From the Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Posted: Thursday, March 30, 2017Philanthropy at Work
It’s a vast understatement to say that SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and historian Edward Owen Smith Jr. left a lasting legacy at Buffalo State. During his 50-year tenure, E. O., as he was affectionately called, served as the chair of the History and Social Studies Education Department and as the first director of the Monroe Fordham Regional History Center. He also founded the college’s museum studies certificate program.
A regular contributor to scholarships, campus funds, and art exhibitions, E. O. was also a longtime Peterson Society member.
He clearly made students a priority both in his teaching and in his philanthropy. Before he passed away in March 2014, he established the E. O. Smith Arts and Humanities Faculty Development Fund—an endowed fund available to full-time faculty in the arts and humanities for professional development.
E. O. was specific about the eligible disciplines. For the humanities, they include history, art history, museum studies, philosophy, religious studies, literature, English, modern and classical languages. For the arts, they include art, fine art, design, art conservation, theater, music, and dance.
This is the first year that those awards have been disseminated. At the beginning of 2017, eight faculty members received a total of $28,505. They are Cynthia Conides, History and Social Studies Education; Carolyn Guzski, Music; Sarah Beth Hinderliter and Philip Ogle, Fine Arts; Kenneth Orosz, History and Social Studies Education; Brent Patterson, Design; and Jennifer Ryan-Bryant and Karen Sands-O’Connor, English. Their projects focus on such fascinating topics as the desegregation of the Metropolitan Opera, the shared artistry of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, and travel to Cameroon for original historical research.
Each subsequent year, a campus selection committee will provide funding to a handful of stellar Buffalo State faculty for their research projects. The selection committee determines the number of awards and the amounts, which range between $2,000 and $7,000 each.
Such a commitment to research wouldn’t be possible without the generosity and foresight of E. O. Smith. It is especially meaningful when a faculty member who is intimately familiar with our campus, our culture, and our students makes a gift that will reverberate for generations. We are grateful not only for his endowment but also for his beautiful demonstration of how to leave a legacy.
