The Daily Bulletin

On behalf of the division of Finance and Management, I extend my gratitude and best wishes to Kris Kaufman, who will retire from his position as director of maintenance repair and residential planning and officer in charge of facilities on March 17, after 31 years of service to the Buffalo State community. His last day on campus will be Friday, January 27.

Mr. Kaufman holds a bachelor’s degree in public justice from SUNY Oswego and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Buffalo State. He began his career at Buffalo State in the fall of 1992, after working at Clemson University for four years. He progressed through various positions within the Residence Life Office, serving as associate director for facilities and budget, interim director of residence life, and director of housing. In fall 2018, he was named to his current position of director of maintenance repair and residential planning, while also taking on responsibilities as officer in charge of facilities in April 2022 upon the retirement of Steve Shaffer. Mr. Kaufman served as a board member on the statewide SUNY Residence Life and Housing Administrators group for over 10 years, where he was honored with the 2014 Beth Purk Distinguished Service Award. He has also received the Golden Bengal Award for exemplary service to Intercollegiate Athletics, along with the University Police Appreciation Award. 

Mr. Kaufman has served the campus with dedication and has managed many multimillion-dollar wholesale residence hall renovations (Tower 1, 3 and 4; Bishop Hall) while also initiating a multitude of other improvement projects within the other residence hall facilities. In addition, he supervised the maintenance and custodial operations assigned to the residence halls. In his current role, he manages the more than 200 staff assigned to the maintenance trades and custodial operations, while also assisting with numerous committee assignments and managing the daily campus operations to the benefit of all faculty, staff, and students.

Please join us for a celebration of Mr. Kaufman’s many accomplishments at an open house on Tuesday, January 24, from 12:15 to 2:15 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 418. RSVP by email by Thursday, January 19.

We also extend our gratitude to Cheryl Byer, director of campus business operations, who has agreed to assume the role of officer in charge of facilities upon Mr. Kaufman’s departure. Information about the search for Buffalo State’s next facilities leader will be announced at a later date.