Major Coleman finds a way to incorporate his own life experiences and research on affirmative action into spirited classroom discussions. His goal is always to prod, challenge and intrigue those gathered before him.

The dynamic assistant professor of political science, who joined the UB faculty in the fall of 1994, has done extensive research on the financial and economic impacts of affirmative action. He has devoted his career to disputing the popular notions that affirmative action is costly and that it-more often than not-results in the hiring of unqualified workers.

A native of "a suburban ghetto" in New York's Suffolk County, Coleman says his interest in affirmative action is based strongly on his upbringing.

"I am a product of civil rights," he explains. "Every position I've had has come to me as a result of the civil rights movement."

"I loved Dr. Coleman's course," says Tricia Kerney, a student in Coleman's African American Politics class in the spring of 1995; she has since completed her first year of graduate study in the field. "He incorporated his life experiences into his coursework and in doing so, allowed us to get a better feel for what we were studying and for how race relations affect the politics of government in this country."

Coleman, 43, learned about racial inequality at a tender age, when, he says, he was denied admission to the private high school of his choice-despite a high academic average-because he was African American. After graduating from the Greater New York Academy, he attended college and law school at the University of Maryland, partially on programs that came out of the civil rights movement.

Working as an attorney and advisor to the Department of the Army, Coleman developed "an interest in the political aspects of the law." By 1983, he was in Washington, D.C., where he served as assistant counsel at the Department of Defense. This experience led to his academic career. "I saw members of Congress in action and was impressed by how they managed themselves and their power," he explained. "I realized that if I was going to be great, I had to do something I really loved, because many members of Congress loved their work. My life had been shaped by issues of race and the civil rights movement. I went back to school to learn more." He left Washington for the University of Chicago, earning his Ph.D. in 1993.

Today, Coleman assists African American students as they foster their academic careers through such avenues as the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, for which he serves as a mentor. The national program honors the African American astronaut who was among those killed in the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. Tameeka Francis, a May 1996 UB graduate, asked Coleman to be her advisor in the McNair program after hearing him speak to her American Pluralism class.

"He's very dynamic and excited about his topic," said Francis. "He makes me excited and draws me into the topic because it's so relevant to what I am. As an advisor, he forced me to read books I otherwise would not have read. He helped me prepare for graduate school, as well as opened my eyes to affirmative action issues."

In his doctoral dissertation, Coleman argued that affirmative action is liberal and individualistic, and necessarily results in the hiring of qualified individuals only. To further build on his theme, he conducted an intensive study of 100 businesses in Chicago, dissecting their racial makeup and productivity and determining that whether a firm has a high or low percentage of minority employees, "you cannot predict which firm will be a high performer." Coleman's research in this area was the subject of a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

As he continues to push at the frontiers of affirmative action research, Coleman remains as enthusiastic about his work in the classroom as his students are about him.

"My finest hours as a teacher," Coleman says, "have been in dealing with students who do not understand the fundamental nature of inequality in America and who are steeped in American culture." He cites the example of a student who "fought with me all semester long about theories of inequality. Through a series of classroom sessions and lunches, this student came to accept that people are not inherently unequal."

This important lesson summarizes the lifework and teaching philosophy of Major Coleman, who currently is "hot on the trail" of publishing the results of his University of Chicago research. He notes that he was drawn to UB because of the strength of the political science department, especially in the areas of race and public law, and because "they appreciated my approach to the social sciences."

As do his protegés-they leave his classroom with knowledge, insight, and, as expressed by Tricia Kerney, the ability "to really follow my dreams, to be adamant about that and to stay really focused."

What more can any student ask?