Bold means a billion.

The Campaign for UB

Boldly Buffalo is a road map for the future. It is a commitment to keeping a high-quality UB education accessible to all. And it is our promise to you—our alumni, our students, our faculty and staff, our community and friends—that an investment in UB will pay dividends around the world, for generations to come.

Our Goal is $1 Billion and Beyond

Thanks to you, donors and friends, the Boldly Buffalo campaign has surpassed its bold one billion-dollar goal a year ahead of schedule.  Your generosity, your support, your enthusiasm and your excitement can be felt by every student in every corner of campus, in the labs, libraries, and playing fields where they learn and compete, and by the citizens of Western New York and beyond.

Bold is Forever

The Campaign Ends on June 30, 2024

While already the largest comprehensive campaign in SUNY history, bold alumni and friends are still investing critical dollars in support of student success, faculty research and community programs that better lives for neighbors and communities around the world.

By continuing to support Boldly Buffalo, your contributions will continue to change the university and enable its rise in national prominence. There is still time to invest. To be bold. To dream big. To reach even higher. Join more than 39,000 of your fellow alumni and friends and show your support of UB’s future today.

Fueling the future

Since its launch, the Boldly Buffalo campaign has transformed the university and the many communities it serves. From expanding its role as a leader in interdisciplinary education; to amplifying diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; to reviving Buffalo’s vibrant art scene; the Boldly Buffalo campaign enables UB to respond to new challenges and opportunities that arise in higher education and beyond. Extending the campaign to reach one billion dollars, positions UB to enhance our societal relevance and impact for the next 175 years — and well beyond.

Bold Priorities

Raising funds for student support, faculty research and innovative programs that benefit the world, the campaign plays a pivotal role in UB’s aspiration to be in the Top 25 public research universities in the nation within the next decade. As public research universities are increasingly being called upon to solve the most complex issues of our time, it is imperative that UB continues to boldly move forward — that pace of discovery accelerates, that our world-class education is made even more accessible, and that our students are prepared to lead in a rapidly evolving world.

  • Our Students
    10/12/23
    At UB, our students are at the very heart of everything we do. As we take great pride in their extraordinary achievements, we will continue to elevate and support them as they lead the way toward a bolder, brighter future.
  • Our Faculty
    10/12/23
    Every day, our faculty members make progress toward solving some of society’s most complex problems. Now, we will further expand our efforts to recruit and retain exceptional researchers, scholars and teachers.
  • Our World
    10/12/23
    From promoting clean air in Buffalo to documenting vanishing languages in Cameroon, UB’s impact is felt in every neighborhood throughout Western New York, and on every continent around the globe.

We Are Boldly Buffalo

What does it mean to be bold? Being bold means addressing the toughest challenges, while turning hard working student into global leaders year after year. Being bold means donors and alumni supporting and improving every facet of life at UB.

Through the Boldly Buffalo campaign, donors have supported more than 300 new scholarships and fellowships to help make college more affordable for undergraduate and graduate students, with a focus on attracting high-achieving students from diverse backgrounds. Investments in faculty — with 32 newly endowed faculty positions — help advance research and academic output, and elevate the university’s standing among its peers. Campaign gifts also have allowed UB to build or renovate 15 buildings or spaces.

Beyond dollars raised, the campaign has achieved other important objectives, including opportunities for UB graduates to reconnect with each other and the university. Since 2013, more than 95,000 alumni worldwide have engaged with the university through young alumni gatherings, mentorship programs, virtual events and webinars, and new programs like Winter College in Florida and a virtual Alumni Academy.

More than 74,000 alumni, faculty, staff and friends have already raised their hands to support the Boldly Buffalo campaign and the future of the university.

The We Are Boldly Buffalo series reveals the stories of the bold students, faculty, alumni, and friends building our bright future together. Click the portraits below to watch the stories of people like you who are Boldly Buffalo.

  • Untangling the Roots of Bullying
    4/12/21
    Bullying can transform even the best school into a forbidding environment for children who endure classmates’ taunting. The pain can last a lifetime, with hopelessness and powerlessness giving way to depression. Psychologist Jean M. Alberti, PhD ’70, EdM ’62, wants to break the cycle.
  • What legacy do you want to create?
    4/12/21
    That’s the question David Hooper, Class of 2020, asked himself after realizing he was in a negative cycle that began with his father’s death. While he didn’t quite have the answer, he knew one thing: he’d begin to build his new life by earning his bachelor’s degree.
  • Closing the Gap in Dental Health
    8/10/23
    Dental care continues to lie just out of reach for some communities, with roughly 77 million people in the US without dental insurance, including older adults and people with disabilities. Practitioners don't always have to serve all populations, which is why we're boldly training UB students to serve all communities.
  • Paving the Way for Passionate Nurses
    12/13/21
    At UB, we’re doing all we can to address the shortage of health care professionals. We’re preparing students to go out and serve the world with a renewed focus and improving not only research that becomes treatment, but also how people receive care.
  • Advancing Affordable Housing
    2/9/23
    Social impact comes from innovation and at UB, we are committed to fostering that process. By taking a transdisciplinary approach, we can find solutions to some of the most pressing issues in society.
  • Where the Written Word Resonates
    10/26/22
    One of the most-cited authors in the world, James Joyce is the author of epic works, such as Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. At the University at Buffalo, we showcase some of the most valuable printed materials in the world with the James Joyce Collection.

Our Place, Our Way, Our Future

For 175 years, the University at Buffalo has made life better in Western New York and around the world with bold action and an unmatched tenacity. At UB, being bold means solving society's most complex challenges. Helping millions of people around the world accomplish what was thought to be impossible. And fostering more leaders to take the reins of the future. Together, we take pride in our place, celebrate our way, and build our bright future.

Boldly Buffalo: The Campaign for UB is the largest, most ambitious fundraising campaign in university history—a campaign that will transform UB in nearly every way imaginable.

Boldly Buffalo campaign video
Boldly Buffalo: Our Place

Our Place

Buffalo: Our namesake, our heritage, our home. Every place you find a bull, we’ve earned it.

Boldly Buffalo: Our Way

Our Way

UB is more than a place—it's a way of shaping the world. Engaging ideas. And inspiring action.

Boldly Buffalo: Our Future

Our Future

We define our own future. We always have. Now, we’re demanding even more.