Unique Ways Buffalo State’s Africana Studies Program Is Engaging—and Retaining—Students

Engaging students in the Buffalo State community helps maintain their commitment to the university while offering opportunities for learning, development, and relationship building. As a relatively new major, Buffalo State's Africana studies program has prioritized student engagement and retention-and it's working.

Although Africana studies was declared a major in 2019, there were no enrolled students until fall 2021. Now, the program boasts 15 majors and 15 minors, an increase largely due to intentional engagement efforts, said Marcus Watson, associate professor and unit coordinator.

"The Africana spirit is healing through community and linkages," Watson said. "We have an understanding that these things help create a meaningful experience, which helps retain students and helps them perform better."

Here are some of the ways Africana studies is creating and maintaining community:

Creation of the Africana Studies Student Lounge
Africana studies is an interdisciplinary unit, which means its unique courses are taught by faculty members from multiple departments, including Criminal Justice; Education; English; Fashion and Textile Technology; History and Social Studies Education; Philosophy; Political Science, Public Administration, and Planning; Sociology; and Theater. As such, there was no Africana studies building or dedicated space for Africana studies students to congregate, study, or spend time together outside of class.

"Post-COVID, post-George Floyd, students felt alienated," Watson said. "And if you were an early major in Africana studies, you kind of felt further alienated because there was no department; there was no place to be."

Amitra Wall, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, recognized this need, Watson said, and was instrumental in finding a space for Africana studies majors and minors. Bacon Hall 222 became the Africana Studies Community Lounge, complete with comfortable seating, workspace, a coffee maker, and more. An access code is provided to majors and minors.

"Students use it," Watson said. "They chill out, study, have meetings."

"Not only are the classes enlightening, but the environment plays a big part in my love for my major," said Makhia Laster, a junior Africana studies major. "The faculty and students cultivate a safe and welcoming environment where we can depend on one another, share knowledge, and bring ideas together."

Marcus D. Watson, Ph.D.

Hosting Monthly Faculty Mentoring Sessions
When Watson took over as coordinator in fall 2023, he established multiple subcommittees to strengthen and enhance the program.

One of these was a mentoring subcommittee, born from "a need for students to have someone to talk to about things," Watson said. The committee, run by Holly Quicksey, director of transfer advising, and Keith Fulcher, director of individualized studies, met monthly-often with food and beverages-and provided space for students to talk with faculty members.

"There was a loose agenda, but it was mostly a place to see each other," Watson said. "We talked about everything from how to handle finances to how to respond to police. We want students to know we know they exist, and that they're cared for."

"Africana studies has displayed a quality of learning that is not only an amplification of but also directly correlated with my life," said Alyja Giscombe, a senior Africana studies major. "The two are inseparable, not simply because of my roots, but due to the ways faculty show up for their students. I've found that those connections have fostered a healthier learning environment."

Promoting Ongoing Peer Relationships
In addition to offering relationships with faculty members, the Africana studies program provides opportunities for students to mentor each other through a Bigs and Littles peer mentorship program. Veteran majors (Bigs) are paired with incoming majors (Littles) for a year to provide each other with company and guidance on courses to take, study strategies, events, résumé-building, and more.

"If there's an event, they can go together. They can celebrate one another's birthdays," Watson said. "One person has the rewards of mentoring and giving; another feels they're cared for."

Watson and his team also ensured that affordable activities were available.

"The Big is supposed to sometimes 'spoil' the Little," he said, "but we didn't want to assume our students could do this, so we asked members of the Buffalo State community if they could help."

Now, Campus House management provides vouchers to the Bigs to be able to take Littles for a meal, and Chartwells developed a coupon system where once a semester, Bigs can take Littles for a meal in the Bengal Kitchen and it will be charged to the Africana studies foundation account, which is funded by individual donations, many of which have come from the Buffalo State community.

"The Bigs and Littles program is rooted toward the advancement of incoming students with the guidance of those who've been here," said Giscombe, who currently serves as a Big. "It has been and will be a program of grand exchange in the process of learning more about the ways we can guide them through continuous interactions."

Building a Learning Community
Beginning in fall 2024, Africana studies will host its first incoming student learning community comprising first-semester students with similar interests. While students do not have to be Africana studies majors, they must be enrolled in AAS 100: Introduction to Africana Studies and PHI 102: Introduction to Ethics for the fall, and DAN 234: Politics of Black Dance in America and ENG 241: African American Literature since 1940 for the spring.

Watson and Quicksey worked together to reserve 25 beds in Bishop Hall for the learning community. Throughout the fall semester, learning community members will attend Integrated Hour sessions once a week, where they will meet as a cohort for designed programming, including presentations from Africana studies faculty members and community partners such as the Community Health Center of Buffalo and Hutchinson Central Technical High School.

While the learning community lasts only for the first year, Watson said, the hope is that students form relationships that endure for the entirety of their time at Buffalo State.

"We want to recruit majors," Watson said, "but we also want to generally recruit students to Buffalo State, create community, and retain and graduate these students."

Establishing a Study-Abroad Program
Years of ongoing collaboration between Africana studies and the Fashion and Textile Technology (FTT) Department have now culminated in a study-abroad program to Ghana. Watson is co-leading the initiative with FTT lecturer Erin Habes and FTT assistant professor Shantell M. Reid.

"We are trying to give Africana studies students and FTT students a real-world living and learning experience," Watson said.

Details are still being finalized, but the program is set to begin in January 2025.

"These are not add-ons," Watson said of Africana studies' engagement efforts. "Profoundly respecting, welcoming, and learning from the experiences and knowledge of the youth are foundational principles of the Africana studies discipline. It is our disciplinary essence to be in dynamic, mutually enriching engagement with our students. We feel in our spirits we have to reach these students."

"Africana studies has shown me the beauty of community," Laster said. "I truly feel that the people I have met in Africana studies will be a part of my life and journey even beyond Buffalo State."

Photos by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.