Durand Tops Business First’s Power 100 Leaders of Color List; Buffalo State Has Strong Presence

Buffalo State University Interim President Bonita R. Durand, Ph.D. has been named No. 1 on Buffalo Business First’s 2024 Power 100 Leaders of Color list for “leadership since [returning to Buffalo State] and her decades of dedication to Western New York students.” The Buffalo-based business journal offers this distinction in recognition of community leaders of color who foster creativity and inclusion, champion diverse viewpoints, and act as role models for future generations.

The accompanying article, “Durand Lands at No. 1 as She Tackles Buffalo State’s Turnaround,” by Katie Anderson, details Durand’s career at Buffalo State, where she spent more than 20 years working as chief of staff to five presidents before initially retiring.

“It doesn’t matter if anybody remembers me,” Durand told Buffalo Business First. “It’s not about me, but about what I believe is our collective responsibility to give our students the best that we have. I tell our students, ‘I want you to leave here able to make a good living and have a good life, so that you can be a good citizen and contribute wherever you live and work.”

In addition to Durand, several Buffalo State University alumni, leaders, former and current faculty members, and trustees were honored, including  SUNY Trustee Eunice Lewin, whose long-standing ties to Buffalo State include the 2008 President’s Distinguished Service Award for her chairmanship of the foundation galas; Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney, former Buffalo State chief diversity officer and chief of staff; and faculty members Faizan Haq, ’10, lecturer in the Communication Department, and Amin M. Serehali, lecturer in the Buffalo State Mathematics Department.

The list also included an impressive number of Buffalo State alumni:

LaVonne Ansari, ’91

Darian Bryan, ’17

Morgan Williams Bryant, ’03

Catherine Collins, ’75

Latricia Davis, ’02, ’11

Andrea Harden, ’83

Dora Jones, ’11, ’19

Brenda McDuffie, ’04

Brandye Merriweather, ’04

Jennifer Parker, ’93

Bradford Watts, ’91, ’94

Photo by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.