New Christmann Scholars Program offers support for tomorrow’s educational leaders

Buffalo State is known for training tomorrow’s teachers—but its program offerings aren’t limited to those who stand in front of the classroom. The university’s Christmann Family Educational Leadership Program provides students with support to pursue building and district leadership roles in education by preparing them for the rigors of educational leadership. Beginning in fall 2026, all candidates accepted to the Educational Leadership program via a professional review process will be designated Christmann Scholars who will receive scholarship support for six free graduate credits. 

The Christmann Scholars program was developed by Robert Christmann, ’75, ’76, former superintendent and current lecturer for the Educational Leadership program; his wife Karen, ’77, a retired special education teacher; his sister Kathy, a recently retired Phoenix Arizona corporate attorney for a health services corporation; Christmann’s late father, Charles, ’46, a former school principal; and his cousin, a retired superintendent and fellow Buffalo State alumnus, demonstrating the family’s legacy of leadership in the field of education. 

“My family wanted to make a positive influence on those earning their New York State educational leadership certification,” Christmann said. “Good leaders are hard to find, and the premier place to earn that certificate in Western New York is Buffalo State University. With assistance from the BSU Foundation, the Christmann Scholars program was created. University costs continue to rise, and we believe that these scholarships will assist those candidates seeking their administrative certificates to achieve a better level of affordability. Through the high standards for the candidates, it is anticipated that our very best future administrators will join the Buffalo State family. We believe our past and current graduates to be the best prepared in Western New York. Expanding our number of students, encouraged by the scholarships, will enhance filling the leadership vacuum.”

“The foundation is pleased to help Bob and the School of Education realize their vision for this important and impactful program, a true asset in Western New York,” said Judy Elliott, board chair for the BSU Foundation.

Buffalo State’s educational leadership programs are taught by a faculty of accomplished practitioners who are currently in or have been in school or school district leadership positions that are currently experienced by teachers and administrators in today’s schools. Classes have a practical focus, digging into leadership topics and situations that are currently experienced by teachers and administrators in today’s schools. Faculty guide students to reach their leadership goals while they are studying together across the boundaries of school districts. Christmann and Fran Paskowitz, former Ken-Ton principal, mentor candidates during and beyond their time in the program to provide support when graduates successfully obtain leadership positions.

“Buffalo State prepares educators and educational leaders for all of the stages of schooling from those who work with our youngest children to the leaders of our schools and school districts,” said Wendy Paterson, dean of the School of Education and Applied Professions.  “We are inextricably connected to schools in our global communities, and we listen closely their needs, building and modifying our programs accordingly. Today’s school districts are faced with persistent teacher and leader shortages that often leave classrooms unattended and school buildings in search of immediate leadership. It is our mission to nurture both the new teachers we will send, already highly skilled, into their schools and our responsibility to find and grow insightful, responsible, visionary leaders for those schools.”

Buffalo State's educational leadership classes are taught predominantly in person, an aspect faculty members consider the program’s greatest strength. 

“As working with children, adolescents, families and teachers is a high-touch people profession, our educational leadership faculty strongly advocate for in-person coursework where a free exchange of ideas and collaborative discussions of critical issues may be co-constructed,” Paterson said. “This provides a much different experience than checking off the competencies of certification.” 

Added Christmann, “Our in-person courses encourage dialogue and a critically important background in dealing with critical issues in a realistic, practical approach.”

Students enrolled in Buffalo State’s Educational Leadership programs benefit from unique features like:

• Mentorship: Each student is also assigned a mentor, a veteran school administrator who provides support, encouragement, guidance, and leadership opportunities.
• Franklin Covey Workshops: These experiences help leaders learn how to mobilize the talent and energy of their people to solve challenging problems and pursue promising opportunities.
• Creative Studies: Courses from the Creativity and Change Leadership Department, which has researched and taught creativity and change leadership for more than half a century, nurture the capacity to excel in leadership positions that require creative thinking, problem-solving, and creative leadership.

The Christmann Family Educational Leadership programs at Buffalo State include programs leading to professional administrator certification (school building and schools district), school business leadership, and—the most recent addition—The Aspiring Superintendents Program (TAS), a leadership academy conceived by Christmann. TAS consists of a series of workshops and leadership experiences that cover key areas of effective superintendency, including board relations, district finance, decision-making, and community engagement, with strong emphasis on cultural competency.

Paterson said that Christmann envisioned a professional development opportunity where school leaders of every tier—principals, central office leadership, teachers who wished to aspire to superintendency—would get a chance to learn from current or retired superintendents about more than just the business of the job.

“While we have a lot of educators who are already certified as principals and members of district office teams, the job of superintendent is becoming increasingly more challenging,” Paterson said. “The Aspiring Superintendents program is an opportunity for participants to explore together with the guidance of accomplished district leaders, how the leadership qualities and experiences that they bring, the gifts they already have, and the challenges that they would face if they were to take the top leadership role in a school district.”

TAS is taught by Jon MacSwan, a Buffalo State alumnus who recently retired from superintendency at Cleveland Hill Union Free School District after serving a14-year tenure, who will also serve as internship supervisor for Christmann Scholars. 

“The Christmann family believes in the importance of creating the best school building and district leaders possible,” said Christmann. “We are proud to financially support the efforts of Buffalo State University to this end.”

Pictured: Karen, Bob, and Kathy Christmann with Robert Zak (left) of the Buffalo State Council and former president Katherine Conway Turner at the 2022 Christmann naming ceremony.

Photo by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.