Buffalo Science Week Kickoff News Conference

Good afternoon! I am delighted to be here for the announcement of the Buffalo Public School District’s Inaugural Science Week!

I want to begin by extending my gratitude to SUNY Trustee Eunice Lewin for her pivotal support of this educational initiative.

Since the very beginning, she has been the vision and guiding force behind this wonderful initiative.  And I know her leadership will continue to be a source of inspiration as this program moves forward.

I’d also like to thank Mayor Byron Brown, Superintendent Dr. Pamela Brown, and School Board president Dr. Barbara Seals Nevergold for their instrumental roles in developing this initiative and focusing on the importance of STEM education.

And I want to acknowledge and thank my presidential colleague Howard Cohen, interim president of our sister SUNY institution Buffalo State, my fellow REDC Co-Chair Howard Zemsky, and my UB colleagues who have played key leadership roles in this effort including Vice President for Research and Economic Development Alex Cartwright and Professor Joe Gardella.

As a major public research university, part of our mission at UB is to help build and support Western New York’s knowledge economy.

One critical way universities do this is by preparing and educating the students who will be tomorrow’s leaders in our classrooms on campus, and within the primary and secondary schools in the communities we serve.

The knowledge, discoveries, and ideas we generate as a university are all aimed at one key objective—to make a positive difference in our communities, locally and globally.

STEM education is an area of study that has become increasingly important—particularly with Western New York’s burgeoning life sciences and advanced manufacturing industries.

The collaborative effort to create Science Week in the Buffalo Public Schools will further this endeavor to improve STEM education in Buffalo Schools.

UB is proud to partner with the Buffalo Public Schools in this effort, along with our fellow SUNY institutions— including Buffalo State and ECC.

We are very fortunate in Western New York to have a wealth of excellent educational resources from our large higher education community, to our many research centers, museums, and other learning-focused organizations.

This program is a perfect example of what is possible when our region’s educators and scientists work together to create new opportunities for our area’s students.

It also builds on the collaborative work we are already doing through the highly successful ISEP program, which is changing how science is taught in our local public schools.

Science Week will give young students a similar opportunity to explore how research and discovery can be applied to challenges in today’s society.

I am excited to see how this promising program will translate to future success for our region’s students. Thank you.