Elizabeth “Betty” Cappella, Ph.D., chair and professor of Educational Foundations at Buffalo State College, has been appointed a Distinguished Service Professor by the State University of New York Board of Trustees.

The rank, which is above that of full professor, recognizes extraordinary service to not only the campus and State University, but also to the community, region and state.

Cappella, along with Buffalo State Professor of English Geraldine Bard, is a co-founder and co-director of Project FLIGHT, a Buffalo State College-based not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting literacy in children and caregivers through school and family literacy initiatives. Project FLIGHT works collaboratively with practitioners, schools, community organizations and businesses locally, statewide, nationally and internationally to achieve its objectives through a variety of initiatives, including book drives, literacy symposia and exchange programs, domestic violence prevention programs and scholarships.

Cappella, who has taught at Buffalo State College since 1985, has received the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education Distinguished Alumna Award, the King Urban Life Award for Service to Education, the Brotherhood/Sisterhood Educational Leadership Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Haven House and a New York State's Best Award, among her other accolades. She was inducted into the Western New York Women's Hall of Fame in 1999.