University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Diversity conference to be held Nov. 8

Ernest Hicks, manager for corporate diversity for Xerox Corp., will be the keynote speaker at the Intercultural and Diversity Center’s first “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Diversity Conference,” to be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 8 in the Student Union, North Campus.

The conference, with three content tracks, is open to faculty/educators, education administrators, students and diversity-concerned Western New York professionals.

“We are now 40 years away from the civil rights movement, yet our society still struggles with the meaning of diversity,” says Daysi Ball, interim associate director of the Intercultural and Diversity Center. “This conference gives us an opportunity to explore domestic and international perspectives of true diversity.”

Adds Andrea Costantino, director of the Office of Student Life: “Social justice has a global framework, but local application. To be socially just as students, educators and professionals, our definition of diversity needs to be more inclusive. UB is concerned about this issue and we hope this conference can be a valuable opportunity to share perspectives and maybe even change behavior.”

The cost to attend the conference is $15; to register click here by Nov. 1.

Deadline approaching for flex spending accounts

Nov. 14 is the deadline for faculty and staff to establish flex spending accounts that allow them to pay for certain expenses with pre-tax dollars.

The Health Care Spending Account lets employees set aside any amount from $100 up to $4,000 annually to pay for health care expenses that are not reimbursed by health insurance or other benefit plans.

The Dependent Care Advantage Account allows employees to set aside up to $5,000 for eligible child care, elder care or disabled/dependent-care expenses.

For information about eligibility and enrollment, click here.

PSS organizes book drive

The Professional Staff Senate is sponsoring a book drive to collect new and like-new books for babies through early teens.

Donations will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western New York, Cornerstone Manor at the City Mission, Harvest House and the Salvation Army’s after-school program.

The drive will run through Nov. 10.

Collection containers are located in a variety of locations across all three of UB’s campuses. For a complete listing of collection sites, click here.