Graduate School Dean’s Blog

Kevin J. Miller, Buffalo State Graduate School Dean. Buffalo State has a proud tradition of offering graduate programs since 1945 and currently offers a wide array of exceptional academic opportunities through its distinctive graduate degree and certificate programs.

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Diversity Fellowship Graduate Students Paying it Forward

On a Sunday afternoon in late February Buffalo State Diversity Fellows met in Butler 210 to discuss how they could pay forward the honor of receiving funding assistance towards their graduate studies.

Their goal was to identify a spring 2018 event at which they could volunteer and invite others to engage in community service. Ultimately the American Red Cross Home Fire Campaign was selected.

On Saturday April 28, 2018 I had the privilege of volunteering with Buffalo State graduate students at the American Red Cross Home Fire Campaign. We volunteered as greeters, parking assistants, and inventory trackers. The Buffalo State’s involvement was led by graduate students Antonio Regulier, Ashley McKillip, and John Figueroa. Their vision is to increase the number of graduate students who participate in volunteer activities as a Buffalo State delegation. John also facilitated volunteer efforts of several youth engaged in a community connections program in Buffalo.

The Home Fire Campaign’ goal is to install 100,000 free smoke alarms in high risk neighborhoods nationwide in April and May. Participants at the event included a multitude of community partners and volunteers. The campaign resulted in 711 alarms being installed in over 220 homes across the eight counties of Western New York, while also teaching families about home fire safety.

Our contact at the America Red Cross was Alexis Willard. Alexis will be graduating from Buffalo State with her Master of Public Administration in Public and Nonprofit Management in May 2018. Alexis is a Disaster Program Specialist for the American Red Cross who during the fall 2017 semester was deployed for three weeks to Puerto Rico to deliver humanitarian aid.

The volunteer efforts I witnessed attest to the civic minded students we have at Buffalo State who are engaged and active in the community and across the nation. The entire experience served as yet another impressive testament as to the quality of students we have at Buffalo State, SUNY’s Urban Engaged Campus.

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Enhance Your Professional Career and Earning Power with a Graduate Degree

Buffalo State has a proud tradition of offering graduate programs since 1945. And, as a person who earned his graduate degree from Buffalo State, I am humbled and honored to serve as the Dean of The Graduate School. Since 1991 when I earned my graduate degree, the campus has grown, the number of buildings has increased, and the number of graduate programs we offer has expanded. Currently we offer over 60 distinctive graduate degree and certificate programs.

Two of many questions I hear when folks learn I am Dean of the Graduate School are: Why pursue a graduate degree? What graduate degrees does Buffalo State offer? These respectable relevant questions forced me to do some research and here is a synopsis of what I learned.

Why pursue a graduate degree?

Sean Gallagher, Chief Strategy Officer at Northeastern University, recently noted there is a growing demand for and value of master’s degree-educated professionals in the economy (Forbes April 2017). Increasingly, employers value the problem solving, critical thinking, and technical skills that graduate-level education provides. He went on to say that more than 20% of open positions in the U.S. economy today prefer or require graduate-level education – while only about 11% of the population holds an advanced degree.

Not surprising, economists and other scholars have documented substantial salary premiums, economic opportunities, and benefits for master’s degree study – and these human capital benefits are only increasing. Additional benefits associated with higher levels of education include greater civic engagement, societal well-being, longevity, health, and regional economic prosperity.

What graduate degrees does Buffalo State offer? How to learn more about them!

Buffalo State’s over 60 distinctive graduate programs are designed to provide the applied learning experiences that will enhance your professional knowledge, skills, earning power, and career advancement. Further, the exceptional and supportive faculty at Buffalo State are dedicated to making this possible.

                      Graduate Students Speak About Buffalo State

To learn more about Buffalo State graduate programs you are invited to attend The Graduate School Information Sessions on March 14 and April 18. The March 14 Applied Professional Program Information Session will provide the opportunity to meet faculty and learn about our programs in Adult Education, Applied Economics, Creative Studies, Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, Great Lakes Ecosystem, History, Higher Education & Student Affairs Administration, Industrial Technology, Multidisciplinary Studies, Museum Studies, Professional Applied and Computational Mathematics, Public Administration in Public & Nonprofit Management, and Public Relations. Representatives from the programs will be available as well as staff from student support services. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to explore your options. Registration is preferred but not necessary to attend.

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