Really! When the tourism bureau came out with that tag line it got a lot of poor reviews – but maybe that criticism was premature. There may be some traction in that tag line.
In so many ways Buffalo is real. One of our School of Management distinctives is “real-world learning” and it is real. And Buffalo itself is real, played out in so many ways. The learning and experience MBA, MS and undergrad students get at UB is down-to-earth, practical, and holds real value for them and the organizations they will work with in their careers. The recent Preservation Conference highlighted the architectural wealth that we enjoy here, but also focused on the kind of people we have who take such care to preserve, restore and share the gems we have in the area. I see it even in the care that people in random neighborhoods take in keeping up their homes and yards – that’s missing in a lot of towns and cities in America.
The investment local corporate leaders are willing to make in our students is real too. Many of our Corporate Champions teams this year have spent quality time with presidents and CEOs of the companies they are partnered with. That is real 
insight into the soul of our companies and what makes business real in Western New York. As guests come to spend time with our students they comment on the genuine nature of students’ interest in what they have to share. Corporate recruiters comment that our UB MBA graduates have a real sense of their current and potential roles in organizations – not unrealistic expectations or an inflated sense of self that they see in graduates of some other MBA programs.
I was at an event on Monday where one of the presenters was a native Canadian who has lived and worked in many locations around the world and across North America. She recently became a US citizen and settled in Buffalo because it is a real city where people live real lives. She was struck by the simple fact that when she was in line at a Tim Horton’s, the people in front and back of her were actually talking to each other. “That never happens in cities like New York” and it was indicative of the atmosphere that convinced her that Buffalo was where she wanted to live and work.
You can find a real education, real people, real life in Buffalo – for real!
Dave Frasier, Assistant Dean
I agree! Being an international student studying at UB, I was happily amazed by the warmth of Buffalo people. A smiling ‘Hi’ while jogging around or a friendly waving of hands while crossing a street are good examples of down-to-earth, practical, and real valued culture.