How long have you worked at Buffalo State University and if applicable what other areas have you worked/positions have you served in at Buffalo State University?
This is my 18th year at Buffalo State. I have been a faculty member in the English Department that whole time, but I also served as Coordinator of the Women and Gender Studies program (2006-2009) and the Coordinator of the English M.A. program (2014-present).
What motivates you to provide excellent services for your colleagues, students, and supervisor?
I am motivated every day by my students to improve my pedagogy, to link our work in the classroom to social justice in the real world, and to learn from others' experiences. I want them to find their education meaningful and relevant; I want them to learn about ideas and concepts that are new to them, but I also want them to know that they contribute to the learning environment as well. The pandemic really showed me the value of compassion and flexibility inside and outside the classroom. I work to design creative assignments for my classes and to implement creative solutions to problems that we face as a department. I want my students to know that their ideas matter and that we are glad to have them here.
What personal philosophy about working with others guides your day-to-day work?
Remaining open to others' points of view, realizing that I don't possess the final word on the subjects that I teach, and remembering to keep checking my own biases are essential lessons that I've learned from my students and colleagues here at Buffalo State. I am grateful for the opportunities that I have had to collaborate with colleagues in groups like the Anti-Racist Initiatives Subcommittee of the President's Council on Equity and Campus Diversity and the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies core committee. I've also loved working with students on master's theses, class presentations, and plans for post-college life. All of this work has shown me that we achieve the most when we listen to others, seek out new information, and make room for diverse voices and perspectives.
What do you do when you are not working?
I most enjoy spending time with my family when I'm not working. My daughter is an actor, so I love watching her rehearse and perform. My husband and I travel and hike and camp during our breaks; we are planning a trip to Norway. I also read a lot for pleasure—British murder mysteries and contemporary fiction—and cook and run. I just joined the Buffalo Wind Symphony, where I play second French horn.
Dr. Ryan-Bryant has engaged students and faculty via programming and service at all levels of the University throughout her 18 years at Buffalo State. For this year’s Black History Month, she organized the Africana Studies Research Symposium, at which students and faculty presented their writing and research, and presented her research on Black Horror at a second event sponsored by the Honors Program. She is currently completing the ninth year as Coordinator of the English MA program, which under her leadership has recruited students at local, national, and international levels. She is the primary contact for all of our prospective, current, and past graduate students and, as such, devotes hundreds of hours every year facilitating their experience of the program and troubleshooting problems. Much of this work is invisible except to those students who benefit directly from her dedication. She regularly hoods our English MA students at graduation and serves as our graduate students’ primary contact at graduate open houses, information sessions, and all other times.
Dr. Ryan-Bryant promotes diversity and inclusion in her daily interactions and professional commitments. Currently serving on the Anti-Racist Initiative Sub-Committee of the President’ Council on Equity and Campus Diversity, she helped create a mobile anti-racist workshop to be shared with various departments and programs on campus. She regularly teaches courses and serves on committees in the Africana Studies and Women & Gender Studies programs. Her courses on African-American literature and Women’s Studies typically receive high marks from our diverse student population. She is the primary author and teacher of ENG 385 Gender & Sexuality in Literature. These are classes whose content touches upon students’ identities and lived experiences in profound and diverse ways. As a teacher and advisor, Dr. Ryan-Bryant cares about students not only as scholars, but also as people with diverse and complex backgrounds and identities.
Dr. Ryan-Bryant is a reflective and thoughtful practitioner in her daily interactions with colleagues and students. In service work she fosters respect and comfort through modeling strong leadership that offers vision and remains open to the thoughts and contributions of others. In the classroom, she creates a similar dynamic by shaping class discussion with a combination of research-based lectures and structured discussions fueled by students’ ideas and interests. She offers a rigorous education that engages students where they are and challenges them to build upon what they know with confidence.
During her 9 years as English MA Coordinator, Dr. Ryan-Bryant oversaw significant changes to the program, including revising its comprehensive exam, thesis requirements, and a potential change to an online/ low-residency format in the future. She tirelessly discusses the nature of the program with colleagues and students, and recently surveyed students about possible future directions for the program. She regularly schedules information sessions about the graduate program, thesis symposia for students currently writing their theses, and additional office hours for any student—past, present, or future—who requests advising. She remains sensitive to students’ motivations and situations as she works with them to achieve their goals within and beyond the classroom.
