resource Management Office at ext. 4821 with questions.
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Health Insurance Option Transfer Period
Health insurance rates for 2002 have been established and are listed below. Employees who wish to change their health insurance plans for the coming year have until Friday, December 28, 2001; however, because Winter Pause will limit campus operations December 24 through January 1, we encourage employees to complete and submit the option transfer forms to the Human Resource Management Office, Cleveland Hall 410, as soon as possible. This will avoid retroactive premium adjustments and should allow members to receive new health insurance identification cards closer to the effective coverage date (Thursday, January 3, 2002).
This is also the only time each year when Univera members and their dependents may decide whether to receive care from a medical center or from the physician network. A form is required to make this change.
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HEALTH PLAN
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M/C, UUP, PEF
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CSEA, COUNCIL 82, NYSCOPBA
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Individual
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Family
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Individual
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Family
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Empire Plan
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$ 13.85
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$ 57.07
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$ 9.40
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$ 42.04
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Community Blue
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$ 9.95
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$ 54.01
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$ 8.13
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$ 44.09
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Univera
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$ 9.60
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$ 52.15
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$ 7.74
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$ 42.00
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Independent Health
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$ 8.82
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$ 48.28
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$ 7.24
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$ 39.65
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"Choices," a booklet that compares the major health insurance plans, is available in the Human Resource Management Office, Cleveland Hall 410, ext. 4821. The information also is available online at www.buffalostate.edu/offices/hr/benefits.htm.
Call human resource management with questions.
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Receipt of Legal Papers Served on the College
SUNY Counsel's Office advises that all college offices should be notified of the procedures to follow regarding the receipt of legal papers of any kind by a campus employee. Accordingly, Buffalo State's procedures are as follows:
The associate vice president for finance and management/comptroller is the college's official liaison to Counsel's Office for the receipt of legal papers served on the college, notification of the affected area of the college (required to respond), and the decision about who should notify SUNY counsel, the attorney general, or other parties. When legal papers of any kind are served upon a campus employee, the campus liaison should be contacted immediately, and the papers forwarded to the liaison.
If the associate vice president for finance and management/comptroller is unavailable, the referral should be made to the associate vice president for human resource management. If that individual is unavailable, the referral should be made to the assistant vice president for finance and management.
This procedure is especially important when legal papers request personnel files or information about students. Various legal rights, such as those afforded by FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), the Personal Privacy Protection law, and collective bargaining agreements, are involved in those situations.
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Computer Training
Computing and Technology Services and the FAST Development Center offer monthly computer training classes. Unless otherwise stated, PC classes are held in CyberQuad, E. H. Butler Library 318, and Macintosh classes are held in CyberQuad, E. H. Butler Library 316. Please bring an IBM-formatted 3.5" disk. For a complete list of courses and registration information, visit http://bscintra.buffalostate.edu/registration.
Internet Explorer is recommended for registration. Enter the following information in the
required fields:
User Name: your user name (e.g., publicjq)
Password: your password
Domain: bsclogon
If you must use Netscape, enter the following information in the required fields:
User Name: bsclogon\your user name (e.g., bsclogon\publicjq)
Password: your password
If you have trouble registering online, send e-mail to reynolap@buffalostate.edu or call ext. 3361 and leave voice mail. Please include your name; your phone number; and the name, date, and time of the class for which you wish to register.
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System Clocks
The following information is provided for those who may be interested in the reasons for system clock inconsistencies on campus.
The central clock system has served most academic and administrative buildings since the 1960s. The master controlling mechanism for the clocks is in the basement of Upton Hall. Twice a day, the master controller sends a signal throughout the campus electrical system. The signal goes unnoticed by all electrical appliances except system clocks, which are equipped to receive the signal. When the signal is received, the clocks reset themselves to the correct time, adjusting for Eastern Daylight or Standard Time when required.
Many clocks on campus fail to detect the master signal, but each costs from $75 to $150 to replace or repair. Because repairing the hundreds of system clocks at once is cost-prohibitive, clocks are repaired as funding permits.
The second problem involves something called a capacitor bank, located in the college's main electrical substation, east of Tower 1. The substation is where the college draws its electricity from Niagara Mohawk. The capacitor bank distributes power evenly to the campus. Without it, the college would pay excessive surcharges.
The capacitor bank, however, tends to erase the signal that corrects system clocks. Revisions to correct this problem, along with clock repair or replacement, could easily reach a six-digit figure. For now, we ask that problems with specific clocks be reported to Campus Services Customer Service Office at ext. 6111. Your patience and assistance is appreciated.
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2001–2002 Program Funding Applications
The Auxiliary Services Grant Allocation Committee is accepting applications for funding of program proposals for the 2001–2002 academic year. Proposals should support the mission of the college and contribute to the following strategic directions:
- To strengthen the academic program and all student support services to promote success in teaching and learning
- To increase recruitment, retention, and graduation of a diverse population of
students
- To create a nurturing environment for a diverse campus community
Programs and events funded must be open to all students, faculty, and staff at Buffalo State and result in a direct educational experience. All Buffalo State students, faculty, and staff are eligible to apply. Application packets are available in the Vice President for Student Affairs Office, Cleveland Hall 513; the United Students Government Office, Campbell Student Union 401; the Student Life Office, Campbell Student Union 400; and the Student Union Information Desk. Proposals are due by the close of business Friday, December 7.
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Newsletter International 2002
Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to submit articles, stories, or poems that reflect an international perspective to the International Student Affairs Office for publication in the annual Newsletter International. The publication is designed to educate and strengthen the spirit of internationalism on campus and in the community, and to promote international awareness and understanding.
Over the years, Newsletter International has allowed writers to share unique experiences about their native lands with the Buffalo State community. To submit articles, call Jean Gounard, director of international student affairs, at ext. 5331.
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Recognizing and Dealing with Students in Emotional Distress
At this time of the semester, college students typically encounter a great deal of stress. While most cope successfully, for some the pressures can become overwhelming and unmanageable. A trustworthy and caring faculty or staff member may be a potential resource for our students. We offer the following guidelines for dealing with students in distress. Please call the Counseling Center at ext. 4436 for additional information.
At one time or another, everyone feels depressed or upset. We can identify three general levels of distress that, when present over time, suggest that a person is having trouble successfully managing stress.
Level 1
- Serious grade problems or a change from consistently good grades to poor performance
- Excessive absences, especially if the student has had previously demonstrated good, consistent class attendance
- Unusual or markedly changed pattern of interaction, e.g., totally avoiding participation, becoming excessively anxious when called upon, dominating discussions, etc.
- Other characteristics, including a depressed, lethargic mood; being excessively active and talkative (very rapid speech); swollen, red eyes; marked change in personal dress or hygiene; sweating (when room is not hot); and falling asleep inappropriately
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Level 2
- Repeated requests for special consideration, such as deadline extensions, especially if the student appears uncomfortable or highly emotional disclosing the circumstances prompting the request
- New or regularly occurring behavior that pushes the limits of decorum and interferes with effective management of the immediate environment
- Unusual or exaggerated emotional response that is obviously inappropriate to the situation
Level 3
- Highly disruptive (hostile, aggressive, violent, etc.)
- Inability to communicate clearly (garbled, slurred speech; unconnected or disjointed thoughts)
- Loss of contact with reality (seeing/hearing things that "aren't there," exhibiting behavior or expressing beliefs that are greatly at odds with reality or probability)
- Homicidal threats
- Overtly suicidal thoughts (referring to suicide as a current option)
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Some of the behavioral signs of suicide risk include:
- Feelings of hopelessness, intense sadness, apathy
- Sudden mood swings, outbursts of anger
- Self-deprecation, feelings of worthlessness
- Inappropriate behavior, aggressive acts, disobedience, rebelliousness
- Expressions of suicidal thoughts, death themes
- Giving away valued possessions, seeming "in control" of life, making final plans
- Changes in sleeping or eating patterns
- Withdrawal from family, friends, activities once enjoyed
- Disinterest in appearance/health
- Self-destructive behavior
- Substance abuse, criminal activity
- Inability to concentrate
- Lack of energy, passiveness, allowing others to take advantage of him/her
- Excessive feelings of guilt
- Rapid weight gain or loss
What Can You Do?
Level-3 problems require immediate intervention. You must remain calm and know whom to call for help. Telephone numbers for assistance and emergency referrals are listed below:
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Counseling Center
878-4436
Hours (summer hours may vary):
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
- Thursday: 8:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
- Friday: 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Please visit the Web site at www.buffalostate.edu/depts/counsel to learn more about Counseling Center resources and self-help Web sites.
Weigel Health Center
878-6711
Hours (summer hours may vary):
- Monday–Thursday: 8:30 a.m.–8:00 p.m.
- Friday: 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
University Police
878-6333
Hours: 24 hours a day, every day
Crisis Services
834-3131
Hours: 24 hours a day, every day
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Remember, always:
- Feel free to make an opening statement, e.g., "You seem down/different/upset lately..."
- Listen—don't be judgmental
- Take depression and reference to suicide seriously
- Consult with the Counseling Center or Weigel Health Center
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Undergraduate Student Awards: President's Medal and Chancellor's Awards
Nominations and supporting documentation for the President's Medal for Outstanding Undergraduate Student and SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence must be forwarded to Phillip Santa Maria, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students, Campbell Student Union 306, by Friday, November 30. The nomination form, applicable to both awards, is available here and from department chairs and directors. See the October 18 Bulletin for details. Award recipients will be recognized at commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 11.
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College Senate Meeting
The next College Senate meeting will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, December 14 in E. H. Butler Library 210.
Curricular Proposals
To alleviate the backlog of courses presented to the College Senate Curriculum Committee in March, the following deadlines have been set for curricular processing:
Curricula approved by the Curriculum Committee with revisions requested during the 2000–2001 academic year must be returned to the committee chair by Tuesday, December 11, the final meeting date of the Curriculum Committee for the fall semester. Individual grace periods may be granted to departments with unusual numbers of courses or programs returned for revisions. Such an arrangement may be made with the chair of the Curriculum Committee.
Departments may expect new curricular submissions that arrive in the Senate Office by December 11 to be fully processed during the spring 2002 semester.
Departments submitting curricula after December 11 should have curricula to the Senate Office, Cleveland Hall 417C, by Tuesday, February 12, 2002, to allow for sufficient processing time before May 2002. Curricula submitted after February 12 may not be fully processed in the spring semester.
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Curricular Items
CORRECTION
The following courses were incorrectly listed as EXE in the November 15 Bulletin:
BXE 623 Policies and Practices of Bilingual Special Education
BXE 625 Curriculum I: Strategies for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Students
BXE 626 Assessment Techniques in Bilingual Special Education
The following have been approved by the Senate Curriculum Committee and will be forwarded to the president for final review and approval:
New Courses:
MED 500 Practicum I: Graduate Field Experience in Secondary Mathematics Education
MED 501 Practicum II: Practice Teaching Mathematics in the Middle School
MED 502 Practicum III: Practice Teaching Mathematics in the High School
Course Revision:
MAT 301 Fundamentals of Abstract Algebra
Program Revisions:
B.S. Dietetics (Admission Requirements) (0410)
M.S.Ed. Educational Computing (6950)
M.S.Ed. Teaching Bilingual Exceptional Individuals (6326)
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