The addition of a satellite campus in Buffalo is one of the hanges that have happened recently at Houghton. This campus provides an opportunity to receive a 2-year Associate of the Arts Degree through Houghton College. Upon graduation, students are granted automatic admission into the bachelor’s program at Houghton’s main campus, should they choose to accept.
Currently, there are 17 students enrolled, representing five different areas of the world. Several of the students are refugees who have been living in Buffalo for less than six years, from places like Burma, Thailand, Congo, and elsewhere, according to Dean of Extension Studies, Scott McClelland. Many of these students are first generation students who are learning English during their pursuit of higher education.
Both Houghton’s Buffalo program and Houghton itself, McClelland says, were created as a means to provide an education about the broader world in a Christian environment. McClelland quoted the mission of Houghton Buffalo as “…providing our educational distinctive to students who are economically diverse.”
This education being provided is as diverse as the students themselves. According to Houghton Buffalo’s page on the Houghton College website, courses are offered in fine arts, theology, mathematics, and others, all in Buffalo. These courses are taught by a combination of current full-time professors, and local Adjunct professors who are familiar with the Buffalo area.
In addition to professors, there are other Houghton members and alumni assisting in the start of program. Director of CASA, Mark Hunter works closely with the students to help them with their English vocabulary skills, while professor Laurie Dashnau offers the services of the Writing Center to Buffalo students on Fridays. Three recent Houghton alumni, Amanda Wojcinksi, Elizabeth Wallace, and Roxanne Kehr also provide daily tutoring sessions through the AmeriCorps program. Programs such as tutoring sessions and other programs help the students transition into their new life as they move between two cultural contexts every day.
The Buffalo area, particularly within church populations, has already recognized Houghton as a college community for providing tutoring services and service learning opportunities in the region. With the development of the new Houghton Buffalo program, members of the Buffalo community have an opportunity to be reached in a way they have not experienced before. McClelland says, “Now we have become neighbors, with an educational site to help urban students as Houghton students. The difference is huge.”
The program also looks to make sure that Houghton Buffalo students aware they are part of a larger college community in addition to the Buffalo community. Students will be making three trips to Houghton’s main campus this semester, where one of the courses is being taught. Looking toward the future, McClelland also says that he hopes to establish some sort of video conferencing to help tie the colleges together.
Video conferencing is just one of the ways that McClelland hopes to integrate the two campuses in the future. As Buffalo students come to Houghton to be a part of the larger community, McClelland would like Houghton students to know that they have an opportunity to be part of the revival in Buffalo as well by participating in the semester at Buffalo program that the college offers.