Q&A with Incoming President Jennifer L. Burris, Ph.D.
The State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees voted to name Jennifer L. Burris, Ph.D., as the next president of Buffalo State University during the afternoon session of the SUNY Board of Trustees meeting on April 28. Her appointment is effective July 1, 2026. Incoming President Burris currently serves as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Lenoir-Rhyne University.
Here, Incoming President Burris shares what drew her to Buffalo State, plans for her early days as president, thoughts on higher education, and more.
What was it that attracted you to Buffalo State?
Three things, honestly. The first is the students. Buffalo State's student body reflects the city and region it serves, and a campus committed to the success of first-generation, Pell-eligible, and transfer students is exactly where I've spent my career. It's the work that matters most to me. The second is Buffalo State's identity as SUNY's urban-engaged comprehensive university, an anchor institution in a city experiencing a genuine renaissance; that alignment between a university's mission and a region's momentum is rare and worth working to strengthen. And the third is more personal. My partner's late grandparents made their home in Buffalo, and he spent part of his high school years living with them on the lower West Side and attending Grover Cleveland High. That piece of our family's connection to this city made the idea of putting down roots here feel unmistakably right. I'm not looking for a stepping stone. I want to be somewhere long enough that the freshmen I welcome become the alumni and donors I celebrate.
What do you believe is the role of higher education in today’s climate?
Today, higher education has to prove something that everyone used to assume: that education changes lives, strengthens communities, and is worth the trust the public places in it. A public university's first job is to be an engine of opportunity and mobility, especially for students who are the first in their families to step onto a college campus. Its second is to be a serious partner to the region it calls home. Access and excellence are not in tension; they are inseparable. That conviction is what drew me to my first teaching job at a community college, and it is what draws me to the presidency of Buffalo State today.
Buffalo State is, to my mind, one of the clearest living examples of what that role looks like in practice. As SUNY's urban-engaged comprehensive university and the city's only broad-access public four-year university, it exists to turn access into real mobility for first-generation, Pell-eligible, and transfer students, and to do that in deep partnership with the schools, hospitals, employers, and cultural institutions of Western New York. It is a university built precisely for the work this moment demands, and I am proud to join it.
How will you approach Buffalo State's financial sustainability?
Financial sustainability will be one of the most important priorities of my presidency, and I want to be clear that I am walking into necessary work that is already underway. President Bonita Durand, her cabinet, and the faculty and staff across Buffalo State have done significant work to stabilize the institution's finances, in close partnership with Chancellor King and the SUNY system. The campus has made real progress against its structural deficit through the Framework for Financial Sustainability, and my job is to honor that work and help carry it forward to keep Buffalo State well-positioned for a sustainable, growth-oriented future.
Continued progress will rest on three parallel efforts: stabilizing and growing enrollment, managing costs with continued discipline and transparency, and diversifying revenue, a task the Foundation is well-positioned to help us achieve.
This is an exciting moment to be joining the university. The most durable changes are always built in partnership with the people who carry the mission every day, not imposed on them. I’m looking forward to collaborating with the campus community to strengthen how Buffalo State meets student needs and position the university for continued long-term success.
What steps will you take to develop a strategic vision for Buffalo State?
The first step is to listen. Buffalo State has a campus and community with deep knowledge of what is working, what could be stronger, and what the next chapter should look like. My job is not to impose a pre-packaged vision. I come to this role with ideas and instincts, shaped by my career and by my conversations throughout this search process, but the long-term strategic direction for Buffalo State is shaped through a process that belongs to the community. That process will be grounded in the success of our students and aimed at launching Buffalo State into its next phase of excellence.
In my early months, I will be in deep conversation with faculty, staff, students, alumni, the Buffalo State Senate, our collective bargaining units, the University Council, and community and employer partners. From there, in close partnership with the University Council and our shared governance bodies, we will launch an inclusive planning process that engages the whole campus in shaping Buffalo State's next chapter. The priorities themselves are for that process to name. What I can commit to is an approach that is transparent, evidence-informed, rooted in shared governance, and aligned with SUNY's system-wide pillars, so that whatever we chart together is grounded, supported, and actually achievable.
What do you see as the role of shared governance at Buffalo State?
Shared governance is how a university holds itself accountable to its mission, and how a community owns the decisions that shape its future. It is not a process a president runs. The Buffalo State Senate is the official body through which faculty, staff, and students engage in the governance of the University, and it holds distinct authority alongside the University Council and our collective bargaining units. My job is to respect the work of our partners and show up for them with transparent data and honest engagement. I expect to be present at Senate meetings, in active conversation with our collective bargaining units, and engaged with the Council. Shared governance does not mean everyone agrees; it means governance bodies have the information they need, leadership is willing to hear criticism and change course when warranted, and the campus community trusts that it is being taken seriously.
How do you envision Buffalo State expanding its community engagement in Buffalo and Western New York?
Buffalo State has been an anchor institution in this city for more than 150 years, and its commitment to the community is already one of the things that distinguishes it within the SUNY system. That commitment is reflected in its Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, in the current 2022–2026 Strategic Plan, and in the more than 57,000 alumni who live and build their lives in Western New York. My role, as I see it, is to build on that foundation and help make the relationship between campus and community even more visible, reciprocal, and effective.
How do you envision your role as president at Buffalo State?
My job is to be the chief advocate for this university. Externally, that means a close partnership with Chancellor King and the SUNY system, and making the case for Buffalo State in Albany, across Buffalo, and with our donors and employer partners. Internally, it means showing up for the faculty, staff, and students who make Buffalo State the regional anchor that it is. I believe presidents should be visible and present. I plan to eat in the cafeteria, walk the campus, show up at games and recitals, and create regular, honest forums for dialogue. People navigate change well when they trust their leaders and understand the path forward. I also believe in humility and humor. We spend more time at work than we do with our families; if we aren't making room for joy and good faith along the way, the work doesn't go as well, and neither do the people doing it.
What are your interests outside of work?
My favorite hours of any week are the early ones, walking my dogs before the day begins. They are the quietest part of my week. What grounds me is simple: time with my family, a long meal with people I love, and a good movie at the end of a long week. As a new resident of Buffalo, I am especially looking forward to discovering this city: its neighborhoods, its food scene, and the museum district right at our campus' doorstep. But what brings me the most joy is the work itself: helping students find their way, and doing good in the world. I am privileged to have a vocation that allows me to do that, and I cannot wait to step into the role as president of the great Buffalo State University.
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