Do UBelieve?

Over the summer, an email infiltrated my spam filter, entered my inbox, and piqued my interest.  That email was about positive change happening here in Western New York.  The message I received focused on economic development, educational enrichment, and the strengthening of community.  The message was from a group known as UB Believers.

Now over 2,700 people strong, UB Believers is a group specifically dedicated to enhancing the relationship between Western New York’s largest university and the city in which it resides.  The organization is devoted to promoting a more positive environment for all of us here to live, work, learn, and grow.  Did I mention the best part about UB Believers?  You don’t have to be a University at Buffalo student, faculty, or alumni to join.  You only need passion and an interest in creating a better Western New York to sign up.  And in turn, you can help make a positive impact on the Buffalo Niagara region.

UB Believers, introduced by UB President John B. Simpson, university officials, and community leaders, is a group with a plan.  This comprehensive plan not only involves creating a better UB, it involves creating a better community in which the school exists.  And for that fact alone, I give the minds behind UB Believers a round of applause.  Personally, I have seen other examples of colleges that merely existed in the cities in which they reside. 

I went to a college in New York City that substantially depended on the surrounding neighborhood.  Yet, in my opinion, the school never “returned the favor” to its city.  Here was a school that was challenging students and educating gifted individuals, yet it was failing to instill a sense of responsibility or pride in the surrounding community into its students.

From that experience I learned that it is essential for a college or university to promote the students to feel as if they are part of the community in which they are learning.  And it is just as essential for the people of the community to feel a connection to the higher education establishments.  Thankfully, the University at Buffalo is making a serious effort to establish and maintain a true partnership with the City of Buffalo and Western New York.  UB Believers not only recognizes that a symbiotic relationship between itself and all of people who live here is essential for communication and progress, this group also truly recognizes the potential for success, economic growth, and revitalization here. 

Learn more about this ongoing project here.

Photo courtesy UBBelievers.buffalo.edu.

Posted by on 10/01 at 01:03 PM