Connections

2008 Annual Report of the Office of College and Community Partnerships at Buffalo State College

In this issue...

First Celebration • Friends of Asarese • All About the Partnership Office Financial Literacy • Minigrants • Transportation Issues Facing WNY Touring Buffalo • Grant Writing Workshops • Informational Meetings Existing Community Relationships • We Partner. We Learn. We Care.

Who T What Where When Why The

of the Partnership Office at Buffalo State College

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he College and Community Partnerships Office at Buffalo State College was established in 2006 to provide a central focus to public and community collaboration at the college. These relationships, of some duration, provide mutual benefits to the college and the community. In keeping with the college’s mission, vision, and strategic plan, the office provides institutional leadership, voice, visibility, and responsiveness to its associations with the community.

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The office’s primary goal is to determine the nature of existing partnerships and to combine and connect those relationships for maximum impact. The office’s secondary responsibility is to foster new partnerships that are mutually beneficial to the college and community and are supportive of the college mission.

Marian T. Deutschman, Ph.D., professor of communication, was appointed the Interim Director of the office in January 2006. Michele Graves began as Partnership Associate in December 2006.

Partnering on Financial Literacy he number of refugees/immigrants in the neighborhood around Buffalo State College is increasing with Somali Bantu, Congolese, Togolese, Rwandan, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Liberian, and Sudanese representation, among others. Local communities and colleges can play an important role in educating these new arrivals on some of the financial decisions that accompany living in a new country with a strange new culture. This is a time-consuming one on-one process for staff members of the resettlement agencies. The Partnership Office invited a long list of community agencies dealing with this issue to discuss their primary needs and how the college could help. One example, Dr. Jill Norvilitis in the psychology department will work with the Center for Volunteer and Service Learning and Journey’s End as she plans her Fall course - Cross Cultural Psychology. Each of her students will learn about another culture while he or she accompanies an immigrant to the super market to assist in developing comparison shopping skills or to the bank or another location where financial decisions are made. Teacher training can also benefit from this type of collaboration as students prepare for teaching in an urban environment rich in cultural diversity. In connection with this initiative, the Partnership Office is represented at the meetings of the CASH Coalition (Creating Assets, Savings & Hope) at the United Way. Partnership contributions include providing contact information on translation and interpreting services for the CASH Resource Guide and personal safety tips on banking, shopping and using cash, for use in their educational DVDs.

Minigrants Support Partnerships

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he Office of College and Community Partnerships defines a partnership as a relationship involving close cooperation between groups. This collaboration should include specified and joint rights and responsibilities over a specific period of time. Ideally, it should also include a memo of understanding or a letter of commitment, and a termination point, with the appreciation that benefits will be shared between them.

This is the second year the Partnership Office is offering a minigrant to encourage scholarly activity in partnerships. This initiative is designed to be aligned with the strategic plan of Buffalo State College. Identification of the region’s priorities and how they match the strategic plan is a starting point for a minigrant applicant.

The goal is to strengthen current and establish new partnerships that highlight and enhance the College’s targeted areas of expertise while providing scholarly research opportunities for faculty, and service to the community. In 2007 and again in 2008 a total of 15 minigrants were awarded for faculty to work with schools, business, arts and cultural organizations, and other not-for-profits.

The goal is to develop channels of two-way communication between research and its practical applications in the community. The Office of College and Community Partnerships seeks innovative proposals, the application of new ideas that address community problems and have the potential for scholarly presentation and/or publication. Successful projects can lead to larger grants through the Research Foundation at the College.

Examples of existing partnerships can be found on the College and Community Partnership website: www.buffalostate.edu/partnerships. Click on Departments in Partnerships. Additional partnerships are listed under Centers and Partnerships.

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he Office of College and Community Partnerships held its inaugural community stakeholders Celebration of Partnerships event on February 21, 2008. The program and continental breakfast took place in the Burchfield Penney Art Center.

Over 60 Buffalo State College faculty, staff and community members attended the program and networking event. Highlights of the celebration included a showcase of model partnerships via posters, brief presentations and handouts including the Partnership Office’s new brochure, as well as remarks from Buffalo State College President Muriel Howard. “It is part of our mission and our strategic plan to contribute to the vitality of the region,” said President Howard. “Buffalo State College, through the Office of College and Community Partnerships, is facilitating collaborations that benefit our students and faculty, as well as individuals and organizations in our community.”

The session clearly achieved its primary focus of allowing time for dialogue between faculty members and community members. The networking session went far beyond the allotted time as people chatted, exchanged business cards and also took the time to enjoy the artwork on display at the Burchfield Penney.

It’s expected that the networking session may lead to connections for future research collaborations, opportunities for internships, service learning projects and other college/community connections.

Each celebration attendee was provided with an information packet that included a feedback form on wants and interests, one for community members and another for Buffalo State Faculty to complete. The Office of College and Community Partnerships will use the completed forms to identify possible matches of community needs or projects with faculty expertise and interests.

Please note that the Office of College and Community Partnerships, as part of its mission, can assist you at any time in identifying a community partner who may be interested in mutually beneficial research projects.

www.asarese-matters.org

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uffalo State College, with its mission to enhance the quality of life in the larger community, has officially “adopted” the Asarese-Matters Youth Center, a recreational site for youngsters, one block from the College on the west side of Buffalo. In order to address issues facing the center, a group called the Friends of Asarese was formed and includes both campus and community members.

The center, established in April of 1989 as an athletic/educational facility for inner city youth, has a gym, some recreational equipment, and an outdoor swimming pool. There are about 300 youth per week who attend the center on a regular basis. The majority are from low income families and some are newly arrived refugees. For some, the Asarese Center represents a “safe haven” in which to play and learn.

As the local economy has suffered, many youth centers have either closed or severely reduced their services.

Recognizing that the Asarese Center is a vital community resource, the College stepped in to partner with the center and the community.

Three areas of improvement were identified. The physical plant needs rehab. The programming/educational component lacks staff, materials and equipment. Finally, the security of the center needs upgrading to ensure safety of youth/staff and protection

of property. College faculty, staff, and community partners provided the momentum for progress at the center. The Friends of Asarese made arrangements with the City of Buffalo and Erie County to address the leaks and other cosmetic improvements to the physical plant. The two levels of government have responsibilities through an intermunicipal agreement.

Art supplies and books were donated.

Buffalo State students provided tutoring and service learning to enhance their own study of social work, sociology, dance, and psychology. Design students used information from the center’s users to produce a proposal to improve interior spaces. The BSC Athletic Department supplied paint and flooring along with student help for the center.

Tom Koller, assistant athletic director at BSC, chairs the Friends of Asarese.

An expert in Crime Prevention through Environmental Design conducted a comprehensive security plan, free of charge, for the Asarese Center and a Buffalo Police Captain provided expertise on summer security issues.

Students from the sociology department compiled an impressive report on a study of the youth at the center. Key issues included the lack of activities for girls and the overall poverty of the youth at the center. A Thursday Girls Night for crafts and socializing was introduced. During the summer, thanks to the staff from the BSC

Volunteer and Service Learning Center, Asarese youth had free nutritional lunches. In collaboration with the BSC Alumni Office and the Office of College and Community Partnerships two clothing sales were conducted at the center. Neighborhood families were able to acquire clothes based on their ability to pay. During the holidays over 100 youth at the center received gift bags of toiletries donated by BSC and the community.

NYS Assemblymember Sam Hoyt has secured funding for a new gym floor at the center. He also donated several computers for the new computer room.

The successes to date are appreciated by the long time director of the center, Mike Milovich, who often works with just one other staff member. Mike is both loved and respected by the youth at the center. The Friends of Asarese has been exploring strategies for more staffing to expand the availability of sport and educational activities.

Transportation Issues Facing WNY

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series of meetings with transportation specialists and Dr. Wende Mix, associate professor in Geography and Planning, was arranged by the Partnership Office. Dr. Mix identified national transportation issues and led a dialogue on local issues at the first meeting in May 2007. Following the meeting with approximately twenty community leaders, she held individual meetings with participants arranging internships, research opportunities, and further exploration of collaboration. The Partnership Office sent summaries and survey forms to participants to determine priority areas of interest. Survey responses were organized into major categories.

Interdependencies between land use and transportation were the focus of the next two meetings. Dr. Mix presented a review of the training currently available on land use planning. A possible structure for a local training program was discussed.

Five volunteers formed a group to work on training. Dr. Mix also provided a demonstration of Personal Interactive Response systems (clickers) used in her classes to gauge student responses to questions imbedded in her PowerPoint presentation. After the spring semester, she is willing to loan the clickers for public hearings and meetings, especially where a measure of audience opinions is critical for decision making and media coverage.

Renaissance of Buffalo

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n October 3, 2007, the Partnership Office organized a bus tour of downtown Buffalo for campus leadership. The tour guides were Michael Ball, director of planning & implementation at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and Debra Chernoff, manager of planning at Buffalo Place. Todd Mitchell of Buffalo Tours and our own Dr. Roz Lindner, associate vice president in Academic Affairs, helped to plan the route and itinerary. Everyone received folders filled with handouts and maps as the bus departed from Shanghai Red’s. The conversation at the reception at Shanghai Red’s following the tour was replete with positive expressions of surprise, astonishment and delight at the economic development they had observed. By popular demand, another tour took place on April 22 with the same tour guides, this time adding a stop at a site that highlighted adaptive reuse of a warehouse into 30 loft apartments and another stop at the Nash House, a collaboration between The Monroe Fordham Regional History Center at the College and the Michigan Street Restoration Corp. Inc. The tour ended at a reception at the historic Ulrich’s tavern on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

Informational Meetings with President and Neighborhood Leaders

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everal informational meetings were arranged with Dr. Muriel Howard, president of Buffalo State College, other administrators, and members of the neighborhood associations surrounding the college. The primary presentation focused on updates on the construction projects underway in and around the campus, such as the Burchfield Penney Art Center, funding for renovation of the Science Building, and construction projects such as the Technology Building and a proposed football stadium. Question and answer periods covered many issues of interest to the community including the Richardson complex, the proposals for student housing, future plans, and parking. A special session was held with HUD representatives to discuss the quality of area housing.

College and Community PartnershiPs

College and Community PartnershiPs

College and Community PartnershiPs

College and Community PartnershiPs

Art education students created lesson plans for making bowls and distributed them to teachers throughout Western New York. More than 45 area schools, 35 artists, numerous area restaurants, and hundreds of local schoolchildren participated in the “Empty Bowls” partnership program earning $5,000 in proceeds to benefit the Food Bank of Western New York and Friends of Night People.

The Buffalo Museum of Science serves as an expansion of the classroom for Art Conservation Department graduate students. Through this partnership, students gain hands-on experience with the museum’s world class collections; in turn, Art Conservation students help the museum care for its collections by conducting both scientific research projects and conservation treatments.

Hospitality students experience the cutting edge practices in hospitality education with the visiting chef program in partnership with Wegmans Food Markets.

The banners displayed on street light poles in residential areas of Buffalo relive the glory of the Pan American Exposition. Work on historical and cultural banner projects, through a partnership affiliation with the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, is an enriching experience for students from Buffalo State College and Slovakian students from Catholic University in Ruzomberok.

We Partner. We Learn. We Care.

We Partner. We Learn. We Care.

We Partner. We Learn. We Care.

We Partner. We Learn. We Care.

College and Community Partnerships 716-878-4132 or www.buffalostate.edu/partnerships

College and Community Partnerships 716-878-4132 or www.buffalostate.edu/partnerships

College and Community Partnerships 716-878-4132 or www.buffalostate.edu/partnerships

College and Community Partnerships 716-878-4132 or www.buffalostate.edu/partnerships

We Partner. We Learn. We Care.

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en 24” x 36” posters highlight photographs of model partnerships with the community. These display units are located in the entrance to ten different buildings on campus and rotated to another building every five weeks. Thanks to the creative effort of Bruce Fox, campus photographer, and Kaylene Waite, computer graphics specialist in Instructional Resources, the images tell the story of partnerships between the Hospitality & Tourism Department and Wegman’s, the Fashion Technology Department and Eastman Machine, Museum Studies and Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, the Great Lakes Center and McKinley High School, the Music Education Department and Campus West Public School, the Art Conservation Department and the Buffalo Museum of Science, and faraway partnerships between the Geography and Planning Department and Cambodia, the Design Department and Slovakia, among others. At the Celebration of Partnerships, the local community partners were presented with mounted posters to hang in their own location. There were requests for additional posters to showcase these partnerships.

Grant Writing Workshops for Community Organizations

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he Partnership Office collaborated with the Research Foundation at Buffalo State College to schedule three free grant writing workshops. Approximately 15 members of community agencies took part in the class for beginners in November. This was followed by two classes for advanced grant writing to assist those who wanted review of rejected proposals or help with rewriting. “Every bit of the workshop was worthwhile; from the mailing with specific parking guidance, through the excellent content, to the abundant refreshments. The very practical, hands-on procedures, the theories and rationale behind each facet of grant writing, learning what funders want and the kind, bright instructors offered a valuable experience,� said one satisfied participant.

Existing Relationships in the Community How many collaborations, connections, relationships, partnerships does Buffalo State College have?

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fter diligent, persistent solicitation from each Dean of each of the five Schools on campus and then requests to each of the 37 departments, over 450 relationships were identified and that’s excluding internships and the 57 service learning courses involving 1,150 students.

What are just a few of the benefits of this outreach and engagement?

For the community: expanded resources to address local issues and solutions to problems as well as a neutral site for discussion

For the students: provides link between theory and practice, keeping the curriculum more current while preparing them for citizenship

For the faculty: provides opportunities for enrichment of classes and scholarly research activity for promotion and tenure

For the college: presents the institution as a contributing member of the community demonstrating the value of investing public dollars in education

How Can Partnerships Be Formed?

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artnerships exist within Centers on campus, within Schools and Departments (see list below). These are all links on the College website. However, the easiest way to make a connection with a campus partner is to contact the Partnerships Office in one of several ways – by phone (716-878-4132), email (partner@buffalostate.edu) or by going to the website (www.buffalostate.edu/partnerships).

Centers

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Buffalo State Research Foundation Burchfield-Penney Art Center Career Development Center Center for China Studies Center for the Development of Human Services (CDHS) Center for Economic Education Center for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education Center for Health and Social Research Continuing Professional Studies Great Lakes Center Information Technology Exchange Center (ITEC) International Center for Studies in Creativity Project FLIGHT Small Business Development Center Volunteer and Service Learning Center

Schools

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The Graduate School School of Arts and Humanities School of Education School of Natural and Social Sciences School of the Professions University College

Departments • • • • • •

Anthropology Art Conservation Art Education Biology Business Center for Studies in Creativity

Connections is published by College and Community Partnerships at Buffalo State College.

Publisher: College and Community Partnerships Editor: Marian Deutschman Assistant Editor: Michele Graves Design: Kaylene Waite, Instructional Resources

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Chemistry Communication Computer Information Systems Criminal Justice Design Dietetics and Nutrition Earth Sciences and Science Education Economics and Finance Educational Foundations Elementary Education and Reading English Exceptional Education Fine Arts Geography and Planning Health and Wellness History and Social Studies Education Hospitality and Tourism Interior Design Mathematics Modern and Classical Languages Music Philosophy and Humanities Physics Political Science Psychology Social Work Sociology Speech-Language Pathology Student Personnel Administration Technology Theater

College and Community Partnerships Cleveland Hall 211A Buffalo State College 1300 Elmwood Avenue Buffalo, NY 14222-1095 partner@buffalostate.edu 716-878-4132 buffalostate.edu/partnerships