How long have you worked at Buffalo State College and, if applicable, what other areas have you worked/positions have you served?
I joined the SUNY Buffalo State faculty as an assistant professor of communication in fall 2005 and was promoted to associate professor in 2011. I’m currently chair of the Communication Department, the largest department in the School of Arts and Humanities, and was previously associate chair and our ACEJMC accreditation representative. I’m also the coordinator of our online M.S. in Public Relations degree program and serve as faculty adviser to our chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. I’m a member of the college’s Online Oversight Committee and have served on the President’s Marketing Communication Committee, the Graduate Advisory Council, and the Service Learning Oversight Committee.
What motivates you to provide excellent services for your colleagues, students, and supervisor?
As a professor, I have been inspired to be an excellent teacher by my own former teachers and professors, starting in elementary school, where I had many outstanding female teachers and an exceptional female school principal as role models. Our principal always encouraged students to “reach for the stars,” and I try to do the same with my own students. Today, I try to serve as a role model and mentor – and in fact, one of my former graduate students told me that I inspired her to become a communication professor! My proudest moments as a professor are when I learn about the achievements of my current and former students. It’s tremendously rewarding.
What personal philosophy about working with others guides your day-to-day work?
I believe that life is precious and short, so make the most of every moment, and try to make the world a better place. That’s certainly true of the service-learning classes I teach, where students serve community organizations while learning about public relations, but it also applies to other aspects of my current job as Communication Department chair, where I serve our faculty, staff, and students.
What do you do when you are not working?
I spend time with my family and friends, volunteer with the Public Relations Society of America and with Hamburg’s BurgerFest as its social media manager, and enjoy reading, cooking, and gardening. Never a dull moment!
Almost everyone working at Buffalo State is kind, but there are a few people who stand out when you think about the word. Our nominee is approachable and always keeps her door open, except for during confidential meetings, and maintains a pot of coffee, a dish of candy, and often a plate of cookies—all for the purpose of making everyone feel welcome and at ease in her presence. When students or colleagues email or call with complaints, fears, or simply with complex or difficult questions, she often invites them to come for a face-to-face meeting, where she always greets them with a smile and supportive demeanor. She usually engages her guests in an ice-breaking talk, establishing a foundation of caring and kindness that makes even the most difficult conversations a bit easier and hence, productive. Given the high level of stress among our overworked colleagues and students, this effort to establish a warm, safe space to work in is a model for others.
Among colleagues, our nominee is known for her motto, “Let’s get this done.” Toward that end, she elicits, encourages, and supports action plans to address problems and pursue opportunities. It’s an accepted fact among her colleagues that if you see something that needs to be done, her mantra is “I’m here to help you do it.” Two recent examples that demonstrate her commitment toward that end is her leadership in our effort to update and revise our departmental strategic plan, and her spurring and overseeing the creation of an Advisory Board consisting of professionals, academics, and community stakeholders. It’s also important to point out that her positivity is contagious, even among overworked colleagues. This is because she complements her motivational positivity with a seemingly perpetual positive and sincerely cheerful demeanor.
Our nominee has amassed a strong track record of creating a caring and accessible environment for students offering traditional office hours, email conversation, and Skype and phone meetings. For the past 11 years, she has served as faculty adviser to the college’s chapter of the national student organization representing a profession in which many of our students aspire to work. For example, she has assisted in arranging for local public relations professionals to speak at chapter meetings and taking groups of students to regional and national PRSA-PRSSA conferences. She frequently emails students on weekends or early in the morning to respond to their inquiries.
Our nominee has for all practical intents created a model with her efforts during the past four years to create a new online master’s degree in public relations that can recruit public relations practitioners from across the country. To that end, it follows the national Commission on Public Relations Education, which issued a new report on graduate education in public relations, "Standards for a Master’s Degree in Public Relations: Educating for Complexity" in 2012. Our nominee revised an existing four-course public relations sequence within Buffalo State’s master’s degree in multidisciplinary studies into a new M.S. in public relations program that meets the criteria set forth in the commission’s report. After feedback from graduate students who desire an online master’s program, our nominee revised the M.S. in public relations program as an online program, which was approved by the college, SUNY, and the New York State Education Department and was launched in fall 2018 as a fully online program.
