Muriel A. Howard, Ph.D.

Dr. Muriel A. Howard has served as the president of Buffalo State College since 1996. Dr. Howard’s professional and scholarly interests include educational leadership and the representation of women and minorities in the academy.

She teaches a course titled Creative Leadership through Effective Facilitation in the Creative Studies Department at Buffalo State College. In addition, Dr. Howard mentors new college presidents and trains those aspiring to become college presidents through her affiliation with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) New Presidents Academy and Millennium Leadership Institute.

This year, President Howard is the chair of the AASCU board of directors. The organization’s mission is to open the door of opportunity of higher education to all citizens and to embrace students who traditionally have been underrepresented in American colleges and universities. Buffalo State College emulates this mission under the leadership of President Howard. She has also been appointed to the Voluntary System of Accountability Commission, a joint commission sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC). Her other national board commitments include the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities and the National Survey of Student Engagement Advisory Board.

Throughout her career, President Howard has devoted her time and professional service to numerous local and regional boards and organizations. Currently, she serves on the boards of directors of Merchants Insurance, Kaleida Health, Niagara University, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the King Center Charter School, and the Buffalo Public Schools Foundation.

Her service to the State University of New York includes membership on the Chancellor’s Advisory Group on Leadership, the University Council of Presidents, the Advisory Council on Teacher Education, and the board of the Center on Russia and the United States. She is also a member of the H. H. Richardson Preservation Board, a gubernatorial appointment.

President Howard has been honored with various awards and recognitions for her contributions to public higher education, service to the community, and commitment to diversity. Selected awards include the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service; the honorary doctorate of humane letters from the City University of New York; the University at Buffalo Distinguished Alumna Award; the American Jewish Committee Institute of Human Relations Award; the Black Educators Association of Western New York, Educator of the Year Award; and the Cardinal Newman Award from the Newman Center, Buffalo State College.

She is a past recipient of the Governor’s State Division of Women Award for Excellence in Education, and a charter inductee into the Western New York Women’s Hall of Fame. She was also honored as the 2006 recipient of the Athena Award.

A graduate of the City University of New York’s Richmond College, President Howard holds a master’s degree in education and a doctor of philosophy degree in educational organization, administration, and policy from the University at Buffalo, as well as a certificate from the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.

Prior to coming to Buffalo State, Dr. Howard was the vice president for public service and urban affairs at the University at Buffalo, where she served in various leadership capacities over a 23-year period.

She is the seventh president of Buffalo State and the college’s first female president.