How long have your worked at Buffalo State College and if applicable what other areas have you worked/positions have you served in at Buffalo State College?
I have been working at Buffalo State for 11 years. Currently, I am working in the Academic Commons Department. I have also worked in the Business Department, Academic Skills Center, Individualized Studies (INS) office, and Student Accessibility Services Office.
What motivates you to provide excellent services for your colleagues, students, and supervisor?
I believe in treating others the same way as I would like to be treated.
What personal philosophy about working with others guides your day-to-day work?
Always do your best that you can and have a positive attitude! Be kind, understanding, and compassionate. Providing a caring and supportive environment while offering to help others can really mean a lot to someone and make their day.
What do you do when you are not working?
I enjoy spending time with my family, friends, and our dog Harley. I also enjoy exercising and bike riding.
"He repeatedly goes above and beyond in his work with students. Instead of giving them the "Buffalo State Shuffle," he does everything he can to resolve whatever issue they have in the moment that they come to him, calling around to other offices if he has to instead of sending the student on a trek across campus. When he encounters an institutional barrier to the student's success, he does not give up, and instead employs creative problem-solving strategies to show how to overcome it. He frequently stays late or adjusts his schedule to accommodate students who need to see him. His kind and caring demeanor help each student feel like they are treated as a valued member of the BSC community.
He also performs acts of kindness when it comes to his colleagues. He can always be counted on to jump in and take on extra work if someone is absent or unable to do it. He proactively helps new employees to learn the ropes and goes out of his way to make them feel welcome. Though he rarely complains himself, he is an excellent listener, and provides support and advice when his peers are struggling.
On numerous occasions, Robert has developed new resources and tools to help our department function more effectively and efficiently to better serve students, such as electronic advisement slips, Student Resource Guides, and a document to streamline workflow during registration of new students. He routinely shares these materials with his colleagues and they have frequently become indispensable to our day-to-day work. Robert has served on search committees and small working groups and proved himself an excellent team player in each of these situations.
Robert is, without a doubt, the most positive member of our team. His constant smile and sense of humor never fail to uplift the mood of those around him. I consider him a true role model in this respect - not just for my staff, but for myself as well."
"Bob treats students with the utmost respect and not just as a number. He encourages them to be accountable, responsible and independent, but doesn't neglect to support them in every way possible in his role as an academic adviser. He doesn't just tell students what to do, but he helps them navigate the waters of being a college student and either gives the students visual tutorials on different systems or personally walks them to the right people or places to get questions answered or things done.
Bob is always welcoming and has a positive attitude in each of his interactions, whether it be with students, staff or faculty. He comes to work with a "can do" attitude and remains positive even in stressful times. In addition, not only does he do this, but he encourages his team members to display this type of work behavior as well!
Bob is always willing to hear out change and provide proactive and constructive feedback on the impacts (positive or negative) regarding the change and how it would impact the students, the staff and the job duties. He is open minded to change, whether it's necessary or not, and he is always encouraging of his peers to be open minded to it as well.
"Bob is the guy who comes to work early and then stays late. Bob’s the guy who answers a ringing phone when he doesn't have to. He's the guy who eats at his desk and puts down his sandwich when a student appears at his doorway. Why is he so selfless? Maybe because he went here, too, for both of his degrees, but I think it's because he believes in the college and, more important, its students. He refuses to engage in the Buffalo State shuffle and hand off students to another office. Instead, he'll make calls as the student is with him and, together, they'll figure out the problem at hand. To be sure, if and when the student bears responsibility for the particular problem, He’s not a pushover, but he takes time to show a student where and how the situation went off the rails. What comes through to the student is that here's a guy who truly cares and treats him or her with the dignity and respect that a human being deserves.
This kindness and willingness to pitch in extends beyond his relationships with his advisees. There is no voluntary task, no search committee, no training that he doesn't consider, because, he genuinely wants to help, and he hope to learn just a little bit more with everything he does. Helping and learning--that's what drives him."
