Uncrowned Community Builders

Mary Harley Gresham is the Vice President for Public Service and Urban Affairs and Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo (UB).

As vice president, she oversees minority-focused campus programs and initiatives, and provides leadership for the coordination and promotion of public service initiatives in areas such as public education, urban revitalization and new partnerships between UB and the Western New York region. Programs included under the aegis of the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Urban Affairs include Millard Fillmore College, the University Community Initiatives, the Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth, the Center for Applied Technologies in Education[semiColon] the Educational Opportunity Center, the Educational Opportunity Program, the Office for University Preparatory Programs, Cora P. Maloney College and the Arthur A. Schomburg Underrepresented Minority Graduate Fellowship Program.

As dean of the Graduate School of Education, Dr. Gresham oversees the activities of approximately 350 employees. She has overall responsibility for the development of academic programs, faculty recruitment and advancement, and maintains standards of teaching, scholarship and creative activity in education and education research. She also oversees faculty in matters of planning and budgeting, equipment and space allocations, and personnel, and oversees development activities within the school and among its alumni and supporters.

An Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Departments of Counseling Psychology, and African American Studies, Dr. Gresham serves on a number of university committees, and on an array of community committees and boards. These include the following: The Buffalo Urban League Board of Directors, Horizon's Health Management Group Board of Directors, Women for Human Rights and Dignity Advisory Board, Buffalo Prep Board of Directors, United Way Board Governance Minority and women Inclusiveness Project, Fannie Mae Western and Central New York Advisory Board, Board of Directors of the Children's Foundation of Erie County, National Conference for Community and Justice Board of Directors, Women's Pavilion Pan Am 2001 Board of Managers. She is also Chair-elect of the Buffalo Chapter of the American Red Cross.

She is a 1995 graduate of Leadership Buffalo, and recipient of the National Sojourner Truth Meritorious Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Club. She has also received the University at Buffalo's Graduate School of Education Dean's Service Award, Gresham earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy and psychology and a doctorate in counseling psychology, all from UB.