Gresham to retire after 45 years of service to UB

Mary H. Gresham, who in more than four decades at UB has worked to promote access to higher education for disadvantaged and nontraditional students, as well as strengthen partnerships with the community, will retire at the end of the fall semester.

Currently vice provost for educational collaboration and engagement, Gresham leads UB’s campus-wide efforts to connect university resources with community needs. She also oversees the Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) and Millard Fillmore College, which provide workforce development, training opportunities and academic programs for disadvantaged and nontraditional students.

“In her 45 years of service to UB, Mary has enhanced academic support structures and access to higher education for disadvantaged and nontraditional students, strengthened the university’s local partnerships and commitment to and presence in the city of Buffalo, and significantly contributed to an engaged culture and identity at UB,” says Provost Charles F. Zukoski. “Because of her significant contributions, our university and Buffalo communities are stronger and more closely connected.”

Gresham has served as vice provost for educational collaboration and engagement since 2012 following 11 years as dean of the Graduate School of Education. She began her career at UB in 1970 as a counselor in the EOC and has served in several senior leadership positions, among them vice president for public service and urban affairs from 1997-2006.

Gresham “excels in creating relationships with our communities in order to increase economic and educational opportunities in Buffalo,” Zukoski says. In recent years, she has focused on building partnerships with the community adjacent to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Center (BNMC). In an effort to promote paths to jobs, productive careers and educational opportunities for residents, she developed UB’s partnership with more than 45 agencies and organizations involved in workforce development.

Earlier this year, she joined with several local and national organizations to host a conference on creating economic opportunities for local residents and helping build a more sustainable and equitable city.

Gresham also has been integral in facilitating and promoting engagement activities across UB’s three campuses. She convened and leads a university-wide Internal Engagement Committee that aims to coordinate the engagement activities of UB faculty and staff. The committee is compiling a comprehensive inventory of faculty and staff engagement activities in order to better understand, recognize and communicate the engagement activities taking place across the university. The committee also has created a UB Award for Excellence in University-Community Engagement to recognize and promote engaged scholarship.  

A recognized leader in urban education, Gresham served as dean of the Graduate School of Education (GSE) from 2001-12. Her accomplishments include creating the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention; expanding relationships in professional and local communities; introducing online programs in the school; increasing international opportunities for GSE, including creating a master’s degree program in school counseling in Singapore; and incorporating the Department of Library and Information Studies into the GSE.

A psychotherapist with expertise in multicultural issues, Gresham holds a PhD in counseling psychology from UB. She is the recipient of numerous awards, among them the Athena Award from the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Values Award for Diversity from Leadership Buffalo, William Evans/Whitney Young Humanitarian Award from the Buffalo Urban League and National Sojourner Truth Meritorious Service Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Club.

She also has held leadership positions on a variety of community boards and initiatives.