Gresham Named VP For Public Service And Urban Affairs

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Mary Harley Gresham has been named vice president for public service and urban affairs at the University at Buffalo, President William R. Greiner has announced.

Gresham has served as interim vice president since August 1997 following the appointment of former Interim Vice President John B. Sheffer, II, as director of the Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth.

She is responsible for coordinating university service initiatives in such areas as public education, urban revitalization, extension programs for working professionals, new partnerships between UB and the Western New York region, and recruitment and retention programs for students from underrepresented groups.

She will work with Provost David Triggle on restructuring Millard Fillmore College and establishing a downtown center for working professionals in order to further refine and extend UB's urban mission.

Units within her office include the University Community Initiative, Educational Opportunity Center, Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth, Cora P. Maloney College, Educational Opportunity Program, the A.A. Schomburg Fellowship Program and the Office for University Preparatory Programs (OUPP).

Affiliated with UB for nearly 25 years, Gresham brings "a wealth of university and community experience to her new position," Greiner said. She has served as executive director of OUPP, where she supervised such state and federally sponsored programs as Upward Bound and the Liberty Partnership Program, as well as assistant to the vice president for student affairs, serving as the first coordinator of fellowship programs for graduate minority students.

"Public service is an essential component of UB's mission; we are committed to developing and applying knowledge for the benefit of our community," Greiner said. "For that

reason, I am delighted to have a talented, experienced leader such as Mary Gresham directing our public service and urban affairs efforts."

Gresham was named associate vice president for public service and urban affairs when the division was created in 1993. In that post, she served as the initial point of contact for requests for university assistance from the Western New York community.

A graduate of Leadership Buffalo, Gresham serves on numerous community committees and boards, including the Buffalo chapter of the American Red Cross, the Western New York Stand for Children Planning Committee, Horizons Management Group, the Women's Volunteer Roundtable, the Junior League Community Advisory Board and the Children's Foundation of Erie County.

She is the 1994 recipient of the National Sojourner Truth Meritorious Service Award presented by the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc.

An adjunct assistant professor of counseling and educational psychology in the Graduate School of Education, Gresham holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and psychology and a doctorate in counseling psychology, both from UB.