Democracy & Society

At UB, we know that safe communities, education, stable jobs, health equity and affordable housing are necessities for a balanced, sustainable life. Through our research and collaborations, we are committed to finding solutions that dismantle barriers to achieving homeownership, inequities in food access, and improving transportation and jobs, providing universal health care and creating sustainable communities.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

A true democratic and just society includes opportunity for all. From the classroom to the community—and around the world—UB is making a difference.

Alumni Accomplishments

Faculty Spotlight

The Impact of Your Investment

  • Powerhouse of Indigenous Studies
    8/21/20
    The College of Arts and Sciences has received a $3.174 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in support of a new Department of Indigenous Studies.
  • The gift of a lifetime and a lifetime of commitment
    12/29/22
    When Pamela Davis Heilman and Robert Heilman decided to make a game-changing gift to UB School of Law, it was no snap decision.
  • Nicia Bottini Morales ’25 was named the inaugural recipient of the Professor Teresa A. Miller Memorial Scholarship, which gives preference to talented students from underrepresented minority groups with the desire to champion social justice and civil rights.

New On Campus

  • Town hall highlights progress on PACOR recommendations
    11/22/23

    UB leadership updated the community on the progress that's been made in making UB a more inclusive place to live, learn and work.

  • UB’s VITAL scholars return to campus
    10/18/23

    Program is part of an initiative to increase the number of faculty at UB from traditionally underrepresented populations in North America.

  • UB provides law students with an opportunity to advocate for criminal system reform on behalf of incarcerated individuals and those facing criminal charges in Western New York.

Literacy

Helping seniors recognize online scams. Teaching homeowners how to use power tools. Strengthening democracy by identifying fake political ads. At UB, our students, faculty, staff and alumni are building a stronger society by addressing literacy in many ways.

Literacy at UB—and Beyond

  • New research fund focuses on civic engagement
    11/2/23

    Twelve civic projects have been selected to receive grants of $5,000 in the first year of UB’s new Civic Engagement Research Fund.

  • Criteria matter in censorship decisions, but even more relevant is power. Whose viewpoints are enacted, and whose are ignored? At UB, we’re studying how censorship hinders critical thinking and infringes on readers’ rights.

Health Equity

Disparities in health care cost society countless lives lost—and hundreds of billions of dollars each year in the U.S. alone. From the streets of downtown Buffalo to family farms in South Asia, we’re working every day to eliminate these inequities.

Sustainable Food Initiatives

Portrait of Samina Raja, Architecture and Planning Professor at 345 Breckenridge, Buffalo, NY Photographer: Douglas Levere.

Samina Raja, professor of urban planning, principal investigator of the  (the “Food Lab”), and co-director of UB's Community for Global Health Equity (CGHE), focuses on understanding the role of planning and policy in building sustainable food systems and healthy communities.