"There's all the difference in the world between having something to say, and having to say something."
- John Dewey

   Sharon F. Cramer, Ph.D., a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emerita was a faculty member at SUNY Buffalo State, from 1985 – 2011.  
   Dr. Cramer’s academic career (see below) has been followed by research into the answers people have provided to the question, “What have you figured out about life?”  From 2012-14, she interviewed groups of people (some seniors living independently, some docents serving cultural and historical organizations in western New York), searching for answers to this question.  This research, and the majority of her reflective essays (43 published in the Buffalo News since her retirement in 2011) led to her membership on the Limelight team.   
During her career, she served as an academic leader, in roles that included department chair (1995-1999), Executive Director of a Student Information System team (SABRE) (1999-2004), chair of the College Senate (2007-2010), and chair of the Governance Committee of the SUNY University Faculty Senate (2007-2010). She was an officer, on the Board of Directors, of four professional and/or governance organizations, and received the highest award each of them gives its members.  She served as Parliamentarian for the SUNY University Faculty Senate (UFS) 2011 --2019, and was recognized for her contributions to the UFS with the Chugh Award in 2011, and the “Senator Emerita” award in 2015.
   Dr. Cramer has given over 130 presentations and keynotes in 23 states and two provinces in Canada.    She completed her Ph.D. studies at New York University, earned an M.A.T. degree from Harvard University and a B. A. from Tufts University.   Her publication record includes three academic books (published by Allyn & Bacon, Corwin Press and AACRAO Press), editing two volumes, and co-editing a third, on shared governance (all three published by SUNY Press, two in 2017, one in 2020), 26 scholarly articles, and 9 chapters in academic publications.  Her sustained academic scholarship led to receipt of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, 2017, for career longevity and unwavering excellence in chosen field, from the Marquis Who’s Who Publication Board (given to fewer than 5% of those listed in their Who’s Who publications).  She is listed in Who’s Who in America (2006-present), Who’s Who in American Education (2006-present), and Who’s Who in American Women (2008--present).  Since 2013, she has been a docent for multiple historical organizations in western New York, receiving the Beacon “Tourism Volunteer of the Year” Award in 2015 from Visit Buffalo Niagara for her many contributions to the Richardson Olmsted Complex.