November 13, 1997-Vol29n12: no title given

VOLUME 29, NUMBER 12

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1997

Intersession Curtailment Program

As previously announced, the University at Buffalo will be implementing an Intersession Curtailment Program. As in previous years, the savings to be realized through lower energy consumption and other features of the curtailment will assist the university in operating within this year's budget.

All university offices will be closed, and telephones will not be answered, except by departmental answering machines, from the close of business on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 1997, until the beginning of business on Monday, Jan. 5, 1998. This will apply to the university's North, South and EOC campuses. Note: A number of critical library, computing and campus mail functions will be sustained during Intersession Curtailment. See details below:

- Temperatures in buildings that are closed will be reduced to 50 degrees, and hot water will not be available.

- Normal university services, such as food service and campus busing, will not be available.

- Buildings will be locked for security reasons. In the event of snowfall, only roadways needed for emergency access and a few selected parking lots will be plowed.

- Public Safety and University Facilities staff will provide necessary campus and building safety and security.

- Unless an exemption has been granted, access to closed buildings will be severely restricted. The groups responsible for campus security, personal safety and building operation need to know if university space is being used. Unannounced use of space creates hazard to all involved.

Exemptions

In accordance with the Intersession Curtailment Program Policy and Exemption Procedures, the following university facilities/activities have been granted automatic exemptions during this year's Intersession Curtailment:

- All laboratory animal facilities

- The Dorsheimer Greenhouse

- All emergency clinical/treatment facilities

- Alumni Arena (for scheduled intercollegiate athletic events only)

- All research buildings where there is a significant percentage of "wet-laboratory" facilities in the building

The following buildings will remain completely open during the curtailment:

- Bonner Hall
- Campus Mail Center
- Cary/Farber/Sherman halls
- Cooke/Hochstetter halls
- Foster Hall
- Fronczak Hall
- Furnas Hall
- Jarvis Hall
- Ketter Hall
- Natural Sciences and Mathematics I
- School of Medicine
- Squire Hall
PLEASE NOTE: Requests for a building exemption beyond the programs/facilities listed above must be received by Nov. 21, 1997 in a procedure previously outlined.

Libraries-Exempted

The following libraries will remain open during curtailment:

- The Capen Libraries [both the Undergraduate Library (UGL) and the Science and Engineering Library (SEL)]-open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Dec. 24, 29, 30 and 31. No reference service available.

- The Health Sciences Library (HSL)-open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 24; from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 29, 30 and 31. Reference service will be available.

Computing Center

The machine room and supporting offices only of the Computing Center will be open. (See COMPUTING for additional details.)

Residence Halls

Select residence halls will be open to international students during the curtailment.

Employee Options: Alternate Work Site

Employees who wish to work on any or all of the six regular workdays, but who are not employed in areas that will be open as a result of an exemption, or who cannot make alternate arrangements, will be accommodated at the alternate work site, which is Lockwood Library on the North Campus. That site will be heated to the normal university winter temperature. Individuals utilizing the alternate work site must bring adequate work supplied by their department or will be supplied work by the site supervisor.

PLEASE NOTE: State employees who choose this option will receive a memorandum in early December that provides specific instructions on procedures governing the alternate work site.

State Employees

State employees who choose to take time off during the curtailment can utilize accumulated vacation, personal, or compensatory leave accruals or can choose to take the days off without pay. Employees who plan to make use of the latter option should write a letter to their supervisor (and send a copy to Elizabeth Dundon, Personnel Services, 104 Crofts Hall, North Campus) indicating the specific dates they wish to take without pay. Sick leave accruals may not be used.

For those employees who do not have six days of vacation and/or compensatory accruals, but who wish to be off with pay during this period, the university will advance up to six days of vacation accruals. State employees who choose to work on any or all of the six workdays that fall within the curtailment, and who are not employees of a department that has been granted an exemption, or who are unable to make alternate arrangements, must notify Adrienne Collier, Employee Relations Associate, at 645-2646, ext. 117, of that fact no later than Dec. 1, 1997, to request a copy of the 1997-1998 Intersession Curtailment Request to Work at Alternate Work Site form. This form requires the signature/approval of the employee's supervisor.

Research Foundation Employees

Research Foundation employees may be required to work all or part of the curtailment, depending on whether the unit in which they work will remain open. Employees who are not required to work, but wish to do so, may be assigned to the alternate work site in the Libraries (see EMPLOYEE OPTIONS).

Employees who do not work and who do not have sufficient accruals may request leave without pay or an advance of up to six (6) days. Requests for an advance, or for leave without pay, and requests to work at an alternate work site must be sent to Rosemary Tripi, Sponsored Programs Personnel, 416 Crofts Hall, in writing, by Dec. 1, 1997.

Public Safety

Public Safety will operate full shifts throughout the curtailment period. Steps will be taken to guard against theft and provide personal protection for the limited number of employees and students on campus.

Accounting and Payroll Services

State and UBF paychecks and direct deposit statements that would normally be received on Wednesday, Dec. 24, will be distributed on Tuesday, Dec. 23. If it is necessary to withhold any state employee's Dec. 24 paycheck, or to stop a direct deposit, university departments must notify Payroll Services at 645-2600 by Thursday, Dec. 18.

During Intersession Curtailment, Payroll Services staff will check its telephone answering device daily to respond to any questions. UBF will have staff available each working day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to answer questions. UBF telephone number is 645-3011.

The last State student assistant, college work study and fellowship payday before curtailment is Thursday, Dec. 18. No checks will be distributed during the curtailment. Checks will be distributed on Wednesday, Jan. 7, with the regular biweekly schedule resuming on Wednesday, Jan. 15.

For state employees, questions regarding paycheck distribution procedures should be addressed to Eileen J.C. Berry in Payroll Services. For UBF employees, please call Josephine Zenosky, UBF payroll supervisor.

For travel and petty cash, completed reimbursement requests are due in the travel/general ledger offices by Thursday, Dec. 11, to ensure payment prior to the curtailment. Documents received after this date will continue to be processed, but there is no guarantee payment will be received prior to curtailment.

Campus Mail

The Campus Mail Services Center will be open each business day (Dec. 24-Jan. 3) to sort incoming federal mail, including letter mail, registered/certified/priority mail and parcel post.

The Campus Mail Services Center will be closed on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.

Although there will not be any mail deliveries during the curtailment, Campus Mail Services will load its delivery trucks for first-day-back delivery of all accumulated mail. Expect Monday, Jan. 5, 1998, to be a heavier than usual day.

All accumulated parcel post will be delivered on Jan. 5, 1998.

Departments that wish to receive their mail during the curtailment should contact the Campus Mail Services Center no later than Dec. 18, 1997, at 645-2743 to make the necessary arrangements to pick up their mail at the Mail Center. There will be no distribution of mail to individuals (i.e., mail can be picked up for departments only).

Hours of operation will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Libraries

The Health Sciences Library (HSL) and the Capen Libraries, both the Undergraduate Library (UGL) and the Science and Engineering Library (SEL), will be open during part of the curtailment. HSL will be open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 24; from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 29, 30 and 31. UGL and SEL will be open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on the same days. Reference services will be provided at HSL only. All other library units on both the North and South campuses will be closed during the curtailment, and all University Libraries will be closed on the two curtailment weekends, Dec. 27 and 28 and Jan. 3 and 4, as well as on Dec. 25 and 26 and Jan. 1 and 2.

Barring unforeseen maintenance or upgrade work, BISON II will be available at the open libraries, as well as via modem and network connections. HUBNET will also be available. The UB Libraries Catalog may not be available at times during this period.

As in past years, emergency retrieval of materials will be provided for UB faculty on Dec. 24, 29, 30 and 31 from those libraries that are closed during the curtailment. Faculty who need known items from the closed collections (Architecture and Planning, Law, Lockwood, Mathematics and Music) can call 645-2816 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to place requests. Journal articles will be copied for pick-up at Lockwood Library or faxed at no charge. Books will be charged for pick-up at Lockwood between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Two-hour, same-day response will be provided for calls made before 2 p.m.

Computing

The Computing Center will close its central facilities and all public sites during the curtailment. During this period, one operator will be on duty at the Computing Center between 8:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. weekdays, except Christmas (Dec. 25) and New Year's Eve and Day (Dec. 31 and Jan. 1), to monitor the computers and networks, do backups and handle a limited number of requests for tape mounts. No output will be printed, distributed or delivered from the Computing Center, or any of its remote facilities.

From 10 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. weekdays, and all day on weekends, the systems will be left in operator-unattended mode, meaning that no tape mount requests will be possible. Also, during unattended time, should either the systems or networks become inoperative for some reason, restoration will not occur until the next scheduled operator-attended shift. (Please see complete Computing Center Intersession Curtailment schedule.)

Outside of providing access to mainframe computers, there will be no other services available during the curtailment, such as consulting, computer repair or network services.

As was the case last year, the Computing Center recommends that all critical data files be backed up before powering down your computer equipment on Dec. 23, 1997.

If there are any special concerns relating to the effects on computing during curtailment, please contact Dr. Hinrich Martens at 645-3580 or Dennis Henneman at 645-3504.

Payroll Period Due Date Pay Date

12/06/97-12/19/97 12/22/97 01/02/98

12/20/97-01/02/98 01/07/98 01/16/98

Payroll checks normally distributed on Jan. 2, 1998, will be mailed to the employee's mailing address currently on file. A payroll insert on this subject was distributed on Nov. 7, 1997.

Telephones

A reduced schedule of telephone operator services will be provided. Operators will be on duty Dec. 23, 24, 26, 29, 30, 31 and Jan. 2, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. At all other times, calls to the university's main number will be handled by the telephone answering service.

For emergencies in Physical Plant, call Customer Service at 71 or 645-2025, and emergencies in Public Safety to 645-2222. No moves, adds or changes, or routine repairs to the university telephone system will be done during the curtailment. Requests for repair of emergency or essential services telephones should be directed to campus operators during the day or to Public Safety after hours.

Departments that have answering machines are requested to reprogram them to furnish an appropriate message related to the curtailment. If the machine is not associated with a department's main listed phone number, call forwarding could be used to direct the calls to the machine.

Fax Machines

Fax messages sent to the university's listed fax number (645-2895) will be directed to the Campus Mail Office. Messages will be placed in campus mail and delivered on Jan. 5.

Faculty-Student Association

The FSA operations will not be staffed. All Food Service facilities will be closed. No vending machines will be serviced. All lobby counters will be closed. All recreation centers and the Creative Craft Center will be closed. CFT Catering, Inc., will not provide any service.

Campus Child Care

The center will be closed during the curtailment.

Banking Machines

All banking machines in campus buildings will be turned off. All funds stored in the machines will be removed before the curtailment.

Computing Center Intersession Curtailment Schedule

Date	Building	System Operation
Tuesday, Dec. 23	Closed 5 p.m.	Attended 5 p.m. to midnight
Wednesday, Dec. 24	Closed	Attended 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 25	Closed	Unattended
Friday, Dec. 26	Closed	Attended 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 27	Closed	Unattended
Sunday, Dec. 28	Closed	Unattended
Monday, Dec. 29	Closed	Attended 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 30	Closed	Attended 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 31	Closed	Attended 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 1	Closed	Unattended
Friday, Jan. 2	Closed	Attended 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 3	Closed	Unattended
Sunday, Jan. 4	Closed	Unattended
Monday, Jan. 5	Open 8:30 a.m.	Attended