Buffalo State Earns National Recognition for Community Engagement

Buffalo State has received the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s 2015 Community Engagement Classification.

"I couldn’t be prouder to be part of an institution that demonstrates empathy for others; service to community; an appreciation of our natural, environmental, and cultural heritage; and global thinking on a daily basis," said Buffalo State President Katherine S. Conway-Turner. "There is much to celebrate at Buffalo State, and commitment to community engagement is high on the list."

Colleges and universities with an institutional focus on community engagement were invited to apply for this classification. This is the first year Buffalo State has applied for the prestigious designation, which is valid until 2025. A total of 361 U.S. colleges and universities hold this elective classification.

"Receiving this classification is national recognition of the commitment and hard work of many people at Buffalo State who seek to make a difference both in students' lives and in our community,” said application committee member Kevin Railey, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School. "Higher education, public higher education especially, has a responsibility to contribute to the public good. We take that responsibility to heart here."

The Carnegie Foundation noted that Buffalo State’s application documented "excellent alignment among campus mission, culture, leadership, resources, and practice that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement, and it responded to the classification framework with both descriptions and examples of exemplary institutional practices of community engagement."

This recognition comes on the heels of Buffalo State’s naming to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The college was honored for its commitment to volunteering, service learning, and civic engagement that included a whopping 509,278 community service hours on the part of students, faculty, and staff during the 2012–2013 academic year.

"You don’t have to look far to find excellent examples of community engagement at Buffalo State—from Great Lakes Center research to the Anne Frank Project to the numerous service projects that improve the houses, gardens, neighborhoods, and literacy levels of families living throughout Buffalo," said Conway-Turner.