Members of UB’s professional staff are invited to share their favorite dessert, as well as their individual story, at a Dessert Social being held from noon to 1:30 p.m. June 13 in the Honors College, 107 Capen Hall, North Campus.

The event, sponsored by the Professional Staff Senate’s Diversity Committee, is designed to help participants make new connections with colleagues and learn more about the members of the diverse UB community.

Participants are asked to share information about themselves in 140 characters or less, providing a glimpse into their past, future or everyday life: What makes you uniquely you?

Staff should RSVP by June 10 with their dessert offering and personal story to the Diversity Committee’s Twitter account  or email address.

Faculty and staff interested in building their professional networking contacts can learn new skills at a free workshop offered by Organizational Development & Training.

“Tools for Professional Networking: In Person & Online” will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 18 in 142 Crofts Hall, North Campus.

During the workshop, participants will learn how to network at professional meetings and events, how to overcome networking challenges and how to maintain contacts. The session also will feature an introduction to the LinkedIn social media site.

Register online.

Faculty and staff are invited to join the weekly TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) at Work meetings.

TOPS promotes successful, affordable weight management with a hands-on, pounds-off approach that combines health eating, regular physical activity and support from peers at weekly chapter meetings.

The meetings provide a supportive, educational environment in which participants are encouraged to reach their weight-loss goals.

The UB group meets at noon on Fridays on the North Campus. The cost is $28 for the year.

Anyone who is interested in joining TOPS should contact Amy at 645-5357.

Faculty and staff members looking to get some exercise on their lunch break can take part in the summer campus walking program sponsored by Wellness & Work/Life Balance.

The program will start at noon on June 11 with a 1 ½ mile walking tour of the North Campus and at noon on June 12 with a 1 mile walking tour of the South Campus. Walks will continue every Tuesday on the North Campus and every Wednesday on the South Campus, through July 17.

All North Campus walks will begin at Founders Plaza by the bus loop in front of Capen Hall; South Campus walks will start at the bus loop in front of Abbott Hall.

Walkers can join the program at any time.

Participants will receive a T-shirt and water bottle.

For more information, contact Pete Logiudice at pjl2@buffalo.edu or 645-1528.

UB Information Technology is upgrading the voicemail system used on all campus telephones.

The work will begin after close of business on May 17 and should be completed before the start of business on May 20.

The current voicemail system is reaching support end-of-life by the vendor, according to UBIT, The new system, which is expected to be more reliable, works similarly to the current system so users should not notice much difference.

Once the voicemail system is upgraded, users will be asked to reset their voicemail password the first time they check their voicemail messages. In the new system, the voicemail password is called a PIN; users will hear a message that their PIN has expired. Users may re-use their current password as their new PIN, or select something else.  

For more information about the voicemail system upgrade, visit the UBIT website.

Questions or concerns can be directed to the CIT Help Desk at cit-helpdesk@buffalo.edu, or 645-3542.

Becker Farms is offering a weekly delivery to the North Campus as part of its Community Supported Agriculture program.

Purchase a small (2-3 people) or large (4-5 people) share and have a basket of in-season fruits and vegetables delivered to 114 Student Union this summer or the North Campus Farmers Market at Founders Plaza after the start of the fall semester.

A full season share is 20 weeks and runs from June 15 to Oct. 30. A 10-week option also is available and can begin Aug. 28.

When purchasing your share online, choose “UB North Campus” as your drop-off location.

For more information, contact Janice Cochran at 645-6940 or visit the Becker Farms website.

UB faculty and staff can join the UB team competing in the 33nd annual JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge, being held June 6 in Delaware Park.

The race, which starts at 6:45 p.m., supports local charities and draws more than 10,000 participants from hundreds of companies. Nearly 200 UB employees participated last year.

After the race, the UB team will gather for a tent party.

All participants can run, walk or just attend the event for good food, fun with colleagues and to cheer on the UB team. Registration closes on May 21, or whenever the race is full. Register with “University at Buffalo” as your team name.

Spots are still available for Kettlebell Training, a 10-week summer Exercise is Medicine program sponsored by Wellness and Work/Life Balance and the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences.

The program, to be offered from 4-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting May 13, will feature structured and supervised group kettlebell training. Kettlebell training consists of exercises with weighted kettlebells that target the legs, core and upper body—a cross between traditional aerobic and resistance training.

Each participant will receive a fitness assessment and measurement of fasting glucose and lipid profile at the beginning and end of the training.

The cost is $50.

To register, click here.

Faculty and staff can attend UB Day at the Ballpark on May 24 and purchase tickets to the Buffalo Bisons game for only $11.50.

The cost of the ticket includes admission to the game—the Bisons will play the Indianapolis Indians at 7:05 p.m. at Coca Cola Field—and $5 in Bisons Bucks that are good for the purchase of concessions and souvenirs throughout the season.

Ticket order forms can be downloaded.

UB Day at the Ballpark is sponsored by Wellness and Work/Life Balance.

For more information, call 645-5357.

All members of the UB community are invited to pick up free soil amendment from the Campus Dining and Shops food decomposer machine for use in their own flower and vegetable gardens.

The decomposer is located in Statler Commissary, off Service Center Road near Maple Road on the North Campus. The commissary is staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Gardeners should call 645-2832 or 645-4993 to make sure soil amendment is available. Enter the building through the door to the right of the loading docks and take the set of stairs to the first door on the left. Staff usually is there to assist.

The commissary began its composting program nine years ago as a small outdoor food pile, and it has since grown into a large machine-run operation. Last year CDS installed a new industrial-sized Eco-Smart food decomposer at the commissary, replacing the original medium sized Eco-Smart machine. The latter was relocated to Crossroads Culinary Center, the new residential dining center in the Ellicott Complex.

The soil amendment produced by the food decomposer machine is an organic fertilizer rich in nutrients ideal for any flower or vegetable garden.