Higgins announces $350,000 for Buffalo State College Art Conservation Program

Congressman Brian Higgins announced Buffalo State’s Patricia H. and Richard E. Garman Art Conservation Department will receive a $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for preservation education and training. The three-year grant extends from 2020-22.

The Garman Art Conservation Department will use the grant to support students studying the conservation of art and cultural heritage in the prestigious graduate program. The SUNY Research Foundation at Buffalo State College accepted the award on behalf of the department.

Higgins, Class of ’85, said, “This federal award recognizes nationally the quality of Buffalo State College’s program and the ability of the Garman Art Conservation Department to produce the next generation of experts in the fields of historic preservation.”

“Our art conservation department has had the incredible fortune of receiving 13 NEH grants over the past three decades in which graduate student fellowship support was either the sole or main purpose of the grant,” Buffalo State President Katherine Conway-Turner said. “The fact that the department was awarded the full amount that it requested this year speaks volumes about the caliber of the faculty, the program, and its graduates. This grant is welcome news as the department kicks off its 50th year celebration this year.”

NEH Chairman Jon Parrish Peede noted NEH grants are highly competitive and involve a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the projects represent the highest level of humanities quality and public engagement.