In the News: Interim President Durand on WBEN’s ‘A New Morning’ Podcast

The podcast A New Morning features live interviews from Buffalo’s WBEN-AM 930. The August 26 episode featured Buffalo State University’s interim president, Bonita R. Durand, Ph.D., to discuss the beginning of the fall 2024 semester. 

During the segment “Classes Begin Today at Buffalo State!,” hosts Susan Rose and Brian Mazurowski asked Durand what “back to school” means at Buffalo State.

“‘Back to school’ at Buffalo State means that our heartbeat is back,” Durand said. “Everybody’s excited; everybody’s ready to go.”

Between August 14 and 24, the campus welcomed about 6,200 new and returning students, which Durand said is keeping pace with the past few years. She also shared notable updates such as upgrades to residence halls, parking areas, and facilities. When asked about recent protest activity at universities across the country, Durand offered insight into Buffalo State’s policies and evidence of successful navigation of past student demonstrations.

She also noted the availability of many more student activities and opportunities outside the classroom this year.

“Our students come for their academic degree, but they also live on our campus,” she said, “so we try to make sure that we give them opportunities to join clubs, to have different kinds of experiences, to meet other people, and just to be able to have an enjoyable time when they’re not in class.”

Pictured: Interim President Bonita R. Durand, Ph.D., addresses the Class of 2028 at First-Year Convocation.

Photo by Nick Butler.