UB Student Earns Prestigious Teaching Fellowship

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Stephen Stauffer, who recently graduated from the University at Buffalo with a degree in chemistry, is one of 92 people selected for the 2011 W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Woodrow Wilson Michigan Teaching Fellowship.

Stauffer, a native of Battle Creek, Mich., will receive a $30,000 stipend to attend a master's degree program at Michigan State University. Following the master's program, all fellowship members are required to teach for three years at a high-need Michigan school that has agreed to provide ongoing professional support and opportunities for continued study.

"My experiences all the way up through UB made me a perfect fit for this fellowship," says Stauffer. "It seems like it was tailored to fit both who I am and what I want to do with my life. I cannot wait to get back into the classroom ... but from the teacher's perspective this time around."

The Kellogg Foundation dictates that Stauffer's first year of teaching will take place in the Grand Rapids area, but the remaining time after that will be spent teaching at a school of Stauffer's choice. He hopes to end up at the Battle Creek Area Math and Science Center, where he initially learned to love chemistry.

"Chemistry was a class that made sense to me. I was able to pick up the concepts and had fun doing so," says Stauffer. "Time spent in the lab was enjoyable and all of this is thanks to the passion and enthusiasm of my previous chemistry teachers. Without their support I would not have gotten into chemistry as much as I did, and now it's interesting as it is now I who will be the one teaching and inspiring students."

Stauffer is an avid traveler, chemistry and calculus tutor, member of the American Chemical Society and an Eagle Scout.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system that is its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.