President Katherine S. Conway-Turner, Ph.D, retires from 43 years in higher education and a nine-year legacy at SUNY Buffalo State University.
Any student who has had the opportunity to meet President Conway-Turner during her time on campus surely got a sense of her caring passion. Conway-Turner has left an impact to last a lifetime at Buffalo state.

Being Buffalo State’s ninth president was not always easy, especially in trying times like the global pandemic. But she defied the odds. Conway-Turner’s strength and honor grew overtime proving just what a remarkable president she was. “I can’t imagine anything better than my experience here at Buffalo State,” Conway-Turner said.

Not only did President Conway-Turner teach students valuable lessons, but she also learned them herself throughout her experience. Education is something that she looks at with a loving perspective and as an inspiration for her career.

As a first-generation college educated student, being the first in her family to take that leap was a big step for her. This gave her the chance to relate to many of the students at Buffalo State she has so closely guided through similar experiences.
Just like many other college students in their early years, she did not know exactly what she was going to do. One thing that she did know was that she loved to learn and from there, the rest was history. “No one could have ever imagined that I would be here with you as your president. It would have been just a wild fiction story to even think about that,” Conway-Turner said.
“Education is the closest thing to a silver-bullet; It can take you from wherever you are to where you might hope to be,” says Conway-Turner. For the students who may not know what direction they are going in, it could only take one particular class or experience to open a door that was never thought to exist.

During her presidency, she involved herself in every part of campus that she could and intends on continuing her involvement on the Buffalo State campus. Whether it be viewing the solar eclipse next year or volunteering on “Bengals Dare to Care Day”, don’t be surprised to see her.

In 2020 she was honored by Buffalo Business First as the tenth ranking in the 150 Women of Influence Award. Her leadership has stamped a mark on the Buffalo State campus that will surely influence the future of the institution. Her engagement in Buffalo State has been recognized and brought wonderful opportunities to the students and for that we thank her.

After her retirement, she hopes that the students of Buffalo State will expose themselves to a variety of things that they choose to be a source of their happiness just as she did.