The State University of New York Buffalo State University<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> (colloquially referred to as Buffalo State University, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo State, or simply Buff State)<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a public university in Buffalo, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Buffalo State University was founded in 1871 as the Buffalo Normal School to train teachers. It offers 79 undergraduate majors with 11 honors options, 11 post baccalaureate teacher certification programs, and 64 graduate programs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Eighty-six students attended the Buffalo Normal School on the first day of classes on September 13, 1871. The school's purpose was to provide a uniform training program for teachers to serve Buffalo's fast-growing public school population. Curricular offerings now include more than 250 undergraduate and graduate programs.
The WWII years were another time of growth for the college; in 1944, the now renowned Special Education program was founded and in 1948, the first dormitory building was erected where the present-day Moot Hall is located. In 1961, Buffalo State was the first institution in the SUNY system to offer a study-abroad program, a semester-long immersion program in Siena, Italy. International study programs now include international exchange and study-abroad programs in Australia, Canada, England, Italy, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, and Spain.
In 1964, the Buffalo State University Planetarium opened its doors with a 24-foot dome, and Dr. James Orgren became the facility's director in 1966. On November 17, 1978, a fire destroyed the facility, but the community's generosity allowed it to reopen on April 18, 1980. In April 1982, it was renamed the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium in honor of its greatest benefactor. In 1984, Dr. Orgren hired Mr. Arthur Gielow as his successor. Mr. Gielow died in 2010, and after a brief remodeling, the planetarium reopened in 2011 under the direction of Dr. Kevin Williams. In January 2013, the planetarium hosted a closing ceremony that highlighted its 48-year history. Through 2010–2012, staff members Tim Collins, Stephen Dubois and Terry Farrell created several programs. In 2015, a generous donation allowed the planetarium to reopen with a temporary 20-foot inflatable fulldome system. The new 35-foot dome facility is now open in the Science And Math Complex building.
Buffalo State has 29 buildings including student centers, academic buildings, athletics buildings, office buildings, and residence halls. Buffalo State is undergoing a $350 million campus-wide improvement project. In 2011, a $45 million Student Apartment Complex opened on the west side of campus. It is Buffalo State's largest addition to campus student housing since the early 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Buffalo State has 79 undergraduate majors with 11 honors options and 64 opportunities for graduate study, including 11 teacher certification programs. Fifty-one faculty members have been awarded the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, and seven have been honored as SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
More than 80 percent of all classes at Buffalo State have fewer than 40 students. Classes for undergraduate majors usually have between 12 and 15 students.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2016, 49 Buffalo State faculty members have been awarded the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Schools
Buffalo State is composed of three schools: the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education, and the School of the Professions.
Programs and centers
Programs available at Buffalo State that are not offered at any other SUNY institution include adult education, applied economics, art conservation, communication design, creativity, fashion and textile technology, fiber design, forensic chemistry, metal/jewelry design, higher education administration, urban and regional planning, and wood/furniture design. Buffalo State was the first school in the world to grant a master of science in creativity.Template:Citation needed The university also now offers an undergraduate minor in Creative Studies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both programs are offered through the International Center for Studies in Creativity, which is housed on campus. Buffalo State has 12 centers promoting growth and excellence.
Others include:
Center for Development of Human Services (CDHS). Strengthening human services through training, organizational, and technical assistance; technology; and evaluation, this center offers a comprehensive menu of management, supervisory, and worker-training programs that enable students to learn to more effectively serve their future clients.
Center for Health and Social Research. Working as an integral component of Buffalo State to provide collaboration between students, faculty, and staff in intellectual development, this center works to investigate basic and applied research topics that are among the most pressing in today's society.
Great Lakes Center. This center actively conducts collaborative research with other institutions and agencies in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The research focuses primarily on lakes Erie and Ontario and their tributaries, although national and international projects are also a priority. Research topics include aquatic invasive species, biodiversity and conservation of freshwater mollusks, nutrient stoichiometry and lake budgets,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> population ecology, water quality, and wetland chemistry and hydrology.
Buffalo State was ranked 31 in the category Top Public Schools Regional Universities (North) by U.S. News & World ReportTemplate:'s "Best Colleges 2012." When all public and private institutions are included, Buffalo State is ranked 110 in the Top Regional Universities (North) Tier 1, as of 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the same report in 2012, it ranked 73rd nationally for graduate schools in speech-language pathology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ranking Web of Universities ranks Buffalo State 4 out of 100 top universities in the Northern Region of the United States and 1,000 out of the top 12,000 in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> International Colleges & Universities ranks Buffalo State as the 17th best university in New York State out of 145.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Student life
Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
There are 8,082 undergraduates and 1,036 graduate students enrolled.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The undergraduate population (Fall 2018) was 43 percent male and 57 percent female. The overall admission rate of new students (2016) was 62 percent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
United Students Government
United Students Government (USG) represents the student body in campus governance and helps administrate student activities and organizations. USG provides activities, services, and student representation at Buffalo State. USG is headed by an executive branch of students elected each year along with a judicial branch and senate elected at the same time. USG manages and disperses money provided by the mandatory student activity fee to the many organizations and clubs on campus.
Buffalo State's sports teams are known as the Bengals. Buffalo State competes in 16 varsity sports within NCAA Division III.
Club sports
Buffalo State also has four club sports funded by the United Students Government (USG): men's club hockey, co-edrowing, men's rugby, and women's rugby.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Buffalo State has an Inter-Greek Association to support the operation of fraternities and sororities on campus. There are 14 fraternities and sororities recognized at Buffalo State.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Record, the student-run newspaper, was published every Wednesday. It ceased being a print publication in 2016 and became online only starting in 2017.
The Lens, an art, culture, and literary magazine
1300 Elmwood, magazine for alumni and friends, published biannuallyFile:Burchfield 2.jpgBurchfield-Penney Art Center
Art
The campus's Burchfield Penney Art Center, founded in 1966, moved to its new $33 million facility in 2008. The Burchfield Penney features the work of Western New York artists and houses one of the world's largest collections of work by watercolorist Charles E. Burchfield (1893–1967). The historic Buffalo AKG Art Museum, which showcases modern and contemporary art, is located across the street from the campus. Students can purchase discount passes in the Student Union. There are also a number of other art galleries<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> nearby.
Notable people
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Buffalo State has 100,000 alumni living in 119 countries throughout the world. Ninety-seven percent live in the United States, and 71 percent live in New York State. The five most popular majors among alumni were elementary education (15,538), art education (4,249), exceptional education (4,180), business studies (3,979), and criminal justice (3,911).
Susan Bies, former member of the Federal Reserve Board
Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th president of the United States; member of the first board of directors of the Buffalo Normal School (1870); namesake of Cleveland Hall, the university's administration building
