Cornell researcher Kristin Ksiazek has been selected for a 2026-27 SUNY fellowship supporting civic education and civil discourse. She is one of 12 fellows chosen from nearly 200 applications across the SUNY system.
Ksiazek, a civic researcher and High Road Program coordinator at Cornell University’s ILR Buffalo Co-Lab, was selected after multiple rounds of review, according to the ILR School’s announcement.
The SUNY Civil Discourse and Civic Education and Engagement Fellows Program is in its third year. It supports the SUNY General Education Framework and other classroom and campus work related to civic education.
Fellows will develop individual projects, consult with campuses and assist faculty and staff with the fall 2026 implementation of a new Civic Discourse core competency in the framework.
Ksiazek said she hopes to bring together colleagues doing similar work and share resources across the SUNY network. She described civic education as practicing how to listen across differences, ask questions with humility and recognize responsibility for one’s words.
Research and community learning
Ksiazek earned a master’s degree in public administration in 2013. Her published research has examined the social-sector labor market, Indigenous communities in Western New York, workplace ownership models and Black women’s workplace experiences in Buffalo-Niagara.
For the past five years, she has directed High Road Buffalo, an engaged-learning program connecting Cornell and SUNY Buffalo State University undergraduates with community organizations in Western New York.
Her work includes preparing student fellows through a pre-course curriculum and supporting them throughout the eight-week program. She also assists community partners so students and organizations can participate meaningfully in the work.
Buffalo Co-Lab Director Cathy Creighton described Ksiazek as deeply involved in Western New York and committed to students. Creighton said the fellowship offers an opportunity for both Ksiazek and the ILR School as the school continues building its relationship with the SUNY chancellor and system.
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