Uncrowned Community Builders

Dr. Durand's career has included an exceptional 22-years as the executive assistant to the President - 5 in all - of Buffalo State College. She has also served as the president of the Buffalo Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. In addition, she has been a member of the graduate faculty at the college in the Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration Department, teaching courses on the history of American higher education, and strategic planning and finance in higher education. Dr. Durand has provided leadership to countless committees and working groups at Buffalo State, including the Middle States accreditation steering committee, the presidential inauguration support committees, the facilities master planning committee, and the presidential search advisory committees. She has also served as the faculty adviser for the collegiate chapter of the National Council of Negro Women and the campus adviser for the Gamma Kappa Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

An active member of the Western New York Community, Dr. Durand has dedicated her time to numerous organizations across the city and region. She was secretary for the City of Buffalo Citizens Advisory Commission on Reapportionment in 2011, a member of the Mayor of the City of Buffalo's 2010 Complete Count Census Committee, a charter member of the Buffalo Niagara Economic Development Corporation board of directors, and a member of the Western New York Women's Fund board of directors.

Most recently, Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Dr. Durand to serve as a commissioner on the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority board of directors. Additionally, she joined the board of directors of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo in January 2015. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the First Shiloh Youth Foundation and a member of First Shiloh Baptist Church.

Dr. Durand received the Bernice Poss Award in 2012 from the Western New York Women Leaders in Higher Education for her contributions as both an administrator and faculty member to the field of higher education. In 2014, Dr. Durand and her husband, Henry J. Durand, Ph.D., were recognized with Buffalo Urban League's Family Life Award. In 2016, she received the Unlimited Possibilities Overcoming Poverty Ministry's "Women Touching the World Award" and the National Federation for Just Communities' Community Leader Award.


Dr. Durand is a lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., an international public service organization. She has held numerous offices at the local, regional, and national levels. Most of her activities in this role focus on training, advising, and mentoring both alumnae and collegiate members of the organization throughout upstate New York and the Eastern region.


In 2002, she earned the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University at Buffalo. Her area of concentration is higher education administration with a focus on institutional advancement. Dr. Durand also holds a Master of Science degree in applied public affairs from the University at Buffalo and a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration and curriculum development from the Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2010, she received certification in educational management and leadership from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.

She resides in Buffalo, New York with her husband, Dr. Henry J. Durand. The Doctors Durand have four adult children and five grandchildren.