What to Know about SUNY Niagara Professor Matthew Chandler

By Taryn Kelly

If you’re a communication studies student or a digital media student, there is a good chance you will have Matthew Chandler as a professor. He has taught classes such as Public Relations, Writing for the Media, and Intro to Media Communications. So, here are a few things to know about him before you possibly have him as a professor.

One of the things to know about Matt is that he attended SUNY Niagara as a student! He has been teaching here for two years, and he teaches at Buffalo State University as well. When asked why he wanted to teach at SUNY Niagara, “I loved this campus” adding that he thought “if I get to the point of teaching this is the kind of place that I would love to teach.”

He has always enjoyed the concept of teaching, and he thinks that teaching is fun. He says that “it’s nice to get out among young people and teach and share with the next generation of people who’d be doing what I’m doing.” He also believes that the job fits well for him since he teaches his students almost everything, he does during his day job.

One of his favorite aspects of teaching is that he feels as if almost every semester there is atleast one student who is engaged. He says that “when you connect with a student and feel like whether you inspire them or you gave them confidence in themselves that they could succeed and do the class is an amazing feeling.”

Another thing to know about Matt is that he is also the Director of Marketing and Business Development at Gross Shuman P.C., an attorney in Buffalo. One of his favorite things about working at the law firm is getting to experience a lot of different things. In his career, he has done work for lawyers, doctors, organizations, and nonprofits.

However, another favorite aspect of his is when he can make a difference. A story that really stuck out to him happened when his daughter was sick in the hospital. There was a young kid named DJ who was calming him down and was telling him “don’t worry, she’s going to be okay.” Matt added that “when I left there I thought ‘there’s something I gotta do for this kid’”. 

So, Matt was able to contact Buffalo Sabres player Patrick Kaleta for a nice night that involved a limo and a dinner in the city. This night also included tickets to Sabres game, which DJ was able to go into the locker room and meet the team. Matt says that “it was a chance where doing PR had a chance to make a huge difference in this kid’s life.”

One more thing there is to know about Matt is that he is also a children’s book author and freelance writer. He wrote his first book at 6 years old in first grade titled ‘The Fox and The Rabbit’. Even at 6 years old, he knew that he wanted to write books. Matt says, “I just knew I was hooked, I was like ‘someday I want to become a writer’”.

So, when a newspaper opened in 1995 in his hometown of New Hampshire, he sent a letter to the editor saying he wants to become a writer. Even with no experience, he was hired, and he learned how to write. He wrote newspapers and magazines for about 10 years, then later published his first book in 2010. He recently finished his 92nd children’s book, and he has written 11 books in the last year that will be coming out in 2026 and 2027.

When asked about how he balances between everything, he says that he doesn’t get much sleep, but he also tries being as organized as he can. Even though it’s hard for him to balance everything, he says that “I’m also lucky as I work at a great place where they know that I do this … but they support me as I come out in the community and do this.”