After several years under an interim president, Buffalo State University now has its next president, as confirmed by the SUNY Board of Chancellors today.
Jennifer Burris, Ph.D, was selected by a search team to lead the university. She comes from Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina, where she served as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.
"What drew me to [Buffalo State] is kind of threefold. The first is the fact that the mission of the institution is that of really student success and student lifelong learning," Burris told BTPM NPR. "That mission that Buffalo State has is the mission that I have really been engaged in throughout my entire career. It was a very, very good match, and one that I'm eager to continue."
Bonita Durand, Ph.D, has been interim president of Buffalo State since 2023. She took over for Katherine Conway-Turner, who had retired. Durand, who held various leadership positions at Buffalo State before returning as interim president, was given full university president status until Burris takes over in July. It was in recognition of her years of service at the institution.
Buffalo State University has faced financial challenges, and low enrollment for several years. The school had a $16.5 million structural deficit in 2024, and it led to several program cuts and layoffs to faculty and staff.
"Buffalo State is not unique in higher ed. So many institutions are facing enrollment challenges," Burris said, while thanking Durand for efforts to stabilize student populations. "Enrollment is not just about bringing numbers in, but it's also ensuring that students are successful when they get there, and that they graduate at the end of the day."
Faculty and staff, she said, will play a key role in how the university movies forward.
"My goal is to come in and listen to them and be a partner with them, and understand what their concerns are, what their hopes are, what they see as the opportunities," she said. "I'm so excited to hear from them and understand all the opportunities that they see for the institution."
Durand served an extended amount of time as interim president due to the rescinding of SUNY's last appointee to the job. Chance Glenn, Ph.D, had originally been given the job in December of 2023, but he never officially took the post. Glenn was faced with accusations of creating conflicts of interest during his time at University of Houston-Victoria, centering around his use of university resources for private research.
Glenn denied wrongdoing.
Burris said she's looking forward to moving to Buffalo. Her partner of several decades is from the city, and attended Grover Cleveland High School.
"It really is a sense of coming home for us and something that is really important to us as a family," she said. "We're excited not just to join Buffalo State University, but to be back in Buffalo."
