Remarkable Opportunities Campaign for SEM
At her farewell address in 1952, Miss Angell answered, “What has it all been for?” Her visionary answer stands the test of time:
I should say it was the fulfillment of one supreme purpose: to disclose and bring to life the undiscovered self in each individual girl and to enable her to make of that ‘inner and eternal me,’ a heroic and adventurous path-finding self.
Remarkable Opportunities Campaign for SEM
Letter from Head of School SEM is a leader in girls’ education distinguished by more than 160 years of excellence and innovation. Today, young women from around the globe join with those from Western New York in a community dedicated to preparing leaders who are ready to tackle the challenges of the modern world. Remarkable Opportunities - Campaign for SEM will ensure that this great school can continue our mission for future generations of girls. At this critical time in SEM’s history, all of us can make a difference. Under the leadership of the Board of Trustees, SEM has completed a new strategic plan to secure our leadership position in women’s education. The plan sets goals to hire and support outstanding faculty who teach with passion and dedication; to continually update a dynamic academic program based on a strong liberal arts curriculum combined with the best use of new technologies. We are determined to provide outstanding possibilities for student leadership standing firmly on the integrity of our social and academic honor code; and we will
restore and improve our outstanding historic building with a focus on sustainability and environmental stewardship. Finally, we want to create a beautiful garden courtyard to unify our urban campus. Each year SEM welcomes a new group of students to this school and four years later it graduates them as confident, engaged, academically well prepared young women. This isn’t a simple effect of the passage of time. It is a concerted effort among the girls, parents, faculty, alumnae and community. Since 1851, SEM has boldly undertaken its educational mission. Take this moment to invest in SEM. You can help create Remarkable Opportunities for generations of girls to come. With your help, we can provide funding for faculty salaries and professional development; offer scholarships to deserving students; renovate the magnificent chapel or name a beautiful garden in the new courtyard. I hope you join me in taking this Remarkable Opportunity to invest in SEM.
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Leaders teach. And I’ve learned something from every single one of my classmates. But the girls I met, the teachers who taught me, they’ve given me the courage to risk failure, to lead others, and to lead myself.
Abigail Hopkins ‘16 School Government President
STRATEGIC PLAN 2015 SEM will be a leader in secondary education for girls – a school distinguished by the quality of its faculty and innovative academic program, its tradition of leadership and character development, and its inclusive environment that helps each young woman grow and flourish in her own way. The extraordinary diversity of talent, experiences, and backgrounds in SEM’s community ensures that each of its graduates finds her voice, becomes an active and engaged citizen, confident in her abilities, resilient in her outlook, and respectful of the world around her. CORE VALUES -Intellectual Challenge -Diversity and Inclusiveness -Women and Leadership -Courage, Confidence, and Independence -Character and Integrity -Global Community Engagement 4
Remarkable Opportunities
Sem’s Story Founded as The Buffalo Female Academy in 1851, Buffalo Seminary has long been unique in the history of education both in Buffalo and Western New York. Imbued with the tradition of the New England academy, the school was founded by a group of Buffalo’s leading citizens who wanted their daughters to have as rigorous an education as their sons were receiving in boys’ schools. In 1889, the trustees voted to change the school’s name to Buffalo Seminary, reinforcing the commitment to provide a school of higher learning for girls. The concept was revolutionary for its time. Under the direction of L. Gertrude Angell, the expanding school moved to its present location on Bidwell Parkway in 1909. The school’s longest serving head, the dynamic Miss Angell, served from 1903 until 1952. Through her extraordinary leadership, SEM was positioned to prepare young women of the new 20th century for the highest levels of scholarship, public service, and community leadership.
Over the last five decades, SEM has continued to grow as an outstanding educational institution. SEM resisted the trend toward coeducation in the early 1970’s. Today, SEM embraces the transformative power of an all-girls school where every opportunity for student leadership in academic excellence, athletic challenge, artistic development, and service is available to and filled by young women. SEM’s core values, lived every day in the school’s faculty, students, and program, ensure that its graduates become confident, engaged citizens of the world, and leaders in a global society. In 2007, Jody Douglass became the 13th Head of School. Her leadership has been transformative, creating an innovative 21st century school built upon the solid foundation of SEM’s 160 years of educating women.
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SEM’s one-to-one tablet computer program: Established in 2008, tablets provided to all ensure that every girl is empowered with the skills and confidence to excel in the technological era.
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SEM’s residential program: In 2009, SEM welcomed its first boarding students in more than a century. Fortified by generous donations from local foundations, SEM expanded its campus by purchasing and renovating two adjacent single-family dwellings into homes for students. Today SEM owns five residential homes flanking the Bidwell building.
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SEM’s diversity: Today SEM’s 46 residential students are from China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Bermuda, France and Germany. They join a highly diverse group of day students from Western New York. Building on Miss Angell’s hallmark commitment to providing an education to girls of all socioeconomic backgrounds, SEM’s enhanced commitment to diversity prepares all our girls – day and residential alike – for the globalized society that awaits them.
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SEM’s new STEAM curriculum: Created in 2013, this program provides every freshman girl with an introduction to engineering, a course in computer coding, and exploration of the Maker Movement and 3-D printing. In subsequent years students are required to take a “research and information literacy” class. With these curriculum innovations, SEM is uniquely positioned to address the demand for women interested in pursuing the STEAM advanced degree programs and professions.
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SEM’s faculty: Outstanding teachers continue to be the hallmark of this great school. A new program of professional growth, support, and evaluation created by SEM teachers warrants that they excel in their disciplines and move forward throughout their careers.
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SEM class trips: Each year, SEM students take class trips that specifically link to their year’s curriculum and enhance their learning experience. Freshmen canoe the Buffalo River, sophomores visit the Women’s Rights Historical Park in Seneca Falls, juniors travel to Washington D.C. as part of the U.S. history curriculum, and seniors engage in a leadership retreat at Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, New York.
SEM TODAY Cross the threshold at Buffalo Seminary today and a thriving, dynamic school welcomes you. SEM’s enrollment is the largest since the 1970’s, with more than 220 students. The variety of backgrounds in the student body is evident: Chinese, Spanish, French, German, and Arabic can be heard in SEM hallways. Every morning, the entire school gathers for Morning Meeting. Student leaders step forward to share a celebration of athletic victory, present an academic project, highlight a community service program, or reveal new art. The SEMACHORDS, our a cappella group, may provide a quick concert or a scene from a theater production might be performed. When classes begin, the faculty shine. Seated around Harkness tables, dedicated teachers, passionate about educating girls, challenge every student to find her voice and engage in her own learning – to achieve at her highest level. During the school day, the students move throughout the remarkable building at 205 Bidwell Parkway, utilizing every nook and cranny for solo or group study. Laughter echoes through the halls and from the atrium below. Quiet focus next to the glowing
fireplace in the library harkens back to SEM’s earliest years, while in a design lab on the third floor students explore 3-D design and animation fueled by 21st century learning and teaching. At the end of the school day, athletes run to Larkin Field while others walk to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery or Burchfield Penney Art Center or snack and shop on Elmwood Avenue. Early evening brings dinner back at SEM for boarding students, followed by proctored study hours, and then comfortable nights with their house directors in our historic homes. Located in the heart of the Elmwood village, SEM is indeed a distinctive school in a thriving cultural, urban setting.
I’ve never felt in danger of becoming a bored, stressed student who thinks school is a chore rather than a delight; on the contrary, I look forward to the new experiences each day will bring, so much that I’ve been disappointed when school was cancelled for a snow day!
Towa Adegboyega ‘16
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SEM’S FUTURE Echoing Miss Angell’s forward thinking of half a century ago, these recent remarks made by Ms. Douglass in Morning Meeting reveal the strong thread linking SEM’s Heads of School through its history, as well as the values instilled in SEM women.
“The world of the future will require creativity and problem solving at the highest level along with a commitment to community and a respect for each individual.”
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Remarkable Opportunities
Based on a mission created more than 160 years ago, today SEM forges its legacy for the future. To attain our ambitious 2015 vision, SEM must build a solid financial foundation that supports our students, our faculty, our program, and our facilities Following a year long strategic planning process, SEM’s Board of Trustees voted to launch REMARKABLE OPPORTUNITIES - Campaign for SEM a comprehensive campaign - to double the school’s endowment, invest in updating and improving utilization of 205 Bidwell Parkway and to create a dynamic campus around this building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Margaret L. Wendt 1903 Gallery
SEM Academic and Social Honor Code Live by honor. Invest in yourself, your community, and your future.
The teachers expect SEM girls to follow the Social and Academic Honor Code, leaving them to be independent with the foundation of trust, honesty, and responsibility.
Elisa Ye ‘18
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THE MOMENT IS NOW In 2013, John Chubb, president of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), publically and repeatedly recognized SEM as a leader in independent secondary education. Mr. Chubb noted “our remarkable student diversity and unique niche as an urban boarding school,” and he hailed SEM as a “school of the future.” The centerpiece of this diverse community of learners is an honor code that demands not only integrity in the classroom but also respect for every individual. Traditions like this one, which have existed since SEM’s earliest years, have provided the foundation upon which SEM’s “school of the future” is being built.
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Here’s to the future, fair and bright, away from shaking fears. Here’s to the courage to do the right, all thro’ the coming years.
Written by Margaret L. Wendt for the Class of 1903 school song
Remarkable Opportunities Campaign for SEM A comprehensive initiative with projects that will inspire philosophical and philanthropic passion.
Annual Fund (Current Use)
Urban Campus • building preservation • chapel renovation • courtyard
Endowment $5 million The Foundation of Opportunities
Ensure through unrestricted endowment that SEM always has the resources to support continual innovation in the education program.
Scholarship Opportunities
Ensure that SEM has the financial aid resources to keep its doors open to the most talented students from Western New York and around the world regardless of their economic circumstance.
Endowment • unrestricted • scholarship • faculty salaries
Urban Campus Ensure that SEM has the resources to preserve and renovate learning spaces in the Bidwell building and to create a surrounding campus that supports and celebrates our dynamic school.
Annual Fund Ensure that SEM has an annual operating budget to support each year’s program, even as we focus on building endowment for the future.
Faculty - Educating Remarkable Women
Ensure that SEM can recruit and retain outstanding faculty who have achieved the highest level of scholarship in their fields and who reflect the many backgrounds represented in our student body. Campaign for SEM
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Today, the school alumnae, parents from across the decades, and leaders in the Buffalo community are the stewards of SEM’s future. The Board of Trustees confirmed its commitment to the vision and core values through the strategic planning process. Guided by a strong vision and a powerful history, we have a distinctive challenge. REMARKABLE OPPORTUNITIES - Campaign for SEM reflects the conviction that SEM provides an outstanding education for young women at a time when educating girls is a powerful imperative in strengthening the global economy and community. SEM’s founders and subsequent administration saw far into the future of women’s education, but now it is our time to steer. We must provide the foundation for this great school to sustain its excellence and move with purpose and strength into the future.
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As a trustee I have had the privilege to see what happens to young students after they leave SEM. It’s quite evident when looking around at the many alumnae who sit with me on the Board that this initial boost to a young girl’s confidence is a spark that lights a life-long flame of passion to make change, to be a leader of businesses, people and communities, to be engaging citizens of the world, and most of all, to make a difference.
Josephine Siddiqui, Parent ‘17 and Trustee
Letter from Board of Trustees Chair Remarkable Opportunities - Campaign for SEM is SEM’s most ambitious fundraising campaign to date. Our Board of Trustees has been actively involved in identifying the goals and priorities of this campaign, and in shaping a strategic direction for SEM that will strengthen it for the next 164 years. All have aligned to ensure that our students, teachers, and future school leaders have the resources and financial capacity available to them to respond to new challenges and create new opportunities that will define SEM’s future. However you choose to support Remarkable Opportunities, your gift will help sustain SEM’s greatness and you will join other supporters who believe in the truly transformative potential of this campaign’s success. This is a rare chance, indeed a privilege, to shape the future. SEM is a vital force in the lives of the girls who attend the school today because of the vision of our founders, the collective wisdom and caring of our teachers, the dedication of our leadership, and the generosity of generations of alumnae, parents and friends. Please join me and our Board of Trustees as we celebrate our remarkable history and ensure a vibrant future for SEM.
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L. Gertrude Angell, Head of School 1903-1952 14
Remarkable Opportunities
Endowment
The Foundation of Opportunities $5 Million The core principles of a SEM education have endured for over 160 years: an outstanding academic program, exceptional faculty, talented students from a broad range of backgrounds, and a community that fosters lifelong friendships and the value of character and integrity through SEM’s honor code. These standards define SEM women. They are the foundation and inspiration for this campaign.
An endowment is similar to a savings account and investment portfolio. Its funds are invested to generate income. At SEM each year a portion of the interest created by these funds is spent to support the school, while it reinvests the remainder to sustain growth. Building the endowment will create a permanent revenue stream for those portions of the program that now rely on annual fundraising.
A major goal of this campaign is to grow the endowment to secure SEM’s leadership in women’s education for future generations. A strong endowment provides the foundation of a great school. It is the stable, permanent financial base that SEM can depend on in perpetuity.
Ultimately, the way we secure the future of SEM is to shift from a short-term model, dependent on annual fund gifts, to a model that provides enduring support. A larger endowment will provide financial security and institutional agility. It will preserve SEM’s commitment to quality education and propel Buffalo Seminary and her graduates to new levels of accomplishment.
In the past eight years, the endowment has grown steadily from $2.8 to $4.9 million despite challenging economic times. The goal of this campaign is to add $5 million to SEM’s permanent endowment. These additional endowment dollars will provide an ongoing source of revenue to enhance what is already a superior school program. Resources will be focused on faculty salaries and professional development, student scholarship funds, and opportunities to enhance the life of the school. Greater support for the facilities will allow SEM to maintain the venerable beauty of our historic building and to grow and enhance our dynamic and trend-setting urban campus. The result will be an even stronger school and continued recognition that a SEM education is unique and of immeasurable value and benefit.
As stewards of this remarkable school, we have the responsibility to ensure that a SEM education and the SEM experience remain meaningful far into the future. SEM has been part of the fabric of Western New York for over a century. It has always provided women with an education to equip them for a lifetime of learning, leadership, and service. SEM today is a leader in women’s education almost paradoxically because it has remained grounded in those founding values. The endowment goal of this campaign will ensure that SEM continues its educational excellence. Your support will provide outstanding opportunities for the next generations of young women who will be nurtured and taught to be thoughtful, engaged citizens and the leaders of tomorrow.
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General Endowment Flexible Opportunities for a School on the Move Endowment provides operating support to the school in perpetuity. The funds provide the foundation which allows the school to create a new program, renovate a classroom on short notice, add a new staff position or repair a furnace in mid-winter. In short, general endowment keeps the school moving forward without major fundraising appeals. In December of 2011, SEM moved its endowment to The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo (CFGB) to leverage the expertise and sound management provided by the foundation to secure and enhance the power of SEM’s investments. The CFGB’s mission is tied to the health of the city and the region, as SEM too has demonstrated since 1851. The CFGB ‘s capital appreciation and outstanding investment strategies make it among the top performing community foundations in the country. The foundation’s excellent investment returns have
resulted in a noticeable growth to the value of charitable assets like SEM’s. SEM’s current endowment income provides only 2% support to our annual operating budget. Increasing SEM’s endowment by $5 million will provide annual support of nearly 10% of the annual budget. At that level, operations can be sustained and improved in every area. A gift to general endowment makes a powerful statement about investing the future of Buffalo Seminary and your commitment to continue its vision. Balanced budgets and financial security are the cornerstones of all successful schools. Renewing and growing the school’s resources through an investment in the endowment helps to achieve a vital financial equilibrium for future generations.
Endowment Comparison with Peer Schools School Endowment (2013-14, in millions) Miss Porter’s School $101.3 Greenwich Academy $79 Hathaway Brown School $48.1 Nichols School $25 Miss Hall’s $12 Buffalo Seminary $4.9
My family and I have supported SEM by establishing named endowment funds, which honor my mother who was both a student and teacher at SEM. We know as soon as our gifts are invested, they have immediate impact and that impact will grow every year. As a Trustee, I have seen how important any and all growth in SEM’s endowment is, and I can think of no better way to invest in and support SEM’s future leadership.
Margaret Brown ’72, daughter of Betty Butzer Brown ’44
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Scholarship
Remarkable Opportunities for Students As a thriving day and boarding school, SEM has met or exceeded its enrollment goals these past few years and now consistently serves more than 200 students each year. The boarding program, initiated in 2009, now provides housing for more than 40 girls from around the world, while more than 160 day students enroll from more than 30 schools from Western New York. The growing applicant pool includes many dynamic and talented students. Young women interested in literature and art, science and engineering, have already accomplished a great deal when they apply to SEM. They may have dedicated many hours to community service, basketball, squash or violin. However, these deserving students and their families find it challenging to afford an independent school education. SEM takes pride in its scholarship budget which provides some financial support to 45% of our students. SEM needs scholarship endowment to support our continued commitment to enroll outstanding young women. A named scholarship is a great way to maintain a personal and priceless connection to SEM. For generations, donors have established scholarship funds that have enabled SEM to attract talented young women from a wide variety of backgrounds. A scholarship transforms the life of a girl, impacts her family and helps transform her and our community.
Endowment for financial aid has not kept pace with student need and increased enrollment; additional assistance is needed. Every talented student who is accepted, but cannot attend, diminishes this school community. Our goal is to provide well qualified girls the opportunity to benefit from a SEM education. A robust endowment will allow SEM to sustain the strength and diversity of our student body to graduate young women with the SEM advantage. The cost of an independent school education is beyond the reach of 95% of American families unless they have financial assistance. Our communities are strengthened when the opportunities for an education at SEM are made possible. Increasing scholarship endowment is essential if SEM is to continue to maintain its excellence as a school and its distinctive quality as a diverse community. If SEM fails to raise additional financial aid endowment, income from the current financial endowment will cover a shrinking percentage of our aid needs, simply due to annual tuition and fee increases which add pressure to unrestricted sources of income. To merely stay at the levels of aid we provide today, it is vital for SEM to raise additional financial aid endowment.
Trustee Virginia Schaefer Horvath ’75, president of SUNY at Fredonia, gave a recent SEM invocation address. She described the importance of her SEM education in providing the foundation that allowed her to succeed as a college professor and now, university president. She noted that the opportunity to attend SEM was possible only because she received The L. Gertrude Angell Scholarship. The scholarship that changed her life has had an exponential effect - she has in turn changed the lives of many others. Virginia Schaefer Horvath ‘75 Campaign for SEM
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Faculty
Educating Remarkable Women Every SEM graduate can remember a great teacher who influenced the course of her life in important ways at a critical time, but few of us have ever told that teacher of his or her lasting impression. Fortunately, teachers are sustained not by praise but by the opportunity to nurture a student toward her right path, turn on the academic light for another, even console a heartbreak here and there. The strength of any good school is outstanding teachers. Buffalo Seminary has always had excellent faculty who know their subjects well, teach with great passion, and care about the achievement of their students. Making a leadership gift to support excellence in teaching is an investment in SEM’s future. Growing the endowment for salaries and professional development is a top priority of our campaign efforts. SEM received excellent commendations from the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) accreditation panel five years ago. However, their primary recommendation was that SEM make improvements in faculty salaries. Our teachers are on the low end of salaries for public and independent school teachers in Western New York. We want to remedy that. SEM faculty deserve to be compensated fairly and receive the financial support they deserve as innovative, experienced, outstanding professionals. SEM has a newly established faculty professional development program, and a dynamic and consistent evaluation and support system. Our teachers set individual goals each year, work in teams to share ideas, visit one another’s classroom, challenge assumptions, and offer suggestions for improvement. We encourage our teachers to visit other schools and we provide opportunities for them to attend and
participate in regional and national programs and conferences. Assistance for our academic initiatives through faculty professional development, will allow SEM to continue to lead in women’s education. We are committed to continue to attract and retain the very best independent school teachers. Great schools are filled with great teachers who are remembered for generations by those they touched. Your gift to support great teaching will transform lives now and secure outstanding teaching at SEM for the future. SEM has always demonstrated a commitment to innovation in teaching and learning. In 2012, the E. E. Ford Foundation recognized our faculty excellence by awarding SEM one of their coveted and competitive grants. This year a new grant from The John R. Oishei Foundation allowed us to begin a STEAM initiative in the freshman year, teaching basic engineering, coding, and 3-D printing. Now we seek to provide a level of endowment that will secure our commitment to hire, support, and retain outstanding teachers. With your partnership, SEM faculty will have the funding, training and support they require to understand the latest educational technology and teaching methods to enable them to personalize the learning experience of every girl. Many alumnae trace their success and enthusiasm for learning directly to the years they spent at SEM.
SEM was, without a doubt, the catalyst for any and all success I’ve had in my career as well as the reason that I met my lifelong best friend.”
Nora Wilkins Ruhland ‘99
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Five years ago, six Harkness tables were added to SEM classrooms. Now, nearly all humanities classes are taught with the engaging discussion and debate the tables foster. How does SEM influence its girls? Providing small, concentrated, highly interactive classes and a faculty committed to teaching that involves every student in intellectual and artistic pursuits. The result is a very personal education available to very few students of any gender in today’s secondary schools. SEM’s faculty continues to pass leading-edge knowledge, a lively sense of discovery and commitment to the education of girls. Of course, a SEM education offers a great deal more than just the classroom experience. The SEM community builds enduring friendships, the value of athletic competition and lifelong fitness, and the skills and confidence to lead with conviction and integrity. Passions are discovered at SEM that become a permanent part of our girls’ lives.
SEM students are integral to a reinvigorated Western New York. They’re shopping on Elmwood Avenue, they’re skating at Canalside, they’re playing in the Erie County Orchestra. SEM graduates are in Buffalo, the nation, and the world, putting what they learned from their SEM teachers into into practice. To invest in SEM’s faculty means to invest in the future on local and global levels.
A good teacher, a good leader, is first and foremost a passionate learner whose mindfulness, care, and personal growth will in turn empower his/her students.
Sophie Michaud Dean of Faculty & French Teacher
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The colleges and universities to which Buffalo Seminary graduates have been accepted in the last five years: (2009-14) represent more than 200 colleges in 30 states, Washington DC, three Canadian provinces, and the UK.
Allegheny College American University Amherst College Baldwin Wallace University Bard College Barnard College Bates College Belmont University Boston College Boston U. Bowling Green University Bryn Mawr Canisius College Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve Catholic University Clark University Colgate College of Charleston College of Wooster College of the Holy Cross Connecticut College CUNY (multiple campuses) Dartmouth College Dalhousie University (Can.) Denison University DePaul University Dickinson College Duquesne University Elon University Emerson College Eugene Lang School at The New School for Social Research Fairfield University Fashion Inst. of Technology Florida A&M Fordham University Furman University George Washington U. Georgetown University Gettysburg College Harvard University High Point University Hobart & William Smith Howard University Indiana University
Johns Hopkins University Lafayette College Lake Forest College Lehigh University Lewis & Clark Loyola (IL) Loyola (MD) Manhattan College Marist College Miami University (OH) Middlebury College Mt. Holyoke College Muhlenberg College New York U. Niagara University Northeastern University Notre Dame University Ohio State University Ohio University Parsons School of Design Penn. State University Purdue University Queen’s University (Can.) Reed College Rensselaer Poly Tech Inst. Rhodes College Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Roanoke College Rollins College Sarah Lawrence Savana College of Art & Design Skidmore College Southern Methodist University Spelman College St. Bonaventure University St. John’s College (MD) St. John’s University St. Joseph’s University St. Lawrence University St. Louis University St. Mary’s College (MD) Stevens Institute SUNY Binghamton SUNY Brockport SUNY Buffalo State SUNY Fredonia
SUNY Geneseo SUNY New Paltz SUNY Oswego Swarthmore College Syracuse University Temple University Trinity College (CT) U. Alabama U. British Columbia (Can.) U. C. Davis U. C. Irvine U. C. Riverside U. C. San Diego U. C. Santa Barbara U. Connecticut U. Delaware U. Denver U. Illinois U. Maryland U. Miami U. Michigan U. New Hampshire U. New Mexico U. Pennsylvania U. Pittsburgh U. Puget Sound U. Rochester U. San Diego U. South Carolina U. Vermont U. Virginia U. Washington U. Wisconsin University of Santa Clara University of York (UK) Villanova University Virginia Tech. Wagner College Washington & Jefferson Washington University Wheaton College (MA) Whitman College Wittenberg University Worcester Poly Tech Xavier University Yale University
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Urban Campus New Pathways
The Buffalo Seminary building on Bidwell Parkway, designed for the school in 1909 by George F. Newton, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. An extraordinary building of quality and stature, it serves students today as well as it did a generation ago.
and revitalize existing spaces to keep pace with contemporary learning. Maintaining this magnificent school building requires modern renovations, along with historically accurate restoration of the exterior and internal spaces. The funding needs for these important projects are substantial.
In the library, the fireplace glows each winter morning as students read, study, and conduct research for their classes. Humanities classrooms boast large wood Harkness tables which foster interactive learning with students and faculty seated together and engaged in lively debate. New Bassett Family squash courts enliven the athletic center; wireless internet in every room connects SEM to international learning and engagement. The award winning Margaret Mugel Atrium provides a soaring gathering space for dining and conversation. This historic building continues to provide an outstanding learning environment for the twenty-first century.
We plan to restore the building in ways which respect and preserve its architectural heritage, ensure its future viability for new generations of students, and reflect the school’s commitment to long term environmental stewardship and sustainability.
The heart of SEM is the chapel. The entire school assembles here every day for Morning Meeting, a community gathering that captures the spirit of SEM. At Morning Meeting the School Government Association president leads us in a song before making announcements and sharing news and information. As the year proceeds, each girl will give a talk at a Morning Meeting in her last year at SEM, and speakers from many backgrounds and callings join the community to share new perspectives on global and personal issues. This important space, the center of our school life, has not been upgraded in over a decade. Preservation and sustainability are the keys to good environmental stewardship. Great schools do not always need to chase more and newer buildings, but must seek to maintain their original footprint
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The success of SEM’s new residential program directly contributes to our stabilized enrollment, fresh global sensibilities, and opportunities to enroll an increasingly diverse group of young women. The first residential program of its kind in Western New York, SEM now has more than forty girls living in five residences near the school. These beautiful houses provide homes for students who share their varied global backgrounds with their new friends from the greater Buffalo community. Joining the adjacent homes to our Bidwell building has created a thriving urban day and boarding school community. Creating a garden courtyard will connect this community and develop a true urban campus. Much like the school itself, we plan an intimate variation on the classic. By preserving this landmark building, keeping the footprint small and sustainable, and making the residential facilities vibrant, SEM contributes, not only to the strength of the school community, but also to the regional community of Buffalo and Western New York.
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205 Bidwell Parkway Preservation Fund To pass through the iconic arched doorway on Bidwell is to be instantly captivated by the warmth and intimacy inside. This beautiful historic building (which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011) contributes its own personality to both the school and the community at large. However, it is no surprise that a school designed and built in 1909 needs extensive restoration to respect and preserve its architectural heritage and maintain its vitality for the next generation of SEM students.
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Needs include: -Masonry restoration and cleaning of façade -Energy-efficient improvements to reduce SEM’s carbon footprint and lower operating expenses -Roof repair and maintenance, new slate on parapet walls, insulation under gable roof -Custom fabrication of new cathedral windows for Chapel and third floor classrooms
Chapel
The culture at Buffalo Seminary is based on community, and our Chapel is at the heart of the school. Morning Meeting is a beloved tradition that puts the spotlight on individual students and faculty, while bringing together the entire school. The Chapel will be reinvigorated as a community gathering, reflection and performance space worthy of its legacy. Alumnae return to use the Chapel for weddings, christenings, memorial services, and special gatherings.
Thoughtful restoration design will bring the luster back to this magnificent room. Lighting, sound, recording and video equipment must be outstanding, but placed subtly so as not to distract from the architectural richness of the space. SEM’s Chapel is a regular destination for moments when communitybuilding happens. Now it needs the attention to make it inspiring.
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The Magavern-Sutton Courtyard A wonderful leadership gift from Linda Robertson Magavern ’73, current Trustee, and husband Bill Magavern, has begun the funding for a new SEM Courtyard, named to honor the Magaverns and long standing faculty member and Life Trustee, Gary Sutton. This garden courtyard will connect and unify campus academic and residential buildings. The area will not only link the buildings, but provide space for gathering, recreation, learning, and leisure. The courtyard will also serve to improve practical issues such as utility locations, vehicle parking and equipment storage. Mary Magavern Worrell ‘60, a member of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, has agreed to design the
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space which bears her family name. The green space will provide students and faculty with glorious gardens and quiet seating areas to escape the bustle of daily school life. Residential students will have a walkway to school, and the entire SEM community will find a welcome oasis in our urban setting. SEM will again strive to improve, not only our school, but our community as well. When the boarding program began in 2009, we could only dream that we would someday have the remarkable opportunity to create a true campus in the city. The inner courtyard will be designed to serve as a campus common. This courtyard will distinguish SEM among other secondary schools in the area. With beautiful gardens and wonderful courtyard spaces, SEM leads the way - developing a boarding program in an already outstanding school.
Annual Fund
Every dollar given during the next three years counts toward the goal of REMARKABLE OPPORTUNITIES - Campaign for SEM! Donor support to both the Annual Fund and and the campaign are equally important. Meeting the Annual Fund goal is made possible through the gifts of each and every donor, including Reunion Giving. Unlike the endowment, which supports long-term needs and looks toward the future, the Annual Fund’s impact is immediate. It provides vital support for SEM today. Through their annual fund gifts, donors become active participants in REMARKABLE OPPORTUNITIES - Campaign for SEM. These two kinds of support complement each other, and both are essential. Strong Annual Fund support makes a powerful statement of confidence in SEM and a belief in its mission.
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