News Release
June 28, 2002
            
Contact:
Mike Andrei
Director-College Relations
(716) 839-8472
            


Daemen Names Dr. Richard S. Knaub Executive Director
of Daemen College Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement
Daemen College Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Edwin Clausen has announced that Dr. Richard S. Knaub has been named director of the College’s new Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement. Dr. Knaub was most recently director of the Natural Resource Program at Colorado Northwestern Community College, where his responsibilities included curriculum development, development of community outreach, and development of strong working relationships with private, government, and non-profit organizations. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. from Clemson University; his bachelor's degree is from Colorado State University.

As director of the Daemen College Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement, Dr Knaub will be responsible for curriculum development; initiating and managing community outreach programs associated with the Center; promoting applied research through a faculty-student think tank and publishing the findings through an occasional paper series; creating and maintaining a clear curricular and community based link between sustainability and civic responsibility through the Center; and grant writing in subject areas covered by the Center.

Supported by a $600,000 grant from The John R. Oishei Foundation, the Daemen Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement links the core curriculum of the College, liberal education, and civic engagement with the development of practical skills. By linking service learning with the curriculum, the goal of the Center is to prepare students to address problems that impede the development of strong, sustainable communities and neighborhoods – globally and in Western New York. The first center of community excellence is being developed in the Seneca Babcock neighborhood in Buffalo, to meet pressing needs in that community. Working in collaboration with the Seneca Babcock Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs, Teen Haven, and Seneca Street Methodist Church for two years, nearly 100 Daemen College students and faculty from the Departments of Social Work, Education, and Physician Assistant have been providing needed services to neighborhood residents. These services include health care screenings, tutoring, reading programs, and introductory computer skills. The College expects to expand the program this fall.