Senior Research Fellows
Sam Cole, Professor
Sam Cole is a Professor in the Department of Planning (since 1983) and the Department of Geography (1993 to 1997) at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and Director of the Center for Regional Studies (1988-1993), and former President of the North East Regional Science Association.
Prior to this he was at the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, the United Kingdom Department of Environment, and the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge. He is a member of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis and the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research.
Dr. Cole has authored and edited several books on global models and futures scenarios including "Models of Doom: A Critique of the Limits to Growth" and "World Futures - The Great Debate", "Worlds Apart: Technology, Distribution and the International Economy", "The Global Impact of Information Technology", and "Global Models and Futures Studies". He was a member of the Council of the World Futures Studies Federation and is a North American editor of the journal Futures. In 2000 a paper "Dare to Dream: Bringing Futures into Planning" was part of a symposium that won the best paper of the year award from the American Planning Association.
Professor Cole has been a consultant to several international agencies including the European Commission, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, the UNDP African National Long Term Perspectives Studies Project, the UN Commission on Culture and Development, and prepared an Economic Development Plan for the Caribbean island of Aruba. He has worked with the UNDP/World Bank Project in China on Sustainable Development for the Yellow River Delta.
During the summer of 1999, Dr. Cole and two students from the Planning Program assisted the Statistics Department in Aruba in developing a GIS system for the Island's Year 2000 Census of Population. He has recently been involved with the evaluation of the Niagara Mohawk Power Choice proposals for New York State, assessing the impact of a Cruise Ship Care facility in the Bahamas, and a socio-economic analysis of the role of the Niagara Falls Power Project in the development of Western New York.
In Spring 2000, Professor Cole worked with the Center for Urban Studies to develop economic impact models for inner-city communities. In a subsequent project, he worked with Professor Henry Taylor on a project entitled Utilizing Tax Increment Financing to Revitalize a Heritage Neighborhood which won the Fannie Mae/American Collegiate Schools of Planning Award for the best practice-oriented paper.
In 2002-2003 Sam Cole and Victoria Razak, on sabbatical in Aruba, were invited to prepare a framework for sustainable tourism for the island and this was presented, during 2003-4, at several venues in Aruba and elsewhere.
Since returning from Aruba, Dr. Cole has led tourism planning studios in the Southern Tier of Western New York and in 2005 his students won the coveted APA Carole Bloom Award. He is currently working on theories of chaos and complexity in tourist destinations as an aspect of globalization.
Linda Greenough McGlynn, M.S.W, Ph.D.
Linda Greenough McGlynn received her M.S.W. and Ph.D. from the School of Social Welfare, State University of New York at Albany. Twenty-five years of clinical work has been devoted to both community and school related services; developing and implementing programs for vulnerable children, youth, and families. These have included health-social services and positive youth development opportunities, many working within the context of reducing risk and increasing resiliency and protection for minority and immigrant children and families. The emphasis of her most recent work has been on globalization’s effects on child well being and educational equity, most particularly for vulnerable populations.
She is committed to a participatory action research approach and is the author of the book, The Power of the Student-Teacher Connection (VDM Publishing, Fall, 2008), as well as book reviews and articles on education, democracy and immigrant populations.
Dr. Kelly Patterson
Kelly Patterson is a Senior Research Associate in the Center for Urban Studies and an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo. Her research and teaching focuses on housing policy, neighborhood revitalization and community development. She has published a book chapters and journal articles on these topics. For more information on Dr. Patterson please visit: http://www.socialwork.buffalo.edu/research/staff/detail_page.asp
Dong-Ho Shin, Professor
Dr Dong-Ho Shin is a Professor of Regional Planning at Department of Urban and Real Estate Studies, Hannam University, Daejeon, Korea. Dr Shin has focused his research on the governance of revitalizing old industrial cities, regional innovative systems, and cultural industries in Korea and other countries. He has published many book chapters and journal articles both in English and in Korean, including “From Daedeok to Teheran-ro: the Genesis and Development of New Industrial Spaces in South Korea,” in S. Prasad and C. Ramachandraiah (eds.), Dynamics of High-Tech Urban Spaces: Asian European Perspectives. New Delhi: Manohar Publications (2008, with Robert Hassink) and "Governing Inter-regional Conflicts: the Planning Approach to Managing Spill-overs of Extended Metropolitan Pusan, Korea," Environment and Planning A (2000). Dr Shin has been active in advising the national government and the Metropolitan City of Daejeon in Korea and participating as a member of the Evaluation Committee of the Korean Presidential Committee on Policy Planning. He was a Fulbright Scholar at SUNY Buffalo in 2007 and a Visiting International Professor at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. He currently is conducting research on regional innovation and urban revitalization in Korea and the Niagara Regions of the US and Canada. He received his doctoral degree from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, in 1994.
Victoria Razak, Ph.D
Since graduation, she has taught at Niagara County Community College, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Brockport, The Center for the Americas, UB; as Assistant Visiting Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Studies, UB; and now in American Studies, UB. Victoria is also a Research Associate of the University of Aruba, and the Center for Urban Studies, UB. Her teaching at the graduate and undergraduate level includes Qualitative Research Methods; Immigrant Settlement Patterns and Ethnic Urban Enclaves; Fieldwork in Urban Cultures; Cultural Anthropology, World Civilizations; and Visual Anthropology. Her principal research interests include Caribbean identity politics and migrant communities; indigenous music and carnival in Aruba; and cultural heritage tourism.
Recent publications include (books and book chapters): “Carnival in Aruba: A Feast of Yourself ” In Trinidad Carnival: The Cultural Politics of a Transnational Festival. Garth L. Green and Philip W. Scher, eds. Indiana University Press, 2007; Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. In Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Vol.3 Caribbean and Latin America. Part 1, Caribbean. John Shepherd, David Horn and Dave Laing, eds. London and New York: Continuum Publishing, 2005; “From the Canvas to the Field: Envisioning the Future of Culture”. In The Views of Futurists: Vision and Methods, Vol. 4. Melbourne: Foresight International, 2001; Carnival in Aruba, Cenda Publishing, 1998. (Refereed papers): “From Culture Areas to Ethnoscapes: An Application to Tourism Development”. Journal of Regional Studies, 2008, 37(3):199-212. (Edited Journals): Editor, “Can Indigenous Cultures Survive the Future?” Futures, 2003, 35:907-915 London: Elsevier; Editor, “Essays in Anticipatory Anthropology”, Futures, 2000, 32(8):717-727, London: Elsevier. In preparation: (books) Road on Fire: Players, Critics, and Rivals in Aruba's Carnival; In our own terms: Building Native in Aruba. (paper) Patinas, Pragmatics and Paramount: A Procession Model of Hybrid Native Identity.
Fellows
Dr. Henry J. Durand, Ed.D., Senior Associate Vice Provost, Undergraduate Education, Center For Academic Development Services
Dr. Henry J. Durand serves as the Senior Associate Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education and the Executive Director of the Center for Academic Development Services (CADS) at the State University of New York at Buffalo. About 17% of UB's undergraduates are admitted or supported academically through one of the 11 CADS programs.
CADS functions as a small unit within the University, and includes the Cora P. Maloney Residential College, the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), the Academic Challenge and Enrichment Individualized Admissions Program (ACE), the McNair and SSS TRIO programs, public service and service learning internship courses (PSIP), three programs promoting undergraduate research and creative experiences, the Daniel Acker Minority Honors Program, the CADS Tutoring Program, Cads Mentoring Program, and the University's Residential Summer Bridge Program.
Professor Durand is a member of the Graduate Faculty of the University at Buffalo, a UB Senator on the SUNY Faculty Senate and a member of the UB Faculty Senate Executive Committee. He teaches as an Adjunct Associate Professor for the Graduate School of Education. His course offerings include the quantitative research core courses: Statistical Methods In Educational Research, Survey Research Methods and Statistical Analysis Using SPSS. His discipline is Educational Sociology and he also teaches classes in American Pluralism, Education and Social Class, African American Students In Higher Education, Race and Ethnic Relations and related subjects.
He is the President of the Tri-State Consortium of Opportunity Programs, the Professional Organization for professional personnel of nearly 200 College Opportunity Programs in the states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. He is a founding member of Opportunity Programs United, the joint advocacy organization for NYS Opportunity Programs.
Dr. Durand has received the SUNY wide Chancellor's Award for Professional Excellence. He has been cited as a distinguished alumnus of Denison University. He has also been listed by Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who in Black America, and Who's Who in Training and Development.
He holds a B.A. from Denison University, M.Ed. from Xavier University of Cincinnati, the Doctorate from the University of Cincinnati, and is a graduate of the Harvard Management Development Institute.
James W. Pitts is the President of J. W. Pitts Planning & Development LLC
Mr. Pitts is a professional urban planner with a successful track record for completing many community projects. As the former President of the City of Buffalo's Common Council, his involvement and leadership were instrumental in planning and developing major projects throughout the City of Buffalo. These projects include the redevelopment of abandoned and obsolete public housing, the revitalization of central city neighborhoods, historic preservation, brownfield remediation, and downtown and waterfront redevelopment. Many of these projects, such as Ellicott Town Center, the Pratt-Willert Revitalization Plan, and the King Center Charter School, have received national awards of excellence.
As the former Executive Director of Norstar Development USA L.P., Mr. Pitts has been instrumental in successfully redeveloping difficult housing projects in both the Cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls. The first phases for the redevelopment of Shoreline Apartments and A.D. Price Courts in the City of Buffalo have been started this year, and in the City of Niagara Falls, the construction of the new Cornerstone Village has replaced Unity Park in the Highland Community. Cornerstone Village replaces 198 abandoned and hazardous units and is the first new affordable housing built in the area in 35 years.
Mr. Pitts was also instrumental in the approval of the Hope VI funding for the redevelopment of the Niagara Falls Housing Authority's Center Court project. This development of new affordable rental and homeownership housing represents $80 million of economic opportunity for the community over the next 5 years.
Mr. Pitts' current project involves brownfield strategic planning for revitalizing the Highland Avenue Community. This study is in partnership with the Center for Urban Studies of the University at Buffalo and Urban Strategies Inc. of Toronto, Canada. A new waterfront hotel, inner city business incubator, and a new environmental development company in the City of Buffalo are proposed. Mr. Pitts is also a development consultant to a number of private commercial and residential investors.
Mr. Pitts has a Master of Urban and Regional Planning Degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and has been an adjunct assistant professor in both the School of Architecture and Planning and the African American Studies Department. He has received numerous awards and honors, some of which include, the Stone of Hope Award, Carrier of the Torch Award, Black Achievers Award of Excellence, the Buffalo News Citizen of the Year and the N.A.A.C.P. Outstanding Community Services Award.
Sabina Ramsey, MA.
Sabina Ramsey is the owner of Insight International USA, an IT company that specializes in user research, usability testing and user centric web design. She has a Masters in Sociology and a Degree in Business Communications. She works with an array of clients, from other IT businesses and marketing firms, to universities and national authors.
Currently, Sabina Ramsey, is managing the websites for the Center of Urban Studies. In addition to her work at the center, she also works with GlobeMoms, a project that aims to connect mothers around the world.
[ top ]
