City of Buffalo as Classroom and Partner
As I move through the city of Buffalo, I often engage others in discussing the many ways that Buffalo State faculty, staff, and students are involved in the workings, projects, agencies, and businesses in Buffalo; however, it is also rewarding to hear the many ways that the city of Buffalo is tied to the curriculum we teach on campus.
Many of you have heard me quote Laura Hill Rao, director of civic and community engagement, about the steady increase in service-learning courses on campus. These courses connect students to service-learning opportunities that both enrich the educational process and contribution to the community while also requiring significant reflection. The number of courses has more than doubled during the last five years, and this year, 2,341 students enrolled in 143 service-learning classes.
But as I dug deeper and asked the deans to share the number of classes that are tied directly to the city of Buffalo, I was amazed. The list was long and impressive, and we see that classes linked to our city have emerged across most disciplines. I will mention just a few of the many ways our classes are connected to the city.
The official banner of the city of Buffalo
In the School of Education, we see deep and long-standing bonds with schools throughout Buffalo. These include a long list of public schools and several private and charter schools. Much of this work is done through the Professional Development Schools Consortium, where P–12 schools work in concert with Buffalo State to facilitate high levels of learning for all students enrolled. Our work within the Buffalo area schools is nothing short of legendary. As I meet with members of local schools, they never fail to mention the many outstanding teachers in their schools or districts who are Buffalo State graduates.
At the Professional Development Schools Consortium retreat
Within the School of Natural and Social Sciences, we also see impressive connections to the city of Buffalo. Did you know that Anthropology 418: Physical Anthropology connects with Forest Lawn Cemetery? Or that Anthropology 322: Research Methods in Primatology has students studying at our local zoo? And Political Science uses the city of Buffalo as a case study in urban development for Political Science 215: Urban Government. We also have a long list of history and museum studies courses that explore the history, archives, and artifacts of the many peoples, places, and organizations within and around Buffalo.
Throughout the departments within the School of Arts and Humanities, we see many direct connections to the city of Buffalo. Some of the courses and projects that stood out to me were the “Youth Voices Speaker Series,” which brings together students and teachers across the city to share the creative work occurring in their English classes; the many courses that connect our theater and music programs to community members; FAR 322: Intermediate Photography II, which sends students out to capture the life of the city and the surrounding environment; and COM 303: Print News I Reporting, which links students to the issues emerging in Buffalo, including those facing our city’s leaders.
And within the School of the Professions, faculty members are also connecting their students to Buffalo. In Business 404: Marketing Research, students partner with the Buffalo State Civic and Community Engagement Office to provide market research for local businesses. In Computer Science 435: Service Learning and Computing, students collaborate with high school students to share expertise in coding skills. In Creative Studies 680: Designing and Delivering Creativity Education, students work under the tutelage of faculty members with organizations throughout the city to provide creative and effective solutions to problems they are experiencing. From assisting Compass House in increasing volunteer participation to helping local restaurants increase sales, students lend what they are learning in creative studies to real-life problems.
At this summer’s Computer Science for High School (CS4HS) Students showcase
So as I have pondered our connections to Buffalo, I have been impressed with the many ways across varied disciplines that Buffalo State faculty members are manifesting our urban-engaged commitment. Our relationships within the city of Buffalo are reciprocal: We partner with every aspect of Buffalo in ways that advance our city partners and allow the city of Buffalo to be an extension of the classroom. And these relationships also allow the community to be a co-instructor, partner, and significant part of the learning process for our students.
