Year of the City Lecture Series Begins September 20

The Year of the City at Buffalo State, in partnership with the Center for the Study of Art, Architecture, History, and Nature (C-SAAHN), is presenting a monthly lecture series, featuring presentations about Buffalo State’s initiatives in the city of Buffalo and broad urban issues that are relevant to the community.

The lectures will take place from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Rockwell Hall 302. They are free and open to the public.

On Thursday, September 20, Gary Welborn, chair and associate professor of sociology, will present "Buffalo State’s West Side Initiative—What Is It and Where Did It Come From?” Welborn, a longtime resident of the West Side, will discuss Buffalo State’s record of working with community groups on the West Side. "In the last ten to 15 years," he said, "there has been a movement for reciprocal relationships between universities and community groups. That’s the model we’ve been following for at least that long." Welborn sees four components as constants in Buffalo State’s West Side initiatives over the years: education, youth, refugees, and microenterprise development.

On Thursday, October 18, Bruce Fisher, director of the Center for Economic and Policy Studies and visiting professor of economics and finance, will present, "Buffalo, New York, and Hamilton, Ontario: Portraits in Rust and Recovery.” Fisher recently led a group of dignitaries from Hamilton on a daylong tour of Buffalo, followed by a panel discussion about the Buffalo-Hamilton connection.

The series will continue throughout the 2012­­­­–2013 academic year. The series is designed to connect with a new third Tuesday lecture series sponsored by C-SAAHN. That lecture series, "Imagine," will begin at the Buffalo and Erie County Central Library in January 2013.