Final issue of semester to be published Dec. 10
The Reporter will publish the final issue of the fall semester on Dec. 10. The first issue of the spring semester will be published on Jan. 14.

Janet Palya named assistant dean in School of Social Work
Janet Palya, director of field education in the School of Social Work, has been named assistant dean for field education and off-campus programs.
Palya, who also serves as clinical assistant professor of social work, will administer the school's extension program in Corning and explore plans to establish a similar program in Jamestown to serve the Southern Tier and northern Pennsylvania. She will continue to supervise placement of some 200 students in internships in social-services agencies.

A UB faculty member since 1996, Palya previously was with the Erie County Medical Center's Division of Chemical Dependency and the Employee Assistance Program of Child & Family Services of Erie County. She also has served as a consultant with the Allegany Indian Reservation Health Center.
Palya has taught a variety of courses relating to addictions and the family and has conducted presentations and served on numerous committees within the Western New York community.

Crickard named interim chair of gynecology/obstetrics
Kent Crickard, associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics and a specialist in infertility, has been named interim chair of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Crickard has been a member of the UB faculty since 1981. He is chief of the UB medical school's in vitro fertilization program and is director of its Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, based at Children's Hospital. He also holds a faculty appointment in the UB Department of Medicine.
He has held several committee appointments within the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics. He serves on the department's managed-care and research committees, and is a member of the board of the Women and Children's Health Research Foundation at Chil-dren's Hospital. Crickard's research has focused on cancers of the female reproductive tract, and he has published and lectured widely in this field.

Graduate assistant wanted to write for the Reporter
Applications are open for a 20-hour-a week position writing for the Reporter, beginning in January. The position is open to graduate students only, and offers a tuition scholarship for the spring semester, as well as a salary. Applicants must have excellent writing skills; newspaper experience is preferred.
Applicants are urged to send resumes and cover letters immediately to Christine Vidal, Reporter Editor, at UB News Services, 136 Crofts Hall, Buffalo, N.Y. 14260.

University community asked to update E-Directory information
The university community is being asked to update the information that is listed in the UB E-Directory, the online directory of faculty, staff and students.
The directory, which can be accessed at , is a comprehensive and searchable electronic source of information that includes names, titles, campus addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.
Updating information in the directory is simple. After logging in, click on "update" to bring up the form that will allow users to update personal information and insert their preferred email address. A UNIX password is needed to make changes; users who do not know their password can have it reset by calling 645-3540.
Instructions for updating information are available online. Additional assistance is available by calling 645-3540.

New payroll system to take effect
The Office of Human Resource Services, State Payroll has announced that beginning this month, paychecks and/or direct-deposit stubs will be prepared under a new system designed to make payroll information easier to read, as well as more private.
Under the state's new PaySR payroll system, checks and direct deposit stubs will provide more detailed information on employee earnings, such as regular pay, overtime pay and location pay, as well as taxes, including federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state and local income taxes.
In addition, the new system will eliminate codes for deductions such as retirement, union dues and SEFA contributions, which will be listed individually according to their current deduction amounts and year-to-date totals.
Some employees may notice a slight difference in take-home pay resulting from the system, which rounds earnings to the nearest penny and utilizes annualized, rather than biweekly, tax tables. As a result, paychecks and direct-deposit stubs may show an increase or decrease of a few cents per pay period.
The new checks will be folded and sealed on three sides. Employees are encouraged to follow the opening directions to prevent any damage to the check or stub.
The first checks issued as part of the new system will be distributed today to employees on the student-assistant payroll. All other state employees will be paid via the new system on Wednesday.
State employees received an introductory mailing last week. Another, more detailed, mailing will be distributed in a few days. For more information, call Susan Krzystofiak at 645-2600.

Student Life's "Festival of Traditions" to begin Monday
The UB Office of Student Life knows the holiday season wouldn't be complete without "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
This favorite Dr. Seuss holiday story will be shown every hour on the hour in the Student Union Theatre from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday as part of UB's annual week-long Festival of Traditions. Viewers are being asked to make a donation, such as a hat or pair of gloves or mittens, at the door to benefit the City Mission.
The Festival of Traditions, coordinated by the Office of Student Life, officially will begin Monday when the Peace Tree arrives in the Student Union Lobby.
Other highlights include the Student Association International Clubs Bazaar on Tuesday and the University Union Activities Board Day on Dec. 10, during which a local elementary-school chorus will perform in the Student Union Lobby and students will be provided supplies to make ornaments for the Peace Tree.
The week will end on Dec. 11 with the second annual December Senior Celebration Breakfast, to be held from 8:30-10:30 a.m. in Pistachio's in the Student Union.
The Office of Student Life also will hold a United Way/News Neediest Toy Drive. Donations of new, unwrapped toys for children up to 12 years of age can be dropped off in the News Neediest Barrel located at the Student Union Information Booth or in the Office of Student Life until Dec. 14.

Laura Aikin to appear at UB, make debut at Metropolitan Opera
The Department of Music will present UB alumna and internationally acclaimed soprano Laura Aikin at 3 p.m. Sunday in Slee Hall in the Tzetzo Memorial Concert as part of the Slee Visiting Artists Series. Aikin, who is touring this season with the Ensemble InterContemporain and Pierre Boulez, will make her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Queen of the Night, in Mozart's "The Magic Flute" on Dec. 14.
Aikin, who has been a member of the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin since 1992, has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival. Last season she performed Handel's "Messiah" with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. Appearing with Aikin at UB will be Roland E. Martin, piano, and Shawn Kronberg, clarinet.
Tickets for Aikin's Slee Hall concert are $12, $9 and $5, and may be obtained at the Slee Hall Box Office, the UB Center for the Arts Box Office and at TicketMaster outlets.

Mutua to speak at town meeting on human rights
Makau Mutua, associate professor of law and co-director of the UB Human Rights Center, will be a guest speaker Tuesday at a town meeting on the topic, "50 Years After the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Is the Glass Empty? Or Half Full?" The meeting is free and open to the public.
The program, to be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for Tomorrow on the North Campus, is sponsored by the Advocacy Committee of the American Jewish Committee of Western New York, in cooperation with the Center for Middle East Studies, the UB Law School, the Holocaust Resource Center of Western New York, the League of Women Voters of Greater Buffalo, the VIVE organization for world refugees and the Western New York Peace Center.
Also speaking will be Rabbi Andrew Baker, director of European Affairs for the American Jewish Committee. Among the topics to be discussed will be damages for human-rights violations, religious and racial persecution, discrimination against women, exploitation of children and torture.
For more information, call 877-6234.

Emeritus Center to hear program of poetry and music

A program of poetry and music by members of the East Buffalo Media Association will be presented at 2 p.m. Tuesday at a meeting of the Emeritus Center in the South Lounge of 102 Goodyear Hall, South Campus.
Performers will include Don Metz, associate director of the Burchfield-Penney Gallery, guitarist; Michael Colquhoun, flutist, and Michael Basinski, senior assistant librarian, University Libraries, vocalist. Most of the program will be works by Metz and Basinski.
The Emeritus Center board of directors will meet at 1 p.m.

"UB Today" cable TV show announces December line-up
The UB men's and women's basketball coaches will be among the campus personalities featured during the month of December on "UB Today," a half-hour show broadcast each month on the Adelphia and TCI cable channels that highlights the projects and programs of the university. Each month's show is rebroadcast and features guests interviewed by hosts William J. Evitts, executive director of alumni relations, and assistant director Judith Schwendler.
December's line-up will feature interviews with Elaine Bartkowiak, associate director of the Early Childhood Research Center; Lewis Mandell, dean of the School of Management; basketball coaches Cheryl Dozier and Tim Cohane, and Seymour Gitin, UB alumni-award winner and director of the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem.
"UB Today" airs on Adelphia Cable channels 10 and 18 at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays and at 9 p.m. on Mondays on Channel 18, and at 6:30 p.m. on Fridays on TCI Cable's Channel 21.