The Daily Bulletin Archive

I am pleased to announce the formation of the SUNY Buffalo State Institute for Community Health Promotion (ICHP). The mission of ICHP is to develop and implement programs and research focused on improving the health and well-being of both individuals and the community. ICHP combines the historically successful efforts of the Center for Health and Social Research (CHSR) and the Center for Development of Human Services (CDHS) to create a unique resource for Western New York and all of New York State focused on conducting research and developing and implementing evidence-based programs relevant to enhanced health outcomes.

ICHP will focus on integrating the expertise of CHSR in health research and community-based prevention with that of CDHS in social services, as well as creating strong affiliations with academic departments such as Health and Wellness and the public administration program in Political Science. This combination of resources is designed to expand the influence of SUNY Buffalo State as a driver of health promotion programs and research. ICHP will focus on projects that support the expansion of the continuum of health care in the areas of prevention, health promotion, and chronic-disease management. These aspects of the continuum include the entire range of health promotion activities directed toward populations and individuals across the lifespan, such as community-based universal prevention, programs targeted at health risks, social services programs, and school- and business-based programs.

William F. Wieczorek, Ph.D., has been appointed to the rank of leading professor to direct ICHP, effective January 1, 2014. Wieczorek has served as director of the Center for Health and Social Research at Buffalo State since 1997. He is a certified research administrator and an outstanding scientist. Among the many projects under way at CHSR, he directs the Px20 coalition-based prevention initiative, funded by the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation, a joint collaboration of all the prevention providers in Erie County to implement a prevention programming initiative, enhance prevention system capacity, and conduct data collection and evaluation. He heads the West Side Youth Development Coalition, funded by the Drug-Free Communities program, which brings together 12 sectors, including health care, drug prevention, law enforcement, schools, and community groups, to implement a universal environmental prevention campaign aimed at reducing underage drinking and prescription drug abuse. Also, the Aging in Context project with the University of Rochester Medical Center highlights his expertise with health issues across the lifespan.

In addition, Kelly Marczynski, Ph.D., currently assistant director and senior scientist at CHSR, has been appointed assistant director of ICHP. Marczynski will provide immediate support for Wieczorek and the senior leadership at CDHS. She will also maintain her roles as principal investigator on multiple projects and her oversight of research projects and staff at CHSR while taking on this new role, including being active in developing new projects for ICHP in collaboration with CDHS.

I wish to thank all the individuals who have helped to bridge the transition to this new institute and leadership structure for CHSR and CDHS. In particular, I thank Michael Incorvia, who recently retired as director and principal investigator of CDHS, for his excellent work in that role and his support of this transition. Michael F. LeVine, vice president for finance and management and Research Foundation operations manager; Mark W. Severson, dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences and special adviser to the provost for academic research initiatives; and Susan A. McCartney, director of the Small Business Development Center and special adviser to the provost for economic development, have also played key roles.