The Daily Bulletin

Joy Guarino, M.F.A., will retire from Buffalo State as of December 31, 2024, after 20 years of service to our academic community. As director of the Maurene Callahan Bouras Center for Global Engagement, Joy committed to expanding internationalization of Buffalo State's campus and coordinated experiences that brought creative curricula and engaging opportunities to benefit faculty, staff, students, and local, national, and international community organizations with the goal of forming meaningful collaborations. Prior to taking on this role, Professor Guarino served as the coordinator of the dance program in the Theater Department and faculty coordinator of service-learning in the Civic and Community Engagement Office. She impressed upon her students that a culture’s values are embodied in its dance forms and guided them to embrace dance as a conduit to cultural humility and an empathetic global perspective. Joy continues to lead international experiences as a pathway to global awareness, civic engagement, and mutual respect. She presents and publishes on kinesthetic learning, global learning for all, service-learning, civic engagement, and developing students as active citizens nationally and internationally. Please join me in thanking Joy for all her outstanding work at Buffalo State and in wishing her well in retirement.

Staffing Update
Following Professor Guarino’s retirement, Brandon Kawa, M.S., will serve as interim director of global engagement until a new director can be identified. In that office, Brandon will build on his nearly two decades of experience in international education. Brandon earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Buffalo State, as well as a certificate of specialization in leadership and management from Harvard Business School Online. Brandon’s expertise has been featured at domestic and international conferences, and he also has published work on the transformative nature of study-abroad for pre- and in-service teachers. Brandon has been actively involved in the IPDS trips to Germany, Colombia, and Chile, and he has recently helped to establish a new IPDS Kenya trip. Brandon has served as the director of the International Graduate Programs in Education (IGPE) since 2021, a role he will continue while serving as interim director of global engagement. Brandon’s extensive experience, collaborative approach, and dedication to advancing international education will ensure continuity and growth during this transitional period.