The end of the month means a transfer of leadership at Buffalo State University, where its outgoing president is heading into retirement… for a second time.
On June 30, Bonita Durand will end her second working stint at the university.
“I will miss my friends. I will miss my colleagues. I have pictures of their children when they were born, now they're in college or they're married,” Durand said during an interview with BTPM NPR. “Buffalo State has really been a family for me for over 30 years now. Even when I was retired for the five years, I still had connections to the campus.”
Durand originally retired in 2018, after serving 22 years in roles including chief of staff and secretary to the Buffalo State Council. In 2023, upon the retirement of Katherine Conway-Turner, Durand agreed to return and serve as interim president while a panel sought Conway-Turner’s replacement.
It didn’t quite go as planned. The university found a candidate and extended an offer, only to rescind it. That kept Durand in her role for longer than expected.
She found herself leading the university through a period when difficult decisions were made to address a fiscal deficit. When Durand assumed the interim role in 2023, that deficit was estimated at $16.2 million. Now, she estimates, it’s been cut to between $8 million and $9 million.
Earlier this year, SUNY leaders lifted the ‘interim’ tag from Durand’s title to give her recognition as Buffalo State’s tenth president.
“We are making the hard adjustments to make sure that we have the right programs for the students that we can provide the right support,” she said. “Not only financial, but also social, emotional, and educational for our students, so that they can be successful.”
Several programs at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels were ended as part of the belt-tightening. But Buffalo State maintains reputed programs such as communications, art, engineering technology, and of course, education. Durand says Buffalo State will always by the “Teachers’ College.”
“Education is always going to be an anchor discipline for us. It will expand into some different areas. Right now, we're very grateful to the governor for giving us additional funding, so that we can increase our bilingual education department public schools in the five major cities in New York,” she said. “We really do need bilingual educators to help teach our students. We also move into the master's level of teacher education, so it's not just K through 12 anymore.”
Buffalo State’s new president, Dr. Jennifer Burris, will begin her position July 1. Durand believes she’s the right fit.
“I got a sense that she understood Buffalo State University, she understood who our students were. She understood their challenges, and then she had a good handle on what it took to take these students and push them through to the finish line,” she said.
