this issue
T i l m o n B r o w n , B A ’ 9 3 | A l a n F r i e d m a n , B FA ’ 7 7 | a l a n W i n s l o w, B A ’ 0 7 | Ma r y C a p p e l l o , P h D ’ 8 8
Fa l l 2 0 1 1
Satish K. Tripathi takes charge with ambitious plans to expand UB’s impact downtown and around the globe
Bold New Vision Inaugural Commemorative Supplement captures celebration and investiture of UB’s 15th president
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Will UB Mine? Adam and Danielle Coats embrace on the 50-yard line in UB Stadium following their wedding June 4. The couple met and fell in love at UB, and chose an iconic UB setting for this postnuptial photograph. She is a student activities coordinator for the Office of Student Life and he is general manager of Putnam’s Dining Center in the Student Union. One can almost hear the imagined crowd roar in approval. Photo by Steve Morse
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a publication of the universit y at buffalo
alumni association
On the Cover: Satish K. Tripathi in front of A Photo of UBKaleida Health clinical Care and Research Building Photos by Douglas Levere, BA ’89
Fa l l 2 0 1 1
Man of the moment
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Satish K. Tripathi is “excited and humbled” to lead UB at a pivotal moment in its long and storied history
Monumental gift 18 Historic donation to UB’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences will have a profound impact with the hiring of top faculty
UBtoday c o m m e m o r at i v e section
Presidential inauguration and investiture 19 Highlights of UB’s weeklong celebration of a new presidency and a new era
Building influence 30 Despina Stratigakos explores the history of women in architecture, from turn-of-the century Berlin to “Architect Barbie”
D e pa r t m e n t s
Seen Read Heard
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Legacy of 9/11 36
sportform
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From curriculum to research priorities to attitudes toward personal safety, UB has changed significantly in the past decade
Alumni News
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In my opinion
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Shortform
alumni profiles
icon legend
Tilmon Brown, BA ’93 & BS ’93 Baker and entrepreneur
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Alan Friedman, BFA ’77
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Environmental explorer
Mary Cappello, PhD ’88 & MA ’85 Author of a most unusual book
More content online More photos online
Celestial photographer
Alan Winslow, BA ’07
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Video/multimedia online Alumni Association member UB websites
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www.buffalo.edu/UBT www.alumni.buffalo.edu www.buffalo.edu social media channels www.facebook.com/universityatbuffalo ?sk=app_6009294086
R e achi ng ot he r s
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Vol. 29, No. 1 UB Today is published twice annually by the UB Alumni Association, in cooperation with the Office of University Communications, Office of the Vice President for University Life and Services, and the Office of Alumni Relations, Division of Development and Alumni Relations. Standard rate postage paid at Buffalo, New York. Editor Art Director Editorial Associate Production Coordinator Alumni News Director Communications Coordinator Class Notes Editor
Ann Whitcher-Gentzke, whitcher@buffalo.edu Rebecca Farnham, farnham@buffalo.edu Julie Wesolowski, jaw2@buffalo.edu Cynthia Todd, ctodd@buffalo.edu Barbara A. Byers, babyers@buffalo.edu Gina Cali-Misterkiewicz, MA ’05, ginacali@buffalo.edu Kelly Barrett, ub-alumni@buffalo.edu
UB Today editorial offices are located at 330 Crofts Hall, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York 14260. Telephone: (716) 645-6969; Fax: (716) 645-3765; e-mail: whitcher@buffalo.edu. UB Today welcomes inquiries, but accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, artwork or photographs. DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations Jay R. Friedman, EdM ’00 & BA ’86 Associate Directors Nancy Battaglia, MBA ’96 & BS ’89; Barbara A. Byers; Michael L. Jankowski; Erin Lawless; Andrew Wilcox Assistant Directors Kristen M. Murphy, BA ’96; Patricia A. Starr Senior Director of Development Communications Ann R. Brown UNIVERSITY LIFE AND SERVICES Vice President Dennis R. Black, JD ’81 Associate Vice President for University Communications Joseph A. Brennan, PhD ’96 & MA ’88 Assistant Vice President for Marketing, Web and Creative Communications Jeffrey N. Smith Assistant Vice President for Strategic Communications Arthur Page UB Alumni Association Officers President Timothy P. Lafferty, BS ’86; Immediate Past President Lawrence J. Zielinski, MBA ’77 & BA ’75; First Vice President and Chair, Development Committee Carol A. Gloff, BS ’75 Vice Presidents and Committee Chairs Chair, Audit Committee Kenneth M. Jones, MA ’84; Vice President for Finance & Chair, Financial Resource Management Committee Nicholas J. Fabozzi, BS ’87; Chair, Chapters Committee & Chapter Leader Representative Kathleen Kaney, MBA ’96 & BA ’94; Co-chair, Ruth Kleinman, BA ’05; Chair, Communication Committee James M. Militello, BA ’79; Chair, Government Relations Committee Clifton M. Bergfeld, JD ’08 & BA ’01; Chair, Membership Committee Dennis R. Horrigan, MS ’81 & MS ’70; Chair, Programs and Events Committee Paul R. Hammer, BA ’78; Chair, Student Relations Committee Michael A. Anderson, BS ’97; Chair, Volunteer Relations Committee Nicholas J. Gill, MS ’08 & BS ’02 At-Large Members Willie R. Evans, EdB ’60, Mary Garlick Roll, MS ’88 & BS ’84, Peter J. Grogan, BS ’81, Wayne M. Nelligan, AT, Mark Nusbaum, MArch ’85 & BPS ’83, Thomas A. Palmer, JD ’75 & MBA ’71, Charles A. Smilinich, EdM ’07, EdM ’03 & BA ’01, Alison Wagner, JD ’00 Special Adviser Mark J. Stramaglia, MBA ’86 & BS ’81 Board of Directors Rita M. Andolina, MSW ’88 & BA ’80 (Orchard Park, N.Y.); Randy J. Asher, BS ’95 (Staten Island, N.Y.); Tyler A. Balentine, MUP ’06 & BA ’03 (Niagara Falls, N.Y.); Ronald Balter, BA ’80 (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Lisa Berrittella, JD ’04 (Rochester, N.Y.); Jason L. Bird, BA ’05 (Tonawanda, N.Y.); Carrie L. Boye, BFA ’97 (Amherst, N.Y.); Robert W. Chapman, MSW ’03 & BA ’91 (Buffalo, N.Y.); Kimberly S. Conidi, JD ’05 & BA ’99 (West Seneca, N.Y.); Mary E. Dunn, PMCert ’93 & DDS ’90 (East Amherst, N.Y.); Lisa M. Kirisits, MBA ’87 & BS ’85 (Lancaster, N.Y.); Ken Lam, EdM ’04 & BA ’01 (Staten Island, N.Y.); Matthew E. LaSota, BA ’04 (Buffalo, N.Y.); Christian Lovelace, JD ’06, (Buffalo, N.Y.); Richard J. Lynch, DDS ’83 & BA ’79 (Williamsville, N.Y.); Patricia Maloney, PhD ‘02 & BA ‘73 (Potomac, Md.); Donna M. Manion, BA ’94 (New York, N.Y.); Michael J. Murray, MBA ‘85 & BS ‘75 (Hamburg, N.Y.); Melissa Palmucci, EdM ’04 & BA ’01 (Schenectady, N.Y.); Peter A. Petrella Jr., BA ’00 (Lancaster, N.Y.); Jennifer Piccone, MBA ’99 & BS ’85 (Rochester, N.Y.); Ezra J. Staley, JD ’09 & MBA ’09 (Grand Island, N.Y.); David J. Stinner, BA ’98 (Kenmore, N.Y.); Bernard A. Tolbert, MSW ’73 & BS ’71 (New York, N.Y.); Shyam Charan Vasantha Kumar, MS ’08 & BS ’06 (Buffalo, N.Y.); John Warren, BA ’01 (Ashburn, Va.); Ann Wegrzyn, MBA ’90 & BS ’85 (Orchard Park, N.Y.); Sylvia Williams Ferguson, BA ’98 (Buffalo, N.Y.) Regional Chapter Representatives Melissa Palmucci, EdM ’04 & BA ’01 (Albany, N.Y.); Latasha A. Allen, BA ’01 (Atlanta, Ga.); Cynthia Badame, BA ’92 (Boston, Mass.); Joel P. Thompson, BA ’04 (Buffalo, N.Y.–UB Employee Chapter); Arielle Larmondra, BS ’06 (Charlotte, N.C.); Joseph Szuba, BS ’63 & AAS ’61 (Chicago, Ill.); Dorne Chadsey, MS ’86 (Cleveland, Ohio); Kevin M. Ruchlin, MS ’98 & BA ’95 (Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas); Jennifer Wozniak, MBA ’96 & BA ‘95 (Denver, Colo.); Jeff Kless, BS ’90 (Detroit, Mich.); Raymond L. Poltorak, MBA ’68 & BA ’65 (Houston, Texas); Eric Katzman, BA ‘01 (New York, N.Y.); Joshua Ramos, BA ’06 (Orlando, Fla.); Edward F. Ryczek, BS ’71 (Phoenix, Ariz.); Jeffrey Marshall, BS ’93 (Raleigh, N.C.); Kourtney Gagliano, BS ’02 (Rochester, N.Y.); Martha S. Rodgers, BA ’90, Rebecca E. Kelley, BA ‘03 (San Diego, Calif.); Lily Stoyanovski, MBA ’94 & BS ’91 (San Francisco, Calif.); Christa Peck, BA ’09 & BS ’09 (Seattle, Wash.); Eric Bartholomew, BS ’03 (Tampa, Fla.); James M. Militello, BA ’79 (Washington, D.C.) Constituent Alumni Representatives Arts and Sciences David L. Rothman, BA ’74 (San Francisco, Calif.); Dental Medicine Kevin J. Hanley, DDS ‘78 & BA ‘74 (East Amherst, N.Y.); Engineering and Applied Sciences James D. Boyle, BS ’78 (West Seneca, N.Y.; Graduate School of Education Mark Marino, EdM ’05 (Depew, N.Y.); Law Charles C. Swanekamp, MBA ’80 & JD ’79 (Getzville, N.Y.); Management Thomas P. Cogan, MBA ’99 (Getzville, N.Y.); Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Charles M. Severin, MD ’97 (East Amherst, N.Y.); Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Dean P. Trzewieczynski, BS ’98 (Buffalo, N.Y.); Public Health and Health Professions Dennis R. Horrigan, MS ’81 & MS ’70 (Buffalo, N.Y.)
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President
from the
his is my first opportunity to address UB Today readers as UB’s new president, and I want to take a moment to share with you some of my thoughts about our university’s great strengths, as well as my hopes and goals for UB. Reflecting on our recent university-wide inaugural celebration, I feel strongly that this milestone marked much more than the beginning of a new presidential administration. It was an occasion for all of us together—faculty, staff and students both past and present, as well as our extended UB family—to honor our proud past while celebrating our extraordinary present and vast potential for the future. Our university was established 165 years ago as a small local medical school, with a mission to serve the citizens of Buffalo. While remaining true to that core public mission, we also have greatly expanded its scope and deepened its impact over the decades, growing into a major global public research university of the 21st century. It was UB’s longstanding reputation for excellence that first drew my interest seven years ago when I was a candidate for the provost position here. But ultimately what led me to move my family across the country to Buffalo was not just UB’s distinguished past, but its promising future. The UB I knew by reputation had a noteworthy record of excellence. But the UB community I experienced firsthand impressed me even more greatly by its determination to build on this strong foundation. I have had the great joy of spending the better part of my life in education. And while I’ve been privileged to be part of many different kinds of universities throughout my academic career—from U.S. institutions on both coasts to universities in Canada, France, Germany, Italy and India—UB continues to stand out among these impressive schools. Our UB students, faculty, staff, alumni and others share a uniquely strong commitment to extending our reach and impact, continually seeking out new paths for pursuing excellence and new ways of making a positive difference in the communities we serve, from the local to the global. These goals resonate very strongly with me personally as a fourth-generation educator and a proud product of public higher education. I believe wholeheartedly that this is why we do what we do as scholars, researchers and educators—to change the world for the better through our discoveries, questions and innovations. As alumni, you have contributed substantially to advancing that mission through your achievements, your leadership and your ideas. I’ve greatly enjoyed the opportunity to get to know and work with you over the past seven years as provost. As president, I look forward to our continued efforts together as we begin the exciting work of building on this foundation—continuing to expand our reach, strengthen our impact, and set our sights even higher for our future.
New presidency a chance to celebrate UB’s potential
Satish K. Tripathi, President University at Buffalo
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UBAABoardPresident
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Tim Lafferty, BS ’86, was nominated for a two-year term as UB Alumni Association president in May 2011. National sales manager for the PCA Group Inc., an information technology company in Buffalo, Lafferty has been involved with the UBAA board of directors since 2003. He and his wife, Kathleen, and son, Patrick, a high school senior, live in East Aurora, N.Y.
Association presidency is capstone of lifelong association with UB y connection to UB is lifelong; one of my earliest memories is my dad taking me as a boy to UB Bulls football games in Rotary Field on the South Campus. My uncle Bob Yerge, EdM ’67 & EdB ’59, was a member of the 1958 Lambert Cup championship football team, which was recognized on its 50th anniversary for athleticism and especially character. (The team rejected a bowl bid that would have prevented two of its African-American players from participating.) I entered UB as a sophomore after a year at the College of Wooster in Ohio and, after a hiatus, earned my BS in management in 1986. I met many of my closest friends at UB and have stayed an active alumni volunteer over the years. In 2008, my daughter, Meghan, received her BS from UB’s School of Management. With all these UB associations, I feel a mix of honor, pride, gratitude and anticipation as I begin my term as association president. My goals will be to focus on several key areas needing our collective energy and determination. They include supporting President Satish K. Tripathi and his plans for academic excellence, new educational opportunities, research and job growth. Furthermore, we need to continue to influence our public and private leaders on the importance of UB 2020, and to increase membership in the alumni association. Only 5 percent of us now support the alumni association as dues-paying members—this inactivity hinders our efforts to do what we do best. Membership dues support programming, networking, student initiatives, career development and UB Today, among many other services and benefits. UB is alive, growing and poised for significant growth—please join the alumni association today and show your support. I welcome your comments, concerns and suggestions.
Tim Lafferty, BS ’86 President, UB Alumni Association tplafferty@ub-alumni.org
Look for the alumni association members asterisk throughout the magazine. It’s our way of celebrating our alumni association members.
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BRE A KING RESE A RCH
Helping concussed hockey players recover
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signs the NYSUNY 2020 bill into law on Aug. 9. U NIVERSITY NEWS
President hails passage of NYSUNY 2020 legislation
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Specialists at UB’s Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Department’s concussion clinic have developed a reliable graded exercise test for concussion that would help sports-team physicians make decisions about a player’s readiness to return to the ice in good health. The regimen, supported in part by the Buffalo Sabres Foundation, is described in the March 2011 issue of Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. Barry Willer, UB professor of psychiatry and rehabilitation medicine and senior author on the paper, says “premature return to a sport
The UB study was conducted in a consecutive sample of 21 athletes and non-athletes who came to UB’s concussion clinic. The test, developed at the clinic, uses a single approach to assess readiness to return to the sport. Athletes are evaluated
Patient takes part in individualized exercise program to recover from post-concussive syndrome.
while exercising on a treadmill, as the angle of the treadmill increases the workload, and are watched carefully for any signs or symptoms of exacerbation as they exercise to voluntary exhaustion. Athletes are reevaluated after one to two weeks of increasing exercise.
Go to
www.buffalo.edu/news for the latest in campus news reports.
Douglas Levere, BA ’89
Passage of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s NYSUNY 2020 will have a “transformative impact” on UB and public higher education in New York State, President Satish K. Tripathi said shortly after the bill’s passage June 24. Moreover, it offers a historic new model for investing in public higher education during a period of declining state funding support. The bill, which Cuomo signed into law on Aug. 9, authorizes all SUNY campuses to implement a rational tuition plan that gives the campuses the ability to raise tuition up to $300 annually for five years. In addition, as a component of the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program, the four University Centers in Buffalo, Albany, Binghamton and Stony Brook are authorized to raise tuition 10 percent for out-of-state students. These critical resources will provide the revenue needed for UB to implement the next phase of the UB 2020 plan for academic excellence, under the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program, Tripathi said. Three main interrelated objectives are “enhanced educational and research excellence, improved health care for Western New York, and creation of an innovation economy that will produce regional job growth,” he said. UB’s plan would use the university’s share of the first-round funding—$35 million—as a down payment to build a new facility for the medical school on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus in downtown Buffalo. New York State low-income students who qualify for maximum financial aid through the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) will not be impacted by tuition increases authorized by the bill. To ensure equitable access to UB, the university also will invest a portion of tuition revenues into needbased financial aid.
In the game of professional hockey, a contact sport, suffering from concussion is an all too common injury. Yet deciding if a hockey player is ready to return to the ice has been left primarily to each team’s physician, with no standardized across-the-sport method to assess when the time is right.
after concussion greatly increases the risk of a follow-up concussion, with more devastating results than the first concussion.”
Douglas Levere, BA ’89
U B PEOPLE
>>
Entrepreneur keeps old software alive
William R. Greiner Hall, the state-of-the-art residence hall for sophomores, opened its doors at the start of the fall semester. Named for UB’s 13th president who died in 2009, Greiner Hall blends residential, recreational and academic spaces, and LEED rating system. Amenities including wireless Internet access, fireplace lounges and futuristically designed bike racks. See YouTube video of dedication at http://tinyurl.com/5ro37g9.
U NIVERSITY NEWS
Gates foundation grant supports global health research A medical school faculty member has received a grant from the Grand Challenges Explorations program, a $100 million global health research initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Bett Gates Foundation. Glenna Bett, associate professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Gynecology-Obstetrics, will use the $100,000 grant to develop a device to treat postpartum hemorrhage suitable for use even when medical facilities are absent or minimal, and in nonsterile environments. If successful, such a device has the potential to reduce perinatal deaths worldwide. Bett’s co-principal investigator on the grant is Randall Rasmusson, professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. Grand Challenges Explorations funds scientists and researchers worldwide to explore ideas that can break the mold in solving persistent global health and development challenges.
The son of economists who emigrated to the U.S. in 1995 from St. Petersburg, Russia, Levine created several websites, including one that offered Web design services and another that reviewed free Internet service providers. Then he launched the site that would later fund his college education: OldVersion.com, a clearinghouse for old versions of computer software. At age 12, he registered OldVersion. com with partner Igor Dolgalev, who left the project a few years later. Today, 10 years later, users download between 10,000 to 15,000 copies of software a day from the OldVersion website. The site offers old versions of nearly 300 programs, including LimeWire, AOL Instant Messenger, Opera, Acro-
For more information and a slideshow on new construction, go to www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/2011_07_07/construction
SOURCE: ub reporter
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384 515
[Amount dedicated to projects under way as of July 2011, in millions of dollars]
[Campuses where construction is taking place] [Amount dedicated to additional
projects in planning and design, in millions of dollars]
bat Reader, RealPlayer and, of course, Napster. Levine says some people use the service because their computers don’t support new versions of software, while others simply prefer the old versions.
Douglas Levere, BA ’89
was designed to earn a gold rating under the U.S. Green Building Council’s
University Construction Boom
Alexander Levine
At the age of 10, while other children fretted over how they’d fit in at middle school, UB senior Alexander Levine was trying to start an online business.
Greiner Hall
UB by the numbers
“When I first started the site, it was about making some money, but now I love the process of creating. I love the hustle of starting a business.”
“When I first started the site, it was about making some money,” he says, “but now I love the process of creating. I love the hustle of starting a business.” At UB, Levine created his own major, theatre anthropology, studying how different cultures approach theater, with an emphasis on his native Russia, where he studied for a semester.
2
[Buildings opening in fall 2011— William R. Greiner Hall, residence hall for UB sophomores, and Barbara and Jack Davis Hall, new engineering building]
600
[Number of beds in Greiner Hall]
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mature to how critical crops might respond to global warming.
BRE A KING RESE A RCH
Where did flowers come from? UB is a key partner in a $7.3 million, multi-institution collaboration to explore the origins of all flowers by sequencing the genome of Amborella, a unique species found in only one place on the planet: the Pacific islands of New Caledonia. The plant, a direct descendant of the common ancestor of all flowering plants, is the single known living species on the earliest branch of the genetic tree of life of flowering plants. By comparing the genetic make-up of Amborella to that of newer species, biologists will be able to study a diverse range of plant characteristics, from how flowers resist drought and how fruits
The goal of these studies is to learn more about whole-genome duplication, a commonplace process in flowers in which a new plant inherits an extra, duplicate copy of its parents’ DNA. Because redundant copies of genes can evolve to develop new functions, scientists think that whole-genome duplication may be behind “Darwin’s abominable mystery”—the abrupt proliferation of new varieties of flowering plants in fossil records dating to the Cretaceous period.
University news
Insulin a possible therapy for Alzheimer’s
Students’ interconnected micro-dwellings in Griffis Sculpture Park south of Buffalo. A C A DEMIC INSIGHT
The Living Wall Freshman students from the School of Architecture and Planning have designed and built a 96-foot-long string of wooden micro-dwellings at Griffis Sculpture Park, located about 45 miles south of Buffalo. “The Living Wall” installation will remain at least through early spring 2012 at Griffis, where visitors can climb on, over and through the interconnected micro-dwellings. Working in groups of six to seven, about 80 students were tasked with creatively transforming uniform, wooden volumes measuring 6 by 6 by 8 feet “[Students can see] to incorporate an entrance, day lightwhat the design and ing, natural ventilation, and a miniconstruction process mum of five sleeping spaces. After assembling the structures at is like from start to Griffis, members of each group spent finish.” 24 hours living inside the creations. Christopher Romano, Clinical Occupying the spaces is intended to Associate Professor of Architecture give students a better understanding of the successes and shortcomings of their designs. Indeed, teamwork is a critical skill for architects, who must work not only with each other, but with clients, engineers and contractors as well. “Creating a full-scale structure gives first-year students an opportunity to see, firsthand, what the design and construction process is like from start to finish,” says Christopher Romano, UB clinical associate professor and one of four coordinating faculty members overseeing the students’ work. “They’ve gone from drawings and models to building a full-scale project.”
A low dose of insulin has been found to suppress the expression in the blood of four precursor proteins involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, according to new clinical research by UB endocrinologists published in March online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. “Our results show clearly that insulin has the potential to be developed as a therapeutic agent for Alzheimer’s, for which no satisfactory treatment is currently available,” says Paresh Dandona, UB distinguished professor of medicine in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and senior author on the study. For more information, go to www.buffalo.edu/news/12442.
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Douglas Levere, BA ’89
amborella
The Amborella project builds on an earlier study, in which information was sought on the origins of flowers by comparing active genes of flowering plants, including Amborella, and non-flowering plants called gymnosperms. The Amborella genome project is the natural next step: Now that we know more about how the first flowers evolved, what can we learn about how they diversified? With a fossil record dating to just over 130 million years ago, flowering plants now include as many as 400,000 species on land and in water.
U NIVERSITY NEWS
BRE A KING RESE A RCH
Waterpipe smoking ‘epidemic’ among young Students in schools and universities in the U.S. and around the world are using waterpipes to smoke tobacco at “alarmingly high” rates, according to a study by UB researchers published in April 2011 in Biomedical Health Central Public Health. “Waterpipe smoking is a real epidemic in the world and it’s picking up in the U.S. too,” says Elie Akl, lead author and associate professor of medicine, family medicine, and social and preventive medicine in the schools of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
and Public Health and Health Professions. While the paper reveals the highest rates of waterpipe smoking in Middle Eastern and Asian countries (where the practice has a centuries-long tradition), researchers also found that it is increasing in the U.S. and other western countries. “The surveys included in this review found an alarming prevalence of waterpipe smoking among middle and high school students in the U.S.,” Akl says. “It was especially true of ArabAmerican students, who reported waterpipe usage ranging from 12 to 15 per cent.” The UB review also found that approximately 10 percent of university students in the U.S. reported waterpipe smoking. Waterpipe tobacco smoking is significantly associated with lung cancer, respiratory illness, low birth weight and periodontal disease, a study by Akl and others published in the International Journal of Epidemiology has found.
UB debuts new home page The first phase of UB’s new home page (www.buffalo.edu) debuted in June, offering a variety of features designed to reflect the university’s unique culture and identity while enabling users to find information quickly. The first redesign of the university’s main Web presence in six years, the home page aims to support recruitment of students and faculty, as well as other key institutional objectives, by showcasing the “UB experience” and positioning the university as a leader in research, teaching and global outreach. A dynamic Web presence is critical to a university’s ability to recruit students. In fact, for many students, looking at a college website is their primary way of collecting information about a school before they apply. The new site was built on the new UBCMS technology (the university’s content management system), which will serve as the online communications platform across the university. The redesign overhauled the previous home page and added top-level pages on five key topics: academic excellence, admissions options, research, UB’s global reach and “life at UB.” Extensive research for the redesign included interviews with more than 300 faculty, staff, students, alumni, community members and prospective students.
U B PEOPLE
Professor wins 2011 Nathan M. Newmark Medal speaking of
“I think it’s going to be a toss-up whether synthetic life or the human genome has more impact on the future of humanity. I hope they both will.” J. Craig Venter, former UB professor, founder of Celera Genomics and one of the first scientists to sequence the human genome, Distinguished Speakers Series, Alumni Arena, April 27, 2011
Andrei M. Reinhorn, Clifford C. Furnas Professor of Structural Engineering, received the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2011 Nathan M. Newmark Medal in Las Vegas on April 14. The national medal is given to an ASCE member who, through contributions in structural mechanics, has substantially
strengthened the scientific base of structural engineering. Reinhorn was recognized for outstanding contributions to the development of experimental and analytical methods in structural dynamics and for his design of response-control systems for earthquakeresistant buildings, as well as contributions to quantify earthquakeresilient communities. Reinhorn is the third UB faculty member—after George C. Lee and Tsu T. Soong—to
receive the award in the past 11 years, a huge achievement among competing institutions during this period. Reinhorn, who also is an investigator with UB’s MCEER (formerly the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research), has developed models and computational approaches for damaged and degrading structures near collapse, which have enabled engineers to design safer buildings. He is also a pioneer in defining the disaster resilience of communities and developing ways to quantify it.
reinhorn
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readheard
seen
boo k s , m u s i c a n d f i l m s by U B a l u m n i
Books The Civil War: A Concise History Louis P. Masur, BA ’78
“The Civil War: A Concise History” surveys “with keen insight, the slippery slope to war’s outbreak, which was paved with increasingly bitter opposing views on slavery and states’ rights and territorial expansion,” according to Booklist. The author holds the William R. Kenan Jr. Professorship in American Institutions and Values at Trinity College. (Oxford University Press, 2011)
Sustainability Management: Lessons from and for New York City, America and the Planet Steven Cohen, PhD ’79 & MA ’77
Using examples from New York City, Steven Cohen explains how everything from construction to waste management can be designed to facilitate a sustainable environment, not just for New York but also for the world. Cohen is executive director of the Earth Institute at Columbia. (Columbia University Press, 2011)
Breast Cancer Recurrence and Advanced Disease
Just Perfect
Riding with Destiny
Jane Marinsky, BFA ’78
Jayne Lyn Stahl, BA ’72
In this delightful children’s book written and illustrated by Jane Marinsky, a family of three search the animal kingdom for an ideal pet to become part of their family. Marinsky’s editorial illustrations have appeared in major publications. (David R. Godine, 2012)
This collection of poetry flirts with the boundaries between sacred and profane, self and other, the erotic and transcendent in ways that are fresh and continually surprise. Jayne Lyn Stahl is a widely published poet, essayist, playwright and screenwriter. (NYQ Books, 2010)
The Philosophy of Charlie Kaufman
The Diffusion of Innovations: A Communication Science Perspective
David LaRocca, BA ’97
In this collection of essays edited by David LaRocca, a diverse group of scholars delves into the heart of Charlie Kaufman’s innovative screenplays (“Adaptation,” “Being John Malkovich”), offering not only original philosophical analyses, but also extended reflections on the nature of film and film criticism. LaRocca is coordinating producer and consulting editor of the documentary film project “The Intellectual Portrait Series.” (The University Press of Kentucky, 2011)
Arun Vishwanath, PhD ’01, and George A. Barnett
This book brings together noted scholars and presents a communication perspective for the study of the diffusion of innovations—“the process whereby a new product, service, or idea spreads through a population,” according to the Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology. Arun Vishwanath is associate professor of communication at UB; his coeditor teaches at UC Davis and is a former UB faculty member. (Peter Lang Publishing, 2011)
For more books and submission guidelines go to www.buffalo.edu/ubt
Barbara Gordon, PhD ’82 & EdM ’77
Barbara Gordon’s diagnosis of breast cancer prompted this book offering expert advice to those concerned with recurrence of the disease or late-stage cancer. Her coauthors are two oncologists and a pharmacologist. Gordon is associate professor of English at Elon University. (Duke University Press, 2010)
Film Making Faces: Metal Type in the 21st Century Richard Kegler, MA ’94
This fascinating design documentary by Richard Kegler, founder of the P22 type foundry and the Western New York Book Arts Center, captures the personality and work process of the late Canadian graphic artist and type designer Jim Rimmer (1931-2010). More information is available at makingfacesfilm.blogspot.com.
The Good Books Project The UB Libraries and the Undergraduate Academies recently launched “The Good Books Project,” a list of 48 books students can read over the course of four years for an eclectic education grounded entirely in “unrequired reading.” The list includes novels, memoirs, poetry, histories, and books of essays and social sciences. Recommended are new works like “Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages” by Guy Deutscher; classics like Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” and Virgil’s “The Aeneid”; and illuminating Buffalo-area works, such as “Farm Hands: Hard work and hard lessons from Western New York fields,” by Batavia reporter Tom Rivers, who spent a year laboring in a dozen different jobs on a variety of Western New York farms. For the full list of titles and synopses, go to http://library.buffalo.edu/48goodbooks.
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t h e l at e s t at h l e t i c n e w s f r o m t h e bu l l s
M e n ’ s ba s k e tba l l
Bulls land heralded recruit
colorado springs Gazette
form
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He has joined the ranks Coach Jim Masterson of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony, and this fall he joined the UB men’s basketball team. His name is Xavier Ford, and he is among the most decorated recruits the Bulls have ever had. After his senior year at Colorado Springs’ Harrison High, Ford was named a third-team PARADE magazine All-America selection. The 6-foot-8 forward is the only UB signee ever to earn the prestigious national honor. Each year, the magazine names four teams of 10 players, many of whom achieve greater success in college and in the pros. There are more than 160 former PARADE All-Americans currently playing in the NBA, and they include the aforementioned superstars. “To be recognized alongside the best high school players from across the country is a great accomplishment,” Bulls coach Reggie Witherspoon says of Ford. A Colorado Springs, Colo., native, Ford averaged 27.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game during his senior season at Harrison. The Panthers went 20-5 overall and finished second in their league while earning a berth in the state tournament. He was the only Colorado player named to the PARADE list. Ford brings to Coach Witherspoon’s Bulls an infusion of young talent on what will be an otherwise veteran squad. UB returns four starters from a team that went 20-14 last season. UB’s membership in a mid-major conference was among the reasons Ford chose Buffalo. In addition to his size and skill, Ford is a natural leader, according to his high school coach, Jim Masterson. When Ford was named league player of the year, Masterson told The Colorado Springs Gazette: “He was the voice of this team, and in my 34 years of coaching, I’ve never seen a leader like him. In addition to [being] a great athlete, he’s one of the greatest young men I’ve ever known.” Added Masterson, “He will leave a stronger legacy for Harrison basketball than anyone ever has.” Ford, who plans on majoring in physical therapy, hopes to leave the same mark on UB. Xavier Ford averaged 27.4 points PER GAME in his senior season aT HARRISON.
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“I’ve never seen a leader like him.”
Paul Hokanson
Five Bulls qualify for Olympic Team Trials Having one swimmer qualify for U.S. Olympic Team Trials is a feather in any school’s swim cap. Boasting you’ll be sending five, though, and you can fill your entire pool with feathers. That’s how many UB swimmers will head to Omaha, Neb., next summer with hopes of representing the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The Bulls quintet qualified for team trials following stellar performances at various meets over the summer. The group includes senior Alie Schirmers, who became the first UB woman to qualify for U.S. team trials after swimming the 200-meter breaststroke in 2 minutes, 35.63 seconds at the Eastern Zone Speedo Sectional Meet in Pittsburgh. A native of Coon Rapids, Minn., Schirmers holds the UB school record in the 200 breaststroke and is a member of the Bulls’ record-holding 800-meter freestyle relay team. Joining her next summer will be men’s swimmers Phil Aronica, Mike Dugan, Matt Hogan and Matt Schwippert. FOOTBALL
Cowboys draft UB’s Thomas As a boy growing up in Cedar Hill, Texas, just outside of Dalthomas las, Josh Thomas idolized the Dallas Cowboys. After an outstanding career as a cornerback at UB, Thomas received the phone call of a lifetime on April 30 when he was taken by “America’s Team” in the fifth round (143rd overall pick) of the 2011 NFL Draft. Thomas got the call from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a surreal moment he says he won’t soon forget.
BASEBALL
Murphy makes UB history A .384 batting average over 52 Murphy games, 10 home runs, a .626 slugging percentage and a .446 on-base percentage. Those are some pretty good statistics, and they’re how UB catcher Tom Murphy earned 2011 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year honors. He’s the first Bull ever to be named player of the year. The West Monroe, N.Y., native completed his sophomore season at UB ranking in the top 10 in six different categories in the Bulls’ single-season record book. His slugging percentage is the fourthhighest in UB history, and his 44 RBIs rank fifth. Murphy set a UB record when he homered three times in the Bulls’ 11-6 win over North Carolina Central on March 19, 2011. For the season, he finished among the top five in the MAC in three categories and claimed the conference batting title.
Go to
www.buffalobulls.com for updates on all team schedules and news, and for information on purchasing tickets.
datebook
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schirmers
Only one UB Bull has been drafted higher—Ed Ellis, BA ’97, who was the 125th overall pick in 1997. Thomas is the fourth UB player drafted in the past four years. Thomas entered UB under former coach Turner Gill (now at Kansas). During his sophomore year (2008), the Bulls throttled previously unbeaten Ball State 42-24 in the MAC Championship game and earned a bid to the International Bowl in Toronto. As a senior, Thomas recorded 58 tackles (30 solo), two sacks and an interception. Thomas credits Gill and current coach Jeff Quinn for his development as a player. When draft day approached, Thomas’ agent told him not to watch the draft. Thomas was enjoying a normal day at his grandmother’s house in Texas when his cellphone rang. The call was from a 972 (Dallas) area code. It was a Cowboys representative who then turned the phone over to Jones. “He says, ‘Are you there?’ I said, ‘Are YOU there?’” Thomas recalls in describing his astonishment. “It still feels like a big dream.”
2.26.11 For the first time in school history, the UB men’s swimming and diving team wins the MAC title. The quartet of Simon Proudfoot, Mike Dugan, Jared Heine and Matt Hogan clinches victory by winning the 400-yard free relay in a school record, 2:56.60. 3.16.11 UB plays in a Division I postseason tournament for the first time in school history, participating in the Women’s Basketball Invitational. The Bulls come up just short, falling 82-79. Eventual MAC Player of the Year Kourtney Brown leads the UB effort with 21 points. 5.11.11 UB wrestling staff announces three more outstanding additions to the 2011-12 recruiting class, including four-time New York state champ Arik Robinson, California state runner-up Justin Lozano and two-time Michigan state champion Justin Heiserman. 5.14.11 The women’s rowing team captures two medals at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, the nation’s largest collegiate rowing event. 6.6.11 Bulls forward Javon McCrea is invited to the 2011 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship team training camp, which features 21 of the nation’s best players age 19 and under. Despite a strong showing, he is the final player cut from the team. Reported by David J. Hill, a staff writer in UB’s Office of University Communications
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story by Charlotte Hsu
What’s next for UB?
With a new president
and plans for expanding or improving all three campuses, the university is in the midst of its most ambitious transformation since joining SUNY half a century before. So far, 2011 has been a year of change and promise, with the state approving funding for a
Inaugural Commemorative See page 19 for coverage of inaugural celebration and the investiture of UB’s 15th president
plan that will—among other key university developments—enable UB to bring more of the world’s best faculty to Buffalo and also move the medical school to its historic home downtown by 2016. Across UB, there is energy and excitement as the institution marks the start of another chapter in its storied history. With so much happening, UB President Satish K. Tripathi says there’s no place he’d rather be.
Photos by Douglas Levere, BA ’89
Satish K. Tripathi at the Honors College in Capen Hall.
Seven years have passed since you joined UB in 2004 as provost. Why have you stayed? I’ve observed, firsthand, the quality that exists at UB, and working closely with our faculty, staff, students and university supporters over the years has given me a unique vantage point to appreciate the vast potential of the university. UB’s capacity to be even better than it is today, I believe, has created a tremendous amount of excitement across our university. I envi-
sion a UB that will have an even greater impact on our community and a reach that expands the globe. I am both excited and humbled by this opportunity to lead our university at such a pivotal point in its long and distinguished history.
Looking ahead, what are some of the biggest challenges facing UB? The most accomplished and ambitious students want to study with renowned faculty, and the greatest challenge in any university is to recruit the best students and faculty and retain them. If you look at institutions of our size and stature, they have a lot more endowed faculty chairs than we have. As president, the challenge for me is to work with deans to raise at least $150 million to add 100 new endowed chairs, and another $200 million for scholarships and fellowships to attract great students.
What values will drive decision-making at UB in years to come? To me, the UB 2020 strategic plan that we have been implementing has three components—three “Es.” Those are excellence, engagement and efficiency. By
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excellence, I mean academic excellence— the benchmark we use to measure all that we undertake at UB, and the core of our institutional mission. Our engagement is with all the communities we serve locally as well as globally—engagement with alumni, with the city, with elected officials and with institutional partners within SUNY, across the nation and around the world. Efficiency is really an over-arching principle of doing more with less—whether that means using our resources strategically in the face of financial challenges, striving for energy efficiency and environmental sustainability across campus operations, or realigning our academic units and strengths so they are positioned to achieve their full potential, as we are seeking to do in moving the medical school downtown where it will be closer to health care and research partners in the city of Buffalo. Academic excellence is the foundation of all these values, because academic excellence has a ripple effect: With better students and faculty, we create better technology and jobs. Our purpose is not to seek knowledge for reputational gain. Our purpose is to make our region and world a better place. Our goal is to contribute to the solution of society’s most vexing problems, and to contribute to our community’s economic and cultural vitality.
UB’s footprint is growing downtown. What changes can we expect to see? There’s so much going on downtown, with the Regional Institute, Office of Economic Engagement and other offices now in the Downtown Gateway. A new Economic Opportunity Center is under construction, along with the UB-Kaleida Health clinical care and research building. This is a 10-story facility, where UB researchers will work on developing treatments and technologies. As I just mentioned, we are also excited about our plans to relocate the medical school to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus over the next five years. With the passage of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s NYSUNY 2020 bill, we now have the tools to begin to move forward. In addition, a truly extraordinary $40 million gift from
a medical school alumnus who has asked to remain anonymous will facilitate the hiring of new faculty as this move takes place. (See page 18.) We are tremendously grateful for all this support—the transformation under way would not be possible without the support of our alumni, friends and community.
Why do you feel it’s so important for UB to continue investing in Buffalo? Our growing downtown presence will strengthen Buffalo’s emerging biomedical economy, creating jobs in the community while also expanding opportunities for our students and faculty. The relocation of the medical school in particular will bring UB researchers closer to partners, including Kaleida Health, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and life sciences companies. It makes sense for Western New York and it makes sense for UB. Our university’s future and our community’s future are inseparable.
What should people know about you that they might not know? I’m a sports fanatic. Fanatic is a strong word, but I really love sports—watching, not playing. I thoroughly enjoy going to Bulls games and cheering on our student athletes. I just love the competition. With regard to my profession, people may not know that I have had many research collaborations internationally, not just in India, but also with colleagues in Italy, Germany, France, Canada and Taiwan.
Do you ever miss teaching? My father was a teacher, and I always wanted to teach. I enjoyed science and math when I was growing up, and I used to help the other kids in class. Later, as a professor, I always found mentoring students to be one of the most rewarding and energizing aspects of my work. From there, I moved on to become a department chair, a dean, a provost and, now, a president. I view this as a natural progression. I do still try to teach a 1-credit freshman seminar every year. It gives me an avenue to really be connected to the students. We exist because of the students, and we need to understand their culture, their expectations. After all, they are the future of UB and the future of all the communities we serve, from the local to the global.
“I am both excited and humbled by this opportunity to lead our university at such a pivotal point in its long and distinguished history.” Satish K. Tripathi
atish K. Tripathi, UB’s first international-born president, is the fourth generation in a long line of educators. Before him, his father was a high school principal. Now, Tripathi’s elder son, Manish, is carrying on the family business as a member of Emory University’s marketing faculty. Tripathi and his wife, Kamlesh, who now live in the president’s residence in Amherst, N.Y., also have a son Aashish, who is a member of e-Bay’s business-development team in San Francisco. Education has been at the center of Tripathi’s life since he was a boy. At 13, in India, he left his home village of Patna in Uttar Pradesh to attend senior high school in Faizabad, a town about 2 ½ hours away by bus. Instead of commuting each day, he lived at a hostel. Later, he graduated at the top of his class at Banaras Hindu University, and he received three advanced degrees in computer science and statistics from Banaras, the University of Alberta and the University of Toronto. A career of more than 30 years in academia has taken Tripathi from the classrooms of the University of Maryland, where he started as a computer science lecturer in 1978, to the president’s office at UB. As he has ascended in his profession, education has remained his priority. He has formed lasting friendships with students, even keeping in touch—through visits, phone calls and holiday cards—with the first doctoral can-
didate he ever advised. This spring, he plans to make room in his schedule to teach a freshman seminar on data mining. So it’s no surprise that as president, Tripathi, 60, is bringing the conversation about UB back to “first principles.” Academic excellence—great faculty, great students, great teaching and great research—is what will strengthen UB’s impact on Buffalo Niagara and the world, he asserts. When Tripathi joined UB as provost in 2004, the university was just launching UB 2020, the strategic plan that drives decisions in areas from academics to campus beautification. The transformation has been UB’s most ambitious since joining SUNY in 1962. As provost, with then-President John B. Simpson, he spearheaded the creation and implementation of the academic vision of excellence that is the heart of this plan—a vision that has led UB to achieve significant growth in research activity, enhanced student quality and diversity, and an expanded international presence. With a soft-spoken determination and a collegial approach, Tripathi is well-matched for his new role. As dean of UC Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering from 1997 to 2004, he had grown the college from a single department and research center to four departments and five interdisciplinary research centers. In Buffalo, Tripathi has moved UB 2020 forward even as state budget cuts have repeatedly hit the university. His accomplishments include working with faculty to pinpoint eight UB 2020 Strategic Strengths—areas of interdisciplinary scholarship that now comprise the core of UB’s academic activity—and hiring more than 100 researchers into those strengths.
UB 2020 Presidential Tour for UB Alumni
20 Cities in 20 Months President Satish K. Tripathi is visiting 20 cities in 20 months to meet with UB alumni and share his vision for the university—he began the tour Oct. 1 in Knoxville where the Bulls took on the UT Volunteers. For the latest tour updates and information, go to www.buffalo.edu/president/2020tour. * Countries to be determined
The resulting atmosphere of collaboration has attracted graduate students who have published in top journals and partnered with companies to develop products in medicine, computing, nanomaterials and other fields. The caliber of undergraduates also has improved, with UB enrolling its most academically talented freshman class for three straight years. These successes have generated excitement across UB, and Tripathi is looking forward to what comes next. His vision for UB’s future focuses on moving UB into the highest ranks of the nation’s leading research universities, expanding its reach and impact in the process. To the president’s office, he brings the same qualities that made him a great teacher for 19 years at the University of Maryland at College Park: He is thoughtful, good at listening and respectful of others. Colleagues praise his diplomatic skills and say his professional success is in part due to his warm demeanor. They describe him as a man of integrity in personal and business relations. Indeed, faculty and administrative colleagues have noted when they have had concerns about UB or personal, career-related matters, Tripathi has made time to meet. It’s the same accessibility that entrepreneur Richard Upton, Tripathi’s first-ever PhD student, remembers from his days at Maryland. Back then, Tripathi stood out as a professor who was genuinely interested in his students. “If you had something you wanted to chat with him about, he was always able to do that outside the classroom,” Upton recalls. Years later, that part of Tripathi hasn’t changed. “Satish is very committed to UB, and he is, first and foremost, a professor,” says Alexander Cartwright, vice president for research. “He believes that the No. 1 priority for the institution should be education. It’s about teaching the next generation of researchers.” Charlotte Hsu is a staff writer with University Communications.
San Francisco (11.14.11) San Jose (11.15.11) Phoenix (1.12) West Palm Beach (2.12) Los Angeles (3.12) Naples (3.12) Washington, D.C. (4.12) New York (5.12) Rochester (Summer 2012) International* (Summer 2012)
Newark (Summer 2012) Boston (9.12) Seattle (10.12) Denver (11.12) Sarasota (1.13) Dallas (2.13) Chicago (4.13) Philadelphia (Summer 2013) San Diego (Summer 2013)
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Monumental Donation Historic gift to UB medical school will have transformational impact lasting generations By Mary Cochrane
doctor who graduated from the UB medical school in the mid-20th century had a vision of greatness to come for his beloved alma mater.
Thankful for the education he received at
the height of World War II, the doctor quietly began investing in stocks with the intent of making a gift to UB at some future point.
More than a half-century later, UB
President Satish K. Tripathi had the pleasure of announcing the doctor’s donation: $40 million, the largest gift from an individual in university history.
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“This doctor worked tirelessly for his patients, and remained connected to UB, planning to one day give back to the university. With this extraordinary gift, he has done that and more,” Tripathi said at the Sept. 21 news conference announcing the gift. “Attracting a gift of this size to our medical school is a testament to the extraordinary level of accomplishment the school has achieved. It helps us build on this strong foundation as we pursue excellence in education, research and clinical care.” The doctor, who is now deceased, arranged the gift as a bequest for the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (SMBS) and also arranged to remain anonymous, to be known only as someone who knew from an early age that he wanted to be a physician. “The day I received the letter of acceptance to the UB medical school was the happiest day of my life,” he would tell friends. “Becoming a doctor was my lifelong dream.” “His generosity to UB will have a truly transformational impact—on our university and our students for generations to come, and in terms of the stronger, healthier communities we will build as a result—here in Western New York and around the world,” Tripathi added. While unusual for the giver of such a spectacular gift to shun the spotlight, those who knew the doctor said that was his nature: to focus on the reason for giving rather than to receive recognition. “He was truly grateful for his medical education and enjoyed watching his investments grow, always remarking that it meant ‘more for UB,’” one friend has said. The donor, who retired in the 1990s, designated the gift to be used at the discretion of the medical school dean. Michael E. Cain, vice president for health sciences and SMBS dean, will use the funds to hire new faculty. With a half-dozen new chairs hired in the past year—and searches begun in five more departments—the school is well on its way to fulfilling what has been a priority for Cain. “We owe it to our students to give them the best, most insightful instructors we can find,” Cain said. “One of my primary goals is to recruit a number of acclaimed experts to our faculty. In that regard, I can safely say that 2010-11 has been a banner year.” Recent attention has focused on moving the medical school to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. “If this donor were with us today,” said Cain, “he would be thrilled to know his gift arrives at a time of great momentum. Rarely do a university, its supporters and the community have the opportunity to build a new medical school. Thanks in part to this gift, we expect to fill it with the most sought-after faculty members, who in turn will attract top students to Buffalo.” The gift also comes as Tripathi takes the helm of the university with his own vision for UB. “Hire the best faculty. Attract the brightest students. Do these things and the university will flourish,” Tripathi has said. One can imagine the donor would wholeheartedly agree. Mary Cochrane is associate director of the Office of Development Communications at UB.
Douglas Levere, BA ’89
The medical school’s Class of ’15 with (from left) Animesh Sinha of Dermatology, Teresa Quattrin of Pediatrics, President Satish K. Tripathi, Vice President for Health Sciences Michael E. Cain and Anne Curtis of Medicine.
lo ca l i m pact, G lo b a l r e ac h
The Inauguration of the 15th President Weeklong celebration of UB’s past, present and future heralds a new presidency and a new era Photos by Douglas Levere, BA’ 89; Nancy J. Parisi, BA ’87; Steve Morse; Paul Hokanson and Dylan Buyskes
Monday
Excellence in Research, Education and Service 9.19.11
The university community gathered to explore the impact of UB’s research, academic activities and creative pursuits in the 21st cenFaculty and staff were honored for their recent achievetury. ments, while students were recognized for their own notable More than two dozen SUNY research and creative activities. Distinguished Professors engaged in a lively discussion of the financial challenges facing public research universities and how to grapple with them amid continuing uncertainty.
Blue & White The Peace Bridge was bathed in blue-andwhite lights to recognize inaugural week. Below: Hui Meng, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and neurosurgery, was among those honored at the Celebration of Faculty and Staff Excellence.
“The interesting and provocative question … is whether the 175 or so public research universities are going to have to change profoundly, and if so, why? Will all of us or just some of us have to profoundly change, and perhaps most importantly, profoundly change how?” D. Bruce Johnstone, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and University Professor Emeritus
Student achievement UB honored student research and creative activity (above), while SUNY Distinguished Professors probed financial issues for public research universities as state funding diminishes (right).
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“The faculty and deans who are working on the curriculum are learning from each other and about each other’s disciplines. The center is the visible entity that is becoming a driving force in bringing all of the [health] professions together.” Jeffrey W. Myers, EdM ’07, Director of the Behling Simulation Center
More practice Emergency responders resuscitate a “patient” at the Behling Simulation Center, where students practice resuscitation and other procedures in a realistic setting. Above right: Smartboards and other tech tools help students work more efficiently.
tuesday
Creating a Vibrant and Healthy Community 9.20.11
Healthy people Top of page: John Marzo, MA ’86, Buffalo Bills medical director and associate professor of orthopaedics, at press conference announcing Ralph C. Wilson Foundation gift. Summit on Buffalo’s food system featured remarks by Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, as well as a public forum.
UB celebrated the opening of the Behling Simulation Center where students from all five health sciences schools can practice a full A two-day food policy sumrange of medical procedures. mit began with experts, policymakers and citizens examining ways to enhance the health and nutrition of Western New Yorkers. Announcement was made of a $1 million gift from Buffalo Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. and his wife, Mary, to benefit the UB Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. www.alumni.buffalo.edu UBTODAY Fall 2009
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wednesday
Engaged in Our Community 9.21.11
A physician alumnus, now deceased, chose anonymity over recognition for his monumental gift of $40 million to benefit the medical school. The Buffalo Food Policy Summit continued (See article on p. 18.) Campus leaders, top employee donors with a research roundtable. and representatives of area nonprofit agencies met in anticipation of the official launch this fall of the UB Employees Campaign for the Robert Gates, former U.S. defense secretary, led off Community. the 25th season of UB’s Distinguished Speakers Series.
Largest ever Michael E. Cain, vice president for health sciences and medical school dean, addresses press conference held to announce UB’s largest-ever gift from an individual donor, as audience members applaud. The donor, a family physician, received his medical degree from UB during World War II.
“With the most gifted medical faculty from around the globe teaching our students, class after class of UB medical school graduates will be prepared to deliver the very best health care in Western New York and far beyond.” Michael E. Cain, Vice President for Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Food, giving, art Robert G. Shibley, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, at mike during food research roundtable. Display marks employee campaign. Robert Gates signs sketchbook created by Harvey Breverman, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus.
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“We were delighted that so many students, faculty and staff could join this festive event to learn about the many international programs, clubs and opportunities at UB.” Stephen C. Dunnett, PhD ’77 & BA ’68, Professor and Vice Provost for International Education
International fair Indian classical dance was among the cultural traditions on display during a celebration of UB’s global character and international student body. Students pinpointed their home countries on a map, and participants enjoyed food from around the world.
thursday
Engaging Our World 9.22.11
Global meeting Above and top right: Symposium featured presentations by Satish K. Tripathi’s colleagues from around the world, and drew interested students, too. The event honored the scholarship of UB’s 15th president, an internationally known computer scientist.
Colleagues and former students of President Tripathi—some from as far away as Asia and Europe—gathered for an international symposium devoted to computer systems research, the president’s At the UB Global Fair, international academic specialty area. student clubs performed in music and dance, and also shared their countries’ foods and traditions with an appreciative, culturally Faculty offered presentations on research, diverse audience. education and service having a global impact. www.alumni.buffalo.edu UBTODAY Fall 2009
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friday
The Investiture of UB’s 15th President 9.23.11
The formal investiture of Satish K. Tripathi as UB’s 15th president brought together members of the extended university community around the world to celebrate a new chapter in UB’s 165-year history. Amid the pageantry and decorum came moments of humor, family pride and expressions of warmth from audience members who listened attentively and gave a standing ovation to President Tripathi after he was invested with his office. At the close, the audience sang the nearly 100-year old alma mater with gusto.
Bold vision
President Tripathi gives his inaugural address to a capacity crowd at the Center for the Arts. He pledges to build on UB’s excellence and expand its impact, and announces plans to hire 300 new faculty members and raise $200 million for student scholarships.
“More than ever, the 21st-century world needs our ideas. Our best thinking. Our willingness to ask difficult questions. Our ability to look through multiple lenses, to think creatively and to partner across borders of all kinds: geographic, disciplinary, ideological. This is who we are.” Satish K. Tripathi
High points Students bearing flags
from UB’s international exchange partners enter the hall. John J. Wood, associate vice provost for international education, dons his robe. Alumni Pillars (Class of 1961 or earlier) include former SUNY Trustee Gordon Gross, JD ’55. UB student West W. Richter Jr. performs the national anthem.
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Warm welcome SUNY
Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher offers exuberant congratulations to a beaming President Tripathi following his formal investiture by SUNY Trustees Board Chair Carl T. Hayden (below).
Inaugural scenes Academic procession to inaugural ceremony; Jeremy M. Jacobs, ’60, UB Council chair, gives welcoming remarks. Kamlesh Tripathi, President Tripathi’s wife (below, third from right), enjoys comments from the couple’s sons, Manish and Aashish.
“The university is well-positioned to move ahead into the future. I know that with President Tripathi in the lead and all of us beside him, the university is poised to reach unprecedented heights.” Esther S. Takeuchi, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Greatbatch Professor of Advanced Power Sources www.alumni.buffalo.edu UBTODAY Fall 2009
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“The pregame events, the idyllic fall weather and a stadium full of alumni, students and friends— that’s what Homecoming is all about.” Jay R. Friedman, EdM ’00 & BA ’86, Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations
Homecoming hoopla Enthusiastic fans offer variations aplenty on ways to adorn their bodies with true blue, and wear UB gear to cheer on the UB Bulls against UConn. Although the Huskies prevailed, the day was marked by splendid fall weather and abundant school spirit.
saturday
Welcome Home 9.24.11
Fun and frolic President and Mrs. Tripathi take part in a game of whacka-mole, as true blue students enjoy pizza. The Bulls’ Khalil Mack sets out to sack Huskies quarterback Johnny McEntee. UConn won the matchup, 17-3, despite the Bulls’ strong defensive effort and cheers of 18,215 hometown fans.
Homecoming—a time to celebrate UB pride and reconnect with friends, family and alumni—capped the week of inaugural celebration. Highlights included pregame tailgating, the much-anticipated football game with the University of Connecticut and more. Though the final score proved disappointing, nothing could detract from the parking lots dotted with student and community tailgate parties, tents for the UB Alumni Association and other organizations, and everywhere a sea of blue. www.alumni.buffalo.edu UBTODAY Fall 2009
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Tilmon Brown at his baking company in Norwalk, Ohio.
alumniprofile
Tilmon Brown, BA ’93 & BS ’93: Busy baker/entrepreneur
mixes business flair with a commitment to his employees
the muffin man Tilmon Brown has fond memories of his mother’s from-scratch dinner rolls, but these days his favorite smell is the scent of baking bread that hits him when he pulls into his parking space at work. His favorite sight: Thousands of identical hamburger buns, sesame seeds dotting their golden crowns, coming off the assembly line “like rows of toy soldiers,” he says. As president and chief operating officer of New Horizons Baking Company in Norwalk, Ohio, Brown oversees the production of two million buns and English muffins every day, many bound for Big Macs and Egg McMuffins across seven states. Brown didn’t mean to get into the baking business. He was studying pharmacy at UB when his wife became pregnant with their second child. Needing money to support his growing family, he dropped out of college and took a job driving a bread delivery truck for Continental Baking Company in Buffalo. Two years later, he was promoted to supervisor. Then he was promoted again. And by 1985, he was a corporate vice president with plans for early retirement. But before kicking back, he had some unfinished business. “I promised my mother that I would get a college degree, and I wanted to keep
that promise,” he says. The Buffalo native reenrolled in UB in 1992 and received both a BA and a BS in business and sales administration at the age of 48. Then he got the call that really derailed his retirement plans. A former business contact asked if he wanted to buy part of New Horizons, which was in need of a turnaround. After investing $35 million in upgrading the plant and equipment, Brown and his partner boosted productivity by 300 percent and grew the company from $40 million a year to $72 million today. With nearly 300 employees (most of whom Brown knows by name), New Horizons serves 1,200 McDonald’s restaurants. Another division of the company, Genesis Baking Company, supplies baked goods to companies like Jimmy Dean and Sara Lee. Brown, who established an endowment at UB for minority students and received an Alumni Achievement Award this year, says the best part of his job is seeing people succeed and grow in their jobs—especially his three kids, who all work at New Horizons. “My oldest is pushing me out the door,” he laughs. “I hope this is a business my grandkids, great-grandkids and their kids can all be a part of someday too.”
Story by Sally Kuzemchak, with photos by Douglas Levere, BA ’89
O u t t a k e s First lesson in fiscal responsibility Waking at 5 a.m. every morning to do his paper route as a child and saving enough money to buy a bike; Partner in life Jonnie, his “bride” of 45 years, whose identical twin sister married Brown’s older brother; Hobbies Singing tenor in his church choir, playing golf and fishing for salmon once a year in Alaska; Business philosophy Advice from his father, who told him, “Always stand for something. And always like who you see when you look in the mirror”; Community work Brown sits on the boards of Ronald McDonald House, Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Center and the Antioch Baptist Church Development Council.
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bildarchiv preussischer kulturbesitz/art resource, new york
p h oto by D ou g l as L e v e r e , B A ’ 8 9
building
influence
Despina Stratigakos explores the fascinating history of women in architecture S to r y B y J i m B i s c o
>> Despina Stratigakos stands before an archival image of a woman photographer high above Berlin, c. 1910. Stratigakos writes that the independent woman, “an unprecedented social type, produced new architectural needs as women broke away from the domestic spaces that had defined the traditional orbit of their lives.�
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Since arriving at UB in 2007, Despina Stratigakos has made an impact as educator, author, researcher and activist. As an architectural historian, her teaching brings fresh perspectives to the study of mainstream architecture by looking at the different aspects of life that surrounded those landmarks. >> Her courses have considered architecture in unusual contexts, such as film and museums, drawing students not only from architecture but also from the humanities and beyond. >> In 2008, Stratigakos received critical acclaim for her first book, “A Women’s Berlin: Building the Modern City,” which looked at women and architecture in imperial Germany and the creation of new forms of urban space. >> Her forthcoming book, “Hitler at Home,” takes an inside look at the Third Reich and the domestic life of the Fuehrer, focusing on his interior decorator and artistic adviser Gerdy Troost.
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bildarchiv preussischer kulturbesitz/art resource, new york
Stratigakos says anthropology was her first love as a student, and an interdisciplinary focus has been her prevailing mindset ever since. Moreover, she has woven an anthropological thread through her subsequent career in architectural history. “I’ve always been fascinated by cultures and how they shape us and why people do what they do,” she says. “My approach to architecture is deeply influenced by that perspective.”
>> A professional female builder photographed
in 1910 makes repairs to the roof of Berlin’s town hall.
An associate professor in the UB School of Architecture and Planning, she has found a place that embodies her interdisciplinary philosophy. After teaching at Harvard University and the University of Michigan, Stratigakos was drawn to UB because of its collaborative mission. “Many universities today talk the talk about the importance of being interdisciplinary, but they don’t actually follow through in creating the structures and support that need to be there to facilitate interdisciplinary work,” she says. “UB is truly different in that respect. That kind of intellectual and institutional commitment made me think that this is the place for me.” Beyond books, Stratigakos’s cultural investigations have led her to influence an icon of popular culture, Barbie, who recently became an architect. (See companion article on p. 33.) Stratigakos has also participated in the creation of the Architecture and Design Academy, a partnership with the Buffalo Public Schools to expose urban students to architecture as a possible career path.
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The innovative program was launched last year in response to the lack of diversity in Buffalo’s architectural firms. This lack of diversity, particularly the underrepresentation of women in architecture, has been a continuing cause for Stratigakos in her writings and research. More than a century after Buffalo-based Louise Blanchard Bethune became the first woman admitted into the American Institute of Architects (her masterpiece is the 107-year-old Hotel Lafayette in downtown Buffalo, now in major renovation), the organization’s membership remains 83 percent male. Although there have been steady increases in female enrollment in architecture schools over the past two decades, there is a mysterious vanishing of women from the profession after earning their architectural degrees. s a feminist scholar, Stratigakos strives to analyze the ideological fences that architecture has built around the profession—barriers, she says, that determine outsiders and insiders. “Women want to stay in the field but they face real and sometimes overwhelming hurdles,” she says. “There is a scarcity of women in leadership positions. The glass ceiling hasn’t disappeared, especially in large corporate design firms. Architecture has its own very distinct professional culture. One aspect of that is the expectation that you work very long hours, and there’s almost a kind of pride in pushing yourself to the limit. It’s often assumed that if women have children, they won’t want to do that anymore, which somehow makes them lesser architects.” Stratigakos has written about the inequities in the profession since her dissertation on “Skirts and scaffolding: Women architects, gender and design in Wilhelmine Germany” in 1999. When women were first trying to get into architecture a century ago, they were told that
there were two types of people—those with productive energy and those with reproductive capacities. It’s one or the other. If you’re good at being productive, you’re bad at being reproductive, and vice versa, she contends. “These were the attitudes at the time. Good architect, bad parent,” Stratigakos notes. “Skip forward 100 years. The film ‘Click’ with Adam Sandler has male architects being presented with this choice. He chose his professional success as an architect over being a good father. I thought, okay the shoe’s on the other foot, but it’s the same shoe. The message hasn’t changed. It’s simply flipped from being applied to women to being applied to men, but the underlying assumption is still there. How do you get people to talk about and examine these attitudes? Architect Barbie is an unconventional, but I hope effective, way of trying.” Over the past decade, Stratigakos has published extensively on how women changed architecture in Germany at the turn of the 20th century. “It was particularly helpful to look at women in architecture in Germany because of the way that the educational system there differs from ours in the U.S. In Germany, all of the universities are public. As a result, when women earned the right to matriculate in architecture programs, the process happened very quickly and provoked a very strong reaction.” This German perspective is now embracing Gerdy Troost, who was prominent during the National Socialist regime. Stratigakos is hoping to introduce this neglected architectural figure amid the abiding interest in Hitler. Spending this past year in the archives at Munich, and as an external fellow of the Rice University Humanities Research Center, Stratigakos has completed the majority of her research. “I see the project as an opportunity to explore issues that I’ve been interested in for a long time with a broader audience. There are people who are curious about Hitler who will read a book that they might not otherwise pick up if it had the label of women architects on it.” As an educator, Stratigakos feels that this generation is very open to new ideas about diversity. “It’s great to see some of the changes coming from the students themselves. For example, an interest among female students in mentoring one another,” she points out.
s an architectural historian, Stratigakos uses her classroom to demonstrate that the past is still alive. She considers Stonehenge, for instance, and the arguments today between religious groups that want to practice their rites at the ancient site during the summer solstice and the heritage groups that own and care for the site. “Investigating conflict is a powerful teaching tool insofar as showing what’s at stake,” Stratigakos says. “In the Gender and Architecture course I teach, we look at the political and social resistance to creating public bathrooms for women over the past hundred years. By denying them such amenities, women were kept on an architectural leash, close to home.” Stratigakos is proud of her role in helping to encourage future architects through the collaboration of the Buffalo Public Schools, the university and private industry. About 40 high school students are involved in the Architecture and Design Academy this year. “We wanted it to be more of a broader design program that engages students in the heritage of Buffalo neighborhoods, makes them aware of their environment, gets them interested in design and gives them the breadth of skills that you need in architecture,” she relates. “We focused on giving them a well-rounded education that uses the city as a laboratory.” The native of Montreal is enamored with the city and its architectural resources. A resident of North Buffalo, Stratigakos was the driving force in bringing the annual conference of the Society of Architectural Historians to Buffalo in April 2013. More than 500 members from around the world are expected. “I’m excited to show off the city, and the architectural historians are excited to come here. There are buildings here that they’ve waited an entire professional lifetime to see.” A self-described “activist-academic,” Stratigakos recognizes the importance of getting off campus and getting involved in the community. “This is the most engaged university I have ever seen,” she says. “It’s something I wanted to do for a long time, and I landed in a place that lets me do it.” Jim Bisco is senior writer for University Communications.
Architect Barbie takes on her profession ove over, Howard Roark! There’s a new architect in town and she’s not afraid of the color pink. Eleven-and-a-half inches tall in her trendy ankle boots and carrying a hard hat and pink drawing tube, Mattel’s Architect Barbie channels “Barbie’s rebellious side,” according to Despina Stratigakos, associate professor of architecture and visual studies, who helped bring her to the public stage. “Traditionally,” says Stratigakos, “the ideal architect possessed a will and body of steel, a heroic sense of individuality, creative genius that shunned cooperation and supreme authority over projects, employees and clients.” Roark, the architectural hero of Ayn Rand’s 1943 novel “The Fountainhead,” embodies this ideal, she points out. The character was inspired by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, whom Rand greatly admired (and who famously designed a number of well-known buildings in Buffalo). “It was such a strong iconic image,” Stratigakos says, “that cultural critics [of that time] warned women who wanted to become architects that their minds and bodies would mutate if they pursued their desire, transforming them into hermaphrodites.” Well, Architect Barbie doesn’t aspire to be Roark. Instead, she challenges the long-held assumption that architecture and femininity don’t mix. In her world, you can be an architect and wear a dress. The 127th doll in Mattel’s “Barbie I Can Be…” series was certainly a long time coming, though. In 2002, Stratigakos, looking for an unusual angle to address issues of diversity, became interested in Architect Barbie when Mattel held a public vote to determine the next career in the Barbie I Can Be… line of dolls. The choices included architect along with librarian and policewoman, and the popular vote went to the architect. However, Mattel ultimately declined to produce the doll at the time. In 2007, while a research fellow at the University of Michigan, Stratigakos asked architecture students and faculty to create prototypes of the doll. Three years later, Mattel held another vote featuring Architect Barbie as a potential career doll, but she lost to Computer Engineer Barbie. At that point, Stratigakos joined forces with colleague and architect Kelly Hayes McAlonie, interim director of UB’s Capital Planning Group and president-elect of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York State, to lobby Mattel directly for the doll and about the importance of introducing little girls to architecture. The toy giant agreed to produce Architect Barbie and asked Stratigakos and Hayes McAlonie to advise on her design. The doll was introduced to the public at the AIA national convention in May in New Orleans and appeared on toy shelves in August 2011. As other cultural commentators have noted, when Barbie was first introduced in 1959, she was considered a rebel. She was unmarried, had no children, had her own career and beach house, and lived a glamorous life very different from that imagined for women in mainstream postwar culture. It is this rebellious side—her flair for doing her own thing—that Stratigakos and Hayes McAlonie say they wanted to appropriate for Architect Barbie. “On the educational side of the issue, we hope that this project will make little girls more aware of the importance of design and the architectural profession,” says Hayes McAlonie, who is writing a biography of Louise Blanchard Bethune, a Buffalo native who, in 1885, became the first woman admitted to a professional architectural association. “Only open discussion about gender will help to knock down the barriers women face in architecture,” adds Stratigakos. “These may be less overt than they were in the past, but they remain an exclusionary force nonetheless. If Architect Barbie gets us talking, then more power to her.” —Patricia Donovan
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Need caption here Alan Friedman in Buffalo with his stargazing equipment.
alumniprofile
Alan Friedman, BFA ’77: Astronomer aims his telescope at the
heavens to capture unique photographic images s
t
a r
In an unassuming backyard of a home in Buffalo, Alan Friedman, BFA ’77, sets up his telescope equipment, aims it at the sky and begins filming one single celestial object in outer space at 15 frames per second. Later, with the help of a computer program, he will carefully sift through thousands of images from the film, painstakingly hand-selecting multiple images of the same subject to layer together as a composite image—be it a planet, the sun, the moon or even the International Space Station. The end result, sometimes taking years of filming to complete, transforms science photographs into unique works of art, earning him worldwide accolades from professional astronomers at NASA, widespread attention with features on nationally televised morning shows, and millions of visits to his blog (www.avertedimagination.com) and other websites where his photography is featured. Admittedly, Friedman was always interested in photography, though he only became involved in astro-photography a little over a decade ago when a neighbor brought out a telescope and he had a chance to view Saturn. Afterward, he bought his first telescope, and seven telescopes later he was hooked. “I love using the camera. I always have,” he says. “It was a logical step for me when I got into looking at the heavens to want to record what I was seeing.” And yet this isn’t Friedman’s day job. A graduate of the BFA program in printmaking, where he met his wife Donna Massimo, MA ’90 & BFA ’75, he is president and CEO of Great Arrow Graphics, a Buffalo-based company he and his wife founded in 1984. During the early days of the business, he was a designer responsible for creating as many as 300 new card concepts each year. These days he concentrates on running the company. “But I still do art direction. I write copy and select images,” he says. Now along with his responsibilities to Great Arrow and his personal astro-photography, Friedman serves as a research associate at the Buffalo Museum of Science. He donates his time to astronomy programming at the museum and even brings his rare and incredibly powerful Astro-Physics 10-inch f14.6 Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope, only one of 32 in existence, to the museum for stargazing and photography. Friedman explains that there’s a strong difference between astronomers who work in the field and astronomers who, like himself, are amateurs. But he says that what he lacks in a science degree he makes up for with his training in the aesthetic dimension of celestial photography. “I love the science of this, but we have spaceships up there doing incredible science,” Friedman says. “For me, it’s the art. It’s presenting the story and telling the different take on it.”
stargazer a
g
e z r
© Alan Friedman
Story by Julie Wesolowski, with photo by Douglas Levere, BA ’89
To see examples of Friedman’s celestial work, go to avertedimagination.com.
O u t t a k e s Astrology sign “Astronomers tend to cringe at anything having to do with astrology. … But doing public events I meet a lot of folks who follow their horoscope and I find they know more than the average person about what’s up in the sky above. I’m a Taurus, and a very typical one at that!” Favorite non-starry subject to photograph “People. My wife and daughters are beautiful, ever-changing subjects that I photograph a lot.” Favorite UB professor and why “If I had to pick a favorite it would be [SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus] Harvey Breverman in the art department. He was a working artist, a fantastic and dedicated teacher, wonderfully idiosyncratic, and a good friend up to this day.”
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By Charles Anzalone, MA ’00
A Decade Later The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is an occasion to reflect on how much the university changed in the intervening decade, and how people in the UB community turned their sorrow and grief into purposeful action
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The world changed Sept. 11, 2001. And so did the University at Buffalo. In the tradition of great research universities, and on the most collectively pivotal day in recent history, UB truly reflected the community it serves. In a few moments, America’s veil of invulnerability dissolved, perhaps forever. Initial reaction among many in the UB community who would shape a new post-9/11 university was much like those around them: sorrow, fear, confusion. Were the attacks an end or a beginning? And then came a terrible feeling of helplessness. Then something notable happened. People in the UB community went into action. They did something, and what they did has lasted.
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School of Social Work Dean Nancy J. Smyth heard about the first plane crashing into the top floors of the World Trade Center when she was entering a UB North Campus parking lot. When she learned about the second plane crashing into the second tower—she had just gotten to her office on the sixth floor of Baldy Hall—she knew this was something she had never seen in her lifetime: an unprecedented attack on American land. “My first response was horror,” says Smyth, an expert on psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress. “I thought the first plane to hit the towers was a small plane. I thought it was an accident. It was clear after the second plane hit this was an organized attack. “My second response was to create a handout in about an hour on how to talk to Smyth children on this. And then I emailed it to my human services and academic colleagues in New York City because a lot of them were working with kids in schools and human services agencies.” The events of 9/11 would inspire Smyth and colleagues to focus their research more acutely on human response to trauma and human resilience in the face of unthinkable tragedy. Mark G. Frank, BA ’83, a behavioral scientist and professor of communication at UB, was on the faculty at Rutgers University within 35 miles of Ground Zero when the Twin Towers collapsed. Like so many Americans, Frank experienced that terrible feeling of helplessness, both for his family in New Jersey as well as for relatives living in Buffalo. He still remembers the “heartbreaking” parade of people
wandering the streets of lower Manhattan, hanging fliers, asking if anyone had seen their loved ones, many of whom had been killed when the towers collapsed. “The first thing was, you want to get the animals who did this,” Frank says. “The second thing is, ‘What can I do to personally get them or make sure this never happens again?’” Before 9/11, Frank’s groundbreaking research on behavioral and physiological clues to human deception was utilized by traditional law enforcement and was beginning to draw interest from transportation security agencies. If Frank’s post-9/11 research could help the authorities spot a terrorist before he carried out his crime, perhaps future tragedies would be averted. “A lot of our research [before 9/11] was used by the government and law enforcement. They always found it helpful,” Frank says. “So if we could swing that around to work with counter-terrorism, that would be a contribution I could make.” What followed was the most profoundly satisfying work of Frank’s career—behavioral identification research that has led to focused research programs, jointly funded government projects and several national media appearances. More importantly, it gave him a true sense of making a meaningful contribution toward keeping the people he loves safe.
A ‘catapulting of awareness’ Every person interviewed for this story made it unequivocally clear that the coordinated terrorist attacks of 10 years ago left the university fundamentally different from before. From curriculum to research priorities to the attitude toward personal safety, the university has undergone a significant transformation, just like the world around it. While logging every change would be nearly impossible, this sampling shows how commitment, knowledge, some wellplaced federal grants and a fierce imperative can lead to a better university, and a
“It used to be our students had to be sold on the fact that this was a global world, that we are interconnected. It’s not a hard sell anymore. Our students now come in very aware of that global perspective. And 9/11 is one large piece of that.” Nancy Smyth, Dean of the School of Social Work
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better world. UB’s nationally prominent School of Social Work, for instance, already had a wellfrank established traumabased curriculum before the term “9/11” became part of the American lexicon. The shock waves and anxiety the nation shared watching that endless video loop of jets exploding into the World Trade Center towers accelerated a direction the school already had started. “We had a trauma counseling certificate in our school before 9/11,” says Smyth. “But that event catapulted interest forward. Everyone became aware of the fact we are vulnerable not just to natural disasters, but to manmade ones, as well.” Indeed, the School of Social Work’s trauma-informed emphasis (which, simply put, means most people social workers try to help have experienced significant trauma) also dovetailed with the school’s social justice/human rights component. “When you really look at 9/11, you start to ask yourself the questions, ‘Why were we targeted by these groups? Why were we so hated? What is going on internationally?’” says Smyth. “It’s impossible to answer those questions without figuring in a social justice agenda.” That “catapulting of awareness” of the school’s trauma/social justice elements merged with students’ changing perspectives, Smyth explains. “It used to be our students had to be sold on the fact that this was a global world, that we are interconnected. It’s not a hard sell anymore. Our students now come in very aware of that global perspective. And 9/11 is one large piece of that.” Examples of ways to achieve this global interconnectedness include more School of Social Work students doing internships at local agencies with an international context, such as at VIVE Inc.’s refugee shelter in Buffalo called La Casa, or requiring incoming students to read “Half the Sky” by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, which details the victimization of women and girls around the world. Yet despite all the curricular innovations, adaptations and growth Smyth has tried to bring to her school, the memory of that sunny morning 10 years ago remains. “To this day, when there are planes I can hear where you are not expecting
Douglas Levere, BA ’89
Douglas Levere, BA ’89
Sorrow turns into positive action
“Nothing like 9/11 has ever happened on American soil before, but our university has put significant resources into training and enhancing security on campus. That’s the positive that has
Ensuring personal safety
come out of this.”
Reflecting on the impact of 9/11, Chief of University Police Gerald W. Schoenle points to numerous ways that the university has made its campuses safer, from increased police officers to its network of cameras outside buildings on both North and South campuses (as well as plans to include cameras when completing the Downtown Campus) to different procedures police follow when supervising a large event. But the most telling and maybe most influential change since Sept. 11 has been attitude. “People are more likely to contact us now and are more aware of their surroundings,” says Schoenle. “They are more accepting of having a visible police presence and security on their campuses than they were years ago. They are happy to see us. Things have changed.” That in itself has been something that has made Schoenle’s and his department’s crucial task much easier. Schoenle was director of training at the Erie County Police Academy when he saw the second plane crash into the second World Trade Center tower. A retired chief master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, Schoenle remembers thinking this was going to mean a real difference in how the country does business. Now he is responsible for the safety of UB’s campuses in an age in which universities have become targets of impersonal violence and shooting rampages. The 9/11 attack was just one element that made security and safety one of the university’s top priorities. “As important as 2001 was, the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 [during which a gunman killed 32 people and wounded 25 others before killing himself] was what caused major changes in university policing,” he says. Schoenle is consistently upbeat and reassuring about the mood and climate at UB and other American college campuses. “College campuses do tend to be among the safest places around,” he says. “You actually have more of a
Gerald Schoenle, Chief of University Police chance of being struck by lightning than being a victim of violent crime on campus. Campuses remain relatively safe places, and UB is among the safest.” Nevertheless, the security business at UB is different. For example, security at large events has dramatically changed. Other community law enforcement agencies usually are involved. Bomb-sniffing dogs are available to search during special events. And the university has hundreds of security cameras on the South Campus; a similar number is being installed on the North Campus. Furthermore, UB became one of many universities to incorporate a timely early-warning system in the case of any emergency. A civil disturbance team of 25 officers is specially trained to handle a major disruption that could occur on campus. The team conducts periodic drills on campus, practicing their response to sudden, unforeseen crises. “Nothing like 9/11 has ever happened on American soil before,” Schoenle says. “But our university has put significant resources into training and enhancing security on campus. That’s the positive that has come out of this.”
Big-picture relevance The UB Center of Excellence in Information Systems Assurance Research and Education (CEISARE), headed by computer science and engineering professor Shambhu Upadhyaya, has a name many people would pass right over. But don’t be fooled. This center of excellence is a post-9/11 creation. It has everything: a big-picture relevance that could have profound impact on keeping the society safe and successful, substantial job-growth potential, and high-tech drama that mixes cutting-edge technology with the edges of human emotions. There’s a great nextgeneration novel here. CEISARE was one of a handful of national centers schoenle
established in 2002 to train students in the art of information assurance or IA. Some people describe IA as cybersecurity, protecting computer systems from hackers, whether they be mischievous teenagers or extremists half-a-world away determined to destroy Western civilization. Upadhyaya says the cybersecurity label doesn’t do information assurance justice. “IA is a much broader umbrella,” Upadhyaya explains. “There is network administration, firewall protection, security practiced at the basic level when you are upadhyaya writing programs and codes. It’s about building better systems, computer forensics, establishing best practices for these systems.” Imagine someone getting into the intricate computer network of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, or the electric grid that powers a major city, or a commercial airline reservation system. Now imagine someone with a job designated to design its security, or protect it once it’s up and running. That’s IA. “The area itself is interesting,” says Upadhyaya, who this semester begins his 26th year at UB. “It’s challenging with all its science and math.” And then there is the job market. IA seems destined to become one of the age’s real growth industries. The number of IA jobs available in government and the private sector announced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security: thousands. Estimates of how many qualified people—including the crucial security checks—to fill them: hundreds. “There is definitely a big gap,” Upadhyaya says. “On top of that, there is the sense of protecting the country,” he says. “These attacks happen. And they keep coming. www.alumni.buffalo.edu UBTODAY Fall 2011
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Douglas Levere, BA ’89
Douglas Levere, BA ’89
them, there is this fleeting thought, ‘Is that plane where it’s supposed to be?’ says Smyth. “And you listen and wait to see what happens.”
You’re providing the technical support to protect infrastructure that is critical to the nation and people’s lives.”
New research vistas The intensity of Mark Frank’s feelings after 9/11 directly led him to study ways of identifying behavioral traits that law enforcement officials could use to detect people lying, including potential terrorists. His work on involuntary facial expressions that tip off lies has been featured prominently on CBS News, NPR, CNN, the Discovery Channel and USA Today, among other media outlets. He also has been a key player in government conferences trying to understand the minds of terrorists and how to “take the oxygen” from the extremist arguments that breed radical behavior. More importantly for him, his research has been an example of how in the post-9/11 world, academics and government counterterrorist officials can work together and “shake the best out of each other.” That’s another example of what Frank calls the “sea change” that occurred in research as a result of the terrorist attacks 10 years ago. Frank often felt that good behavioral science wasn’t taken seriously by the people who tackled the hands-on work of homeland security. Now there is a natural connection. Today, Frank works alongside computer scientists, engineers and chemists in UB’s Center for Unified Biometrics and Sensors (CUBS), which launched after 9/11 to find new ways to measure and detect the physiological and behavioral characteristics of identity—fingerprints, voice, handwriting and facial expressions, for example. “As an academic, [I saw that] our work tended to be a few steps removed from the action,” Frank says. “Being able to work directly with these folks puts you that much closer to where the rubber meets the road. To be able to have some kind of influence on them and for them to trust me with helping them, as well, and for me to develop the type of partnership that ultimately is going to be an essential element in making us more secure is very fulfilling. That to me has been one of the most satisfying things of all.” Charles Anzalone, MA ’00, is senior editor in University Communications and adjunct instructor in journalism in the UB Department of English.
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years of UB research in the wake of 9/11 As early as the summer of 2002, UB was among several prominent universities across the country that made counter-terror research a priority. UB’s leadership identified “mitigation and response to extreme events” as one focus of its UB 2020 strategic plan for academic excellence. And UB researchers across several academic disciplines—engineering, computer science, biology, chemistry, psychology and urban planning among them—began working collaboratively on ways to reduce risks from natural and human-caused hazards. At that time, the late Bruce Holm, then UB senior vice provost, headed a newly formed SUNY-wide taskforce on bioterrorism, a period when attention was focused on fears of bioterrorism agents like anthrax and smallpox. UB researchers sought to develop meth-
To find out more about UB research associated with 9/11, go to www.buffalo.edu/ubt.
ods to make vaccines more potent and more useful in the face of feared attacks using such agents. UB biologists and biochemists were studying the effects of certain biological agents on cells—information
that is used to develop mechanisms to block those effects—and their colleagues were developing fast and effective devices for detecting bioagents in the air. To this end, some worked to bring to market a hand-held device that combined commercial “lab-on-achip” technology with the work of UB microbiologist Anthony Campagnari. Others at UB were developing handwriting-recognition software to find the source of biological materials that had been sent through the U.S. mail. Meanwhile, UB engineers applied earthquake-engineering technologies to the development of terror-resistant structures, based on an assessment of damage done to buildings surrounding the World Trade Center. And UB researchers, in an investigation funded by the Federal Aviation Administration, studied how baggage was inspected at airports. Also during this decade, UB informatics scientists worked to discover how to efficiently organize and interpret massive amounts of information, such as that gathered and transmitted following complex disasters like 9/11. As time went on, concerns expanded to include changes in law and society provoked by the attacks, specifically those concerning civil liberties, immigration restrictions, ethnic bias, the psychological and physical effects of trauma, the dissemination of accurate information despite the proliferation of secrecy efforts, and a consideration of ways in which 9/11 had influenced a range of individuals and groups emotionally, physically and socially. —Patricia Donovan, senior editor, University Communications
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Alan Winslow and Morrigan McCarthy in Camden, Maine.
44 UBTODAY Fall 2011
www.buffalo.edu/UBT
Alan Winslow, BA ’07 : Photographer crisscrosses U.S. to document
environmental views of small-town Americans
alumniprofile
Three years ago, Alan Winslow, BA ’07, set out to see America. With friend Morrigan McCarthy, Winslow packed cameras and digital recorders onto a pair of bicycles. Over the next 11 months, the partners—both professional photographers—zig-zagged through 30 states on an 11,000-mile ride. Their goal: to document, through pictures and sound, the opinions of small-town Americans on the environment. Their journey, which they called Project Tandem, culminated in a traveling gallery exhibit that they have been showing for the past two years in such cities as Rockland, Maine; Henniker, N.H.; Washington, D.C.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Buffalo. The show features black-and-white portraits of the people they met—a fisherman unloading crawfish in Mamou, La., a real estate broker standing in a beachfront home in hurricane-battered Florida—along with audio of the subjects discussing their perspectives. From Rust Belt factory towns to Gulf Coast harbors, common themes surfaced as Winslow and McCarthy recorded interviews. People felt that policymakers were failing to consider how laws, including those promoting conservation, were affecting Americans’ daily lives. The daughter of a Midwestern farmer worried that small reductions in water quotas for irrigation would keep her father from growing enough crops to make a living. In Wyoming, a cattle rancher reported that the reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park had been so successful that the predators were now killing cows on his property. The openness of the people Winslow met, along with their very real concerns, changed his thinking on the environment and America. He realized that national problems had local impacts and needed local solutions. He also observed that many rural residents, while refusing to call themselves environmentalists, had smaller carbon footprints than greenminded city dwellers accustomed to luxuries like air travel or imported food. And most people Winslow encountered lived more simply. Some ate what they hunted. Winslow, who graduated from UB in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in photography and environmental studies, says Project Tandem opened his eyes to how little he really knew about America. Simple curiosity sparked the endeavor. He and McCarthy were living in New York City in 2008 when they began discussing how newspapers were reporting on the environment. “The media were covering this issue using polls and statistics, and we decided that wasn’t giving people a voice,” he says. “So we came up with this idea of going around the country to ask real people what they thought.” Along the way, Winslow used his academic training to ask intelligent questions about natural disasters, water pollution, sustainable forestry and other topics. His experience as a student volunteering with Earth Spirit, a nature-education program founded by a UB lecturer, gave him the confidence to talk to strangers. His advice to us: Travel more around America. Listen to what people in other parts of the country have to say. Learn from the diversity of cultures and ideas that exists right here, at home. Story by Charlotte Hsu, with photo by David Wright
© Alan Winslow
11,000 miles on a bike
To see photographs from Project Tandem go to projecttandem.org
O u t t a k e s Trip trajectory Maine to Florida, across the southern U.S. to San Diego, up to Seattle, then to upstate New York; Bike weight More than 100 pounds (about 80 pounds for partner Morrigan McCarthy’s bike); Biggest mistake during the journey Riding through Tornado Alley during the storm season; Preferred way to spend the night Camping out—the pair asked permission to stay in farmers’ fields or homeowners’ backyards although they sometimes stayed in motels; Resulting book “Project Tandem: Two Photographers, Two Bicycles, One 11,000 Mile Ride” by Morrigan McCarthy and Alan Winslow
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Mary Cappello points to an X-ray from the 1919 case of Annie Z., age 3, who had a toy dog lodged in her esophagus—one of many peculiar items swallowed and featured in her book.
Sw
Mary Cappello, PhD ’88 & MA ’85: Scholar examines the life of
tales
otolaryngologist and the odd things people have ingested
Mary Cappello, PhD ’88 & MA ’85, describes herself as a quirky thinker. Her wide-ranging professional interests include poetry and politics, 19th-century American literary and cultural studies, medical humanities, and psychoanalytic theory, all of which she studied at UB. Writing creative nonfiction allows her to draw on all of them, often in one book. “Every one of my books is what I call a thought experiment and it takes a different shape based on the subject that I’m treating,” Cappello says. “I always try to find the form that will suit the problem I’m writing about, rather than say, ‘I have the form in advance,’ and pour my subject into it.” Cappello, a professor of English at the University of Rhode Island, has published four book-length works of creative nonfiction. Her latest, “Swallow,” explores the life of Chevalier Jackson (1865-1958) and the collection of swallowed objects—now housed at Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum— the pioneering laryngologist extracted nonsurgically from thousands of patients. Objects included wristwatches, safety pins and even a pair of toy opera glasses. It’s the first nonautobiographical book about Jackson, but it’s not a typical biography, something that “gets me into a little trouble, too, because people expect that,” Cappello admits. She arranged the chapters to resemble a set of contiguous drawers; the juxtaposition more closely resembles the poetic practice than the standard chronological biography following an individual’s life from birth to death. “It’s not linear,” says Cappello, who lives in Providence with her partner Jean Walton, who also holds a PhD in English from UB. “You have to be patient with opening and closing a drawer and opening another one.” “Swallow” is more research-based than her previous works, although, like the others, some sections are written in the first person. Cappello’s first book,
wal low
alumniprofile
“Night Bloom,” is a memoir about three generations of her Italian family. Her second, “Awkward: A Detour,” is a book-length essay that evolved out of a project in which she gave herself the imperative to follow awkwardness and “see where it took me.” She also wrote “Called Back,” a memoir about her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. “I wrote ‘Called Back’ like it was the last book,” she says. “There was a sense of ‘well, I better write something because this might be my last opportunity.’ When you have a cancer diagnosis, it speeds things up, no question.” Cappello recently received a prestigious Guggenheim Foundation fellowship for the 20112012 academic year. She’ll use it to take a break from teaching—also a passion—to work on another booklength essay. She expects the project to be somewhat similar to “Awkward: A Detour,” but this time she’s given herself the wondrous task of exploring mood, particularly through sound. “I’m always interested in things that are pervasive, or ubiquitous, but that we don’t really understand,” she says, adding that with this project she’s thinking of creating a literary form that mimics cloud patterns. Cappello started writing genre-bending creative nonfiction while working as a professor at the University of Rochester, her first job after receiving her PhD. The lines of her poems were getting longer, morphing into sentences, as she was simultaneously questioning the notion that creative writing had to exist apart from literary scholarship. “That to me is a Buffalo influence, that idea of learning how to think in counterintuitive ways and bring incompatible knowledge into the same space,” she says. “We experienced Buffalo as a place that encouraged originality and imaginativeness.” Story by Jenna Pelletier, with photo by David H. Wells. X-ray images from the collection of the Mütter Museum, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.
O u t t a k e s Hometown Darby, Pa., outside Philadelphia Downtime activities Gardening and cooking Sicilian cuisine. One of her specialties is pasta con sarde (sardines). Doctoral thesis “Representations of Illness and Health in 19th-Century American Literature” Fond academic memories of Buffalo Hearing then-visiting faculty member Susan Howe lecture on Emily Dickinson, and studying the intersections of visual art and literature with Professor of English Martin Pops How UB shaped her as a writer-scholar “As a graduate student, I felt like the creative writing classes and the ethos of creative writing was never sequestered from, or understood as separate from, the classes in literature and literary theory. That’s huge. You don’t get that everywhere.”
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news
alumni
f r o m t h e U B A l um n i A ss o c i at i o n
The Main Event
The Board’s a Busy Bunch
To learn more, visit www. alumni.buffalo.edu/ board-directors
or many, “board of directors” conjures up images of a stuffy, smoke-filled room with an imposing rectangular table, around which sit older men in three-piece suits poring over financial statements. Nothing could be further from the truth, however, when it comes to UBAA’s busy and diverse board members. In fact, they are health care administrators, bankers, lawyers, marketing executives, journalists and social workers. They live in Buffalo, Washington, D.C., Boston and Charlotte, among other locales. And their graduation dates span 49 years—from 1960 to 2009. They count among them PhDs, DDSs, MBAs and bachelor’s degrees in diverse fields. Some are multiple UB degree-holders. From location to gender to degree to age, the 51-member UBAA board composition intention-
And in chapter news… Tickets went quickly to watch the Sabres-Bruins game from a suite in TD Garden in Boston on March 30. Thirty watched the Sabres score an overtime victory and enjoyed food and drink throughout the entire game.
On April 9, nearly 50 attended a boat tour of the Port of Houston, then took part in a networking reception with appetizers and drinks at Brady’s Landing.
In conjunction with the College of Arts and Sciences, an event was held on the state of the global economy featuring Isaac Ehrlich, SUNY and UB Distinguished Professor, and Bill Strauss, BA ’80, senior economist at the
ally mirrors that of the alumni population as a whole. “When we are seeking new board members, we do our best to be inclusive and reflective of the people we are working for,” says Tim Lafferty, BA ’86, UBAA president. “Our board provides strategic direction on the overall alumni program, and the alumni staff provides the execution,” adds Jay Friedman, EdM ’00 & BA ’86, associate vice president for alumni relations. Board member input is invaluable and is tapped extensively from the professional expertise represented around the table. “From developing new programs to implementing a change to our bylaws, we can usually resolve the majority of business during our working session because of the talent in the room,” Lafferty states. Passion for UB is a commonality—as students they thrived, so
Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago. Approximately 60 attended the March 29 event at the Union League Club in New
York City.
The NHL Eastern Conference playoff race and the presence of the Buffalo Sabres helped attract some 50 to a pregame tailgate. Attendees then watched the Sabres post an overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes
April 3 in the RBC Center in Raleigh. The St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco was the setting on April 28 for a panel discussion and networking. Held in partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences, Dean Bruce McCombe and 75 guests were on hand to hear five successful alumni who found their way to the Bay Area. Panelists were Joe Abrams, BA
Hey, that’s me! To see photos of other alumni and friends from recent chapter events, go to www.alumni.buffalo.edu/chapters. Members of the Boston alumni chapter strike a pose at a recent gathering.
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joining the UBAA board is one way to give back as alumni. Showing this commitment, for example, is Kenneth M. Jones, MA ’84, CFO and vice president at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, who chairs the audit committee and holds additional degrees from Boston University and MIT. “As an alumnus, I feel that my career would not have been the same without my UB experience,” Jones observes. “The cost of the program vs. the value of the education is a major return on investment. As a board member, I want to give back and ensure that UB keeps its stature as a world-class university.” The board is a reflection of the broader alumni community and so takes its responsibility seriously, Lafferty says. “UB means so much to each one of us, and it is our honor to represent the collective needs of the greater alumni community to the university in any way we can.” To learn more about the UBAA board of directors and its members, visit www.alumni.buffalo/ edu/board-directors.
’72, specialist in small technology and ecofriendly consumer products companies; Roger Choplin, BA ’72, founder of Whiskey Hill Studios; Pamela Gray, BA ’78, screenwriter for several Hollywood studios; Bob Swan, BS ’83, senior vice president, finance and CFO for Ebay Inc.; and John Walker, BA ’71, medical technology and biotechnology director and consultant. Authentic Spanish food was highlighted during a reception April 27 in the Spanish Embassy hosted by the Washington, D.C. chapter. Colleen Culleton, assistant professor in
UB’s Department of Romance Languages and Literatures; and Diego Alberdi, counselor for education in the U.S. and Canada, were the evening’s presenters. Meanwhile, Los Angeles and South Florida are two areas that have shown great interest in formalizing alumni chapters. Vince LoRusso, BS ’07, has taken the lead in Los Angeles (laubalumni@gmail. com). Maria Tomaino, BA ’04 (mltomain@fiu. edu), and Al Royston, BS ’73 (alvanirene@ cs.com), are the contacts in South Florida.
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John A. Cirando, JD 1966, has been included as one of the top 5 percent of outstanding attorneys in upstate New York in the 2011 edition of New York Super Lawyers. Cirando focuses his practice on appellate advocacy and serves on the New York State Law Revision Commission, Governor’s Judicial Screening Committee, Commission on Judicial Nomination, New York cirando State Interest on Lawyer Account Fund and Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission. Cirando resides in Syracuse, N.Y. Bert Rappole, MD 1966, is director of medical student education at WCA Hospital in Dunkirk, N.Y., where he facilitates clinical rotations for students enrolled in their third and fourth years of medical school. For more than 30 years, Rappole practiced general and vascular surgery at WCA Hospital and has served on numerous medical staff committees. He lives in Chautauqua, N.Y.
Joseph J. Carline, BS 1971, is of counsel at the firm of Couch White LLP in Albany, N.Y. He has more than 30 years’ carline experience with the New York Power Authority and most recently served under contract as its legal consultant. Carline resides in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Andrew Hahn, BA 1971, is vice president and middle market relationship manager at Fifth Third Bank in Tampa Bay, Fla., where he is responsible for servicing businesses with annual sales of $100 million to $500 million. He lives in Wesley Chapel, Fla. Dennis Dennis, BS 1972 & BA 1971, is a founder and principal at Care Full Conflict LLC in Redmond, Wash. Most recently, dennis he was an assistant secretary at the Washington State Department of Health. He resides in Redmond. Mark G. Farrell, JD 1972 & BA 1969, was named Jurist of the Year for 2011 by the Judges & Police Conference of Erie County, farrell N.Y., for his outstanding and well-recognized work as a leader in the area of therapeutic
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justice. Town of Amherst, N.Y., justice since 1994, Farrell initiated the first suburban drug court in the U.S. in 1996, the first domestic violence court in Erie County in 1997, the world’s only gambling treatment court in 2001, and in May of 2009, the nation’s first suburban veteran’s treatment court. He resides in Amherst. Diane J. Mancino, BS 1972, is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, nominated for her outstanding achievements in the nursing profession. She serves as executive director of the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) and the Foundation of the NSNA, and has dedicated her career to the professional development and advocacy of undergraduate nursing students. Mancino lives in Astoria, N.Y. Vince W. Evans, BS 1973, is senior director of clinical operations at Hospice of the Valley in San Jose, Calif., where he is responsible for daily clinievans cal operations. He resides in San Jose. Chien-Wu Chang, MS 1974, is a senior staff engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Sunnyvale, Calif. He lives in Palo Alto, Calif. Clark D. Manus, BA 1974, is the 87th president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He previously served as AIA national vice president, chairing the board advocacy committee and the 2010-2015 strategic plan, and has held numerous other positions within the AIA. He lives in Oakland, Calif. Zachary N. Roros, BS 1974, is a regional sales manager at BlueArc Corporation and has been named the No. 1 sales representative in the company for 2011. His respon-
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news
alumni
ubaa by t h e n umb e r s
Online and social network numbers as of June 2011
2,090 5,420 1,201 10,965 [Facebook page “likes”]
Oozefest Accolades
[LinkedIn alumniverified members]
[Twitter followers]
[Flickr photo views]
26,000+ [UB Connect registered users]
129,527 [UB Connect email addresses] Go to www.alumni.buffalo.edu/ socialnetworks to join UBAA on social networking sites.
48 UBTODAY Fall 2011
Oozefest 2011 champs 7 ½ White Men, who managed to stay relatively mud-free, show off their temporarily shiny trophies. To see more Oozefest photos online or watch a video of the 2011 tournament, visit www. alumni.buffalo.edu/oozefest.
Association Billboard S T U D EN T A L U M NI A S S OCI A T ION
alumni teams, The Sheepherders, celebrating 17 years, and Smart Like Chicken, 15 years. Oozefest 28 is slated for April 28, 2012. Mark your calendars now!
Oozefest Thanks to a major expansion this year, Oozefest is now officially the largest single-day, double-elimination collegiate mud volleyball tournament in the nation. The addition of eight new courts to the Mud Pit on St. Rita’s Lane meant that 64 more teams were invited to play, for a grand total of 192. “We’ve had a lengthy waiting list for several years, so we were confident that we could increase the capacity,” says Patty Starr, assistant director for volunteer and student programs in the UB Office of Alumni Relations. “We hated turning anyone down who wanted to participate.” Sure enough, the 2011 event was once again a sellout, with 1,400 players, including students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members, along with more than 200 volunteers who supported the event. Taking home the tournament trophy and bragging rights was 7 ½ White Men. The prize for best costume, sponsored by alumni team Poached Trout in a White Wine Sauce (notable for its 22 consecutive years of play), was “The Mighty Morphan Power Rangers,” who will receive a free team registration in 2012. Also in the mud were two other longtime
www.buffalo.edu/UBT
UB DOWNTOWN
Striking similarities Two Western New York corporate CEOs with striking similarities headlined the UB Downtown luncheon series this spring, a program co-presented by the UB and School of Management alumni associations. Each is an alumnus of the School of Management and a member of the UB Alumni Association. Their companies are both located in Akron, N.Y. (they even share a railroad siding) and each brought plenty of tasty samples of their products. George Stege, MBA ’86, president and CEO of Ford Gum & Machine Co., the only large-scale manufacturer of gumballs in the U.S., spoke on April 14 to a sellout crowd of 63 in UB’s Jacobs Executive Development Center. A past member of the UB Alumni Association board of directors, Stege described the process of making chewing gum and how his company is staying relevant after 98 years of manufacturing gumballs. Ford’s newest hot product, for instance, is Big League Chew, a shredded bubble gum in a pouch.
A month later, UB Downtown featured Bob Denning, EMBA ’00, president of Perry’s Ice Cream, who spoke to a crowd of 113 about the success of his company. Perry’s is one of the top regional ice cream manufacturing companies in the United States, the country that consumes the largest amount of the frozen treat. Founded in 1918, Perry’s remains a family-owned and-operated, fourth-generation ice cream manufacturer with frozen distribution services. The company makes more than 13 million gallons of ice cream annually and won two prestigious awards in March 2011 from the International Dairy Foods Association for most innovative flavor and most innovative novelty. Red Velvet, the winner of the 2011 innovative flavor award, was served to the crowd at Chef’s restaurant on May 18. A L U M NI CONNEC T ION S
Wanted: your email address
You can use the QR code above to access our site from your smartphone.
Last year, the UB Office of Alumni Relations alone sent out more than 600 email messages to various groups of alumni constituents. More and more communication is being done electronically, not only for convenience but also because of the high cost of printing and postage.
Don’t miss out on any important communiqué, contest opportunity or other electronic update from the university, your school or the alumni association! To encourage you to “go green,” we’re holding a drawing for two Kindle ereaders. To be eligible, you must submit your email address to us by midnight on Oct. 31, 2011. Verify your email in your alumni profile on UB Connect (www.ubconnect.org), email it to us at ubalumni@buffalo.edu, use the QR code above or call the alumni office at 1-800-284-5382. U B A T NOON
Preserving ‘the Heights’ Though typically held on the North Campus, the March 29 UB at Noon lecture was in Allen Hall, South Campus, in keeping with the topic: preservation of the University Park Historic District, a neighborhood bordering the South Campus. Kerry Traynor-Albert, adjunct instructor in urban and regional planning, discussed the history and unique features of the neighborhood, and its recent listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
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sibilities include offering high-performance networkattached roros storage to numerous businesses throughout parts of New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. He resides in New York, N.Y. Jesse Bernstein, PhD 1975 & BA 1968, has been named the James Bryant Conant High School Chemistry Teacher of the Year for 2011. He received the award at the American Chemical Society’s annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., in March 2011. Bernstein is science department chair at Miami Country Day School in Miami, Fla. He lives in Aventura, Fla. Karen J. Blair, PhD 1976 & MA 1974, professor and chair of Central Washington University’s department of history, has been honored by Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire for “achievements and leadership in the field of women’s history” and “lasting and important contributions” to the field. Blair has published seven books, numerous articles and essays, and was involved in organizing the 2010 Washington Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemoration. She resides in Ellensburg, Wash. Ellen G. Goldman, BS 1976, was featured on Top Tier’s podcast, “Ear on Careers,” in January 2011, when she discussed her path to becoming a wellness coach. Goldman has been in the fitness industry for 30 years. She lives in Livingston, N.J. Gary Jastrzab, BA 1976, is executive director of the Philadelphia (Pa.) City Planning Commission in Philadelphia. He is a member of the American Planning Association,
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Urban Land Institute and numerous other professional and civic organizations. Jastrzab resides in Philadelphia. Lawrence M. Meckler, JD 1976, is of counsel at Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP in Buffalo, N.Y. He focuses his practice on the firm’s business and meckler corporate, labor and employment, and economic and land development practice groups. Meckler lives in East Amherst, N.Y. Nancy Gibbons, JD 1977 & BA 1974, was named a California Super Lawyer in estates and trust. Her practice is in Walnut Creek, Calif., where she resides. Maria R. Miecyjak, BS 1977, is co-founder and vice president of Just Do It Dental, a Web-based information product company that creates formulas, strategies and blueprints designed to help dental practices throughout the country achieve financial freedom. She resides in Tonawanda, N.Y. Jeffrey M. Reed, BS 1977, is executive vice president of Mount Calvary Cemetery Group in Cheektowaga, N.Y., where he previously served as vice president of marketing and sales. In this role, he is responsible for operations and field supervision, along reed with his previous oversight of sales and marketing. Reed lives in Buffalo, N.Y. Sharon M. Green, EdM 1978, received a Distinguished Alumna Award from Mount Mercy Academy in Buffalo, N.Y., where she resides. Richard D. Marczewski, BS 1979, is principal and senior mechanical engi-
neer at Watts Architecture and Engineering in Buffalo, N.Y. He lives in Terrie Holland, N.Y. Benson Murray, JD 1979, is a partner in the law firm of Cohen & Lombardo in Buffalo, N.Y. She concentrates her practice in the areas of estates and trusts, wills and estate planning. She resides in Orchard Park, N.Y. Karen P. O’Connor, PhD 1979 & JD 1977, a professor at American University, was named to Ireland’s Irish Legal 100 list, comprising some of the most accomplished and distinguished American lawyers of Irish descent. O’Connor has testified before the U.S. House and Senate judiciary subcommittees on the U.S. Constitution and written or co-authored 20 books. She lives in Washington, D.C.
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Eric Bloom, JD 1980, is special counsel for Damon Morey in the law firm’s business litigation and insolvency department in Buffalo, N.Y., where he resides. Carol S. Maue, JD 1980 & BA 1977, is a partner at the law firm of Boylan, Brown, Code, Vigdor & Wilson LLP. She has received numerous awards, including the New York State Bar Association President’s Pro Bono Service Attorney Award and a Woman of Distinction Award from the Professional Women of the Finger Lakes. She lives in Canandaigua, N.Y. Dennis M. Patterson, PhD 1980, JD 1980, MA 1978 & BA 1976, a Board of Governors professor of law at Rutgers
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I n m e m o r y o f U B a l um n i
flashback
Charles M. Fogel, MA ’38 & BA ’35, of Amherst, N.Y., emeri-
tus professor of civil engineering at UB and an active supporter of his alma mater for decades, died 05.20.11. Fogel served under six UB chancellors and presidents, and received the first UB President’s Medal in 1990 for exemplary service to the university. Other honors include the UB Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award.
dence, R.I., a resident physician affiliated with Women and Infants Hospital at Brown University, died 04.26.11, following a short respiratory illness. Baker was poised to return to Buffalo as a physician-researcher after her residency ended in June. She often expressed gratitude for her UB education, having received all four of her degrees from the university.
For listings of other alumni deaths since our last issue, please go to www.buffalo.edu/ubt.
Elizabeth Taylor visits UB with barely a mention, no bull!
Actress Elizabeth Taylor, who died this year, and her third husband, producer Mike Todd, spent four days in Buffalo in the fall of 1957 as part of the city of Buffalo’s 125th anniversary celebration. During that visit, the famous couple came to UB on Sept. 20 and presented the university with “Buster,” a 7-month-old, Black Angus-Irish Dexter bull calf that served as a live mascot and commemorated the city’s 125th anniversary. A few weeks after Taylor’s visit, Buster was on hand for Homecoming and met the queen, Joan Arhardt (pictured above). Unbelieveably, the visit to campus drew very little attention in the student newspaper, The Spectrum. An article on Buster in the Oct. 4, 1957, issue briefly mentions he had been given to the university by Taylor and Todd. —John Edens, University Archives
Go to http://bit.ly/raxsOk to see the full Spectrum issue from Oct. 4, 1957.
50 UBTODAY Fall 2011
www.buffalo.edu/UBT
photos courtesy of university archives
1957
calendar
Julie A. Baker, MD ’07, PhD ’07, MS ’00 & BA ’97, of Provi-
Career Conversations
01.10.12 New York City
Hump Day Hangout
01.18.12 REALM Leadership Mentoring Program
11.02.11
D i st i n gu i s h e d S p e ak e r s S e r i e s
calendar
(also 03.01.12) Student Union, North Campus
(also on 03.28.12) Student Union Lobby, North Campus
Hump Day Hangout: After Hours
11.09.11
(also on 02.08.12 and 04.11.12) Student Union Lobby, North Campus
Fall Discovery Day
11.11.11
Center for the Arts, North Campus
Holiday concert and reception
12.02.11
Slee Hall, North Campus
Career Conversations
01.04.12 Rochester
Career Conversations
01.05.12 Albany
Soledad O’Brien
02.16.12 Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo
Alumni FAN (Food, Alumni, Networking)
03.29.12 South Lake Village Community Room, North Campus
Alumni Association Achievement Awards
04.13.12 North Campus
Oozefest
04.28.12 Mud Pit, North Campus D i st i n gu i s h e d S p e ak e r s S e r i e s
Seth MacFarlane
04.28.12 Alumni Arena, North Campus
McFarlane
All dates and times subject to change. Visit www.alumni. buffalo.edu/events for updates.
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School of Law–Camden, has been named to the law panel for the United Kingdom’s forthcoming Research Excellence Framework. In this role, he is responsible for evaluating the scholarship of legal academics throughout the United Kingdom. Patterson resides in Voorhees, N.J. Michael L. Corp, JD 1981, has been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for 2011. He is a partner at the law firm of Hancock corp Estabrook LLP in Syracuse, N.Y., where he focuses his practice in trusts and estates, elder law and tax law. Corp lives in Jamesville, N.Y. James M. Culligan, BS 1981, is director of investor relations for CTG, an international information technology solutions and services company in Buffalo, N.Y. He resides in Orchard Park, N.Y. Jeffrey L. Hatten, BPS 1981, is facilities director for the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District. He has extensive experience in facilities management and previously worked for the Buffalo Board of Education as one of its head architects for several years. Hatten lives in Cheektowaga, N.Y. C. Randall Hinrichs, JD 1981, is the administrative judge for Suffolk County. He was first elected as a Suffolk County Court judge in 2002 and appointed supervising judge in 2008. He was elected to the New York State Supreme Court in 2009. Hinrichs resides in Denise Bay Shore, N.Y. M. O’Donnell, JD 1982 & MSW 1973, having been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance in the U.S. Department of Justice, received confirma-
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tion from the U.S. Senate judiciary committee in May 2011. From 2007 to 2010, O’Donnell served as commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, where she managed several crime reduction efforts. O’Donnell lives in Buffalo, John J. Zak, BA N.Y. 1982, an attorney at Hodgson Russ in Buffalo, N.Y., was a speaker at the New York State Bar Association’s “Accounting for Lawyers” seminar series held in December 2010 in Albany, zak Rochester, New York City and Long Island. Zak resides in Kenmore, N.Y. Phillip M. Galbo, BS 1983, is a principal and manager of the transportation engineering department at Watts Architecture & Engineering in Buffalo, N.Y., where he has worked for 18 years. He lives in Williamsville, N.Y. Michael B. Pratt, BS 1983, is a principal and manager of the civil-structural engineering department at Watts Architecture & Engineering in Buffalo, N.Y. Pratt resides in Kenmore, N.Y. Thomas J. Yorkey BS 1983, is vice president of research and development at Solta Medical Inc. in Hayward, Calif. He also serves on the board of directors of Hunter Technologies, a private electronic manufacturing services company. Yorkey lives in San Ramon, Calif. Jonathan D. Cox, BA 1984, an attorney at Cohen & Lombardo in Buffalo, N.Y., is second vice cox president of the Buffalo Arts Studio (BAS) where he has been an active board member for more than four years
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and previously served as the board’s secretary. He resides in Buffalo, N.Y. Alan H. Pleskow, JD 1985 & BA 1981, is chief executive officer of Zavee LLC in Boca Raton, Fla., where he is responsible for the firm’s overall vision and strategic direction. He is a nationally recognized expert in real estate financing and represents major global financial institutions. Pleskow lives in Parkland, Fla. Douglas C. Bean, MBA 1987, is chief operating officer at Eric Mower and Associates, an independent marketing communications agency in Buffalo, N.Y. In this position, he is responsible for oversight of the organization’s seven offices. A managing partner since 1999, Bean will continue to serve as head of the firm’s Buffalo office and lead the brand promotion group. He resides in Buffalo. Cora A. Alsante, JD 1988, has been selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for 2011. She is a partner at the law firm of Hancock Estabrook LLP in Syracuse, N.Y., where she conalsante centrates her practice in estate planning, trusts, planning for the elderly and disabled, and estate and trust administration. She lives in Jamesville, N.Y. John Yani Arrasjid, BS 1988, is a principal architect in the cloud services team at VMware in Palo Alto, Calif. He serves on the Advanced Computing Systems Association’s board of directors and resides in Boulder Creek, Calif. Providence D. Morris, PharmD 1988, is regional coordinator and assistant professor at the University of the Pacific in San Diego, Calif. She has more than 20 years’ expe-
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alumni
UBAA Travel
Where do you want to go to today? Whether by land or by sea, the UB Alumni Association has five amazing trips planned for 2012 in conjunction with our two travel partners, Alumni Holidays International (AHI) and GoNext cruises. Austria, May 7-17, 2012 In addition to the landscapes immortalized in the film “The Sound of Music,” this trip includes a stop in Salzburg, Mozart’s birthplace, where you’ll hear his beautiful works during a chamber concert at Mirabell Palace. You’ll admire artistic wonders at Admont Abbey and visit the farm that breeds Lipizzaners, Vienna’s Spanish Riding School’s famous white stallions. We conclude in Vienna, a stunning city of opulent palaces and the magnificent opera house.
London to London Cruise, June 5-18, 2012 This 12-night cruise aboard Oceania Cruises’ Marina reveals the rich history and dramatic scenery of the British Isles, a wonderful journey filled with the echoes of castles, clans, ancient customs and so much more. Depart from England’s port city of Dover, cruise the North Sea to various ports and towns in Scotland and Ireland, including the Isle of Skye, Belfast and Dublin, before returning to Dover.
Alaskan Discovery Cruise, June 13-20, 2012 Discover America’s last frontier from the elegant decks of the Seven Seas Navigator, a remarkable cruising experience in which everything is included. Depart from cosmopolitan Vancouver, British Columbia, and cruise through the scenic inside passage to Ketchikan, the former “salmon capital of the world.” Follow the Alaskan coast to Sitka, the former capital of Russian possessions in North America, and continue to the immense Hubbard Glacier, the longest of its kind in Alaska, before ending your cruise in the picturesque harbor of Seward.
Red Rock Region of Colorado, Sept. 16-21, 2012 John Hendricks, the founder of the Discovery Channel, along with AHI, present an exciting and original travel concept: Discovery Retreats. With a mix of structured and free time, you will discover the history, beauty and culture of this beautiful region. Begin your days by learning about this storied area during fascinating morning discussions, then explore the terrain during guided excursions. Take advantage of ample free time to conduct your own discovery on horseback, kayak or ATV.
Tuscany, Oct. 10-18, 2012 The Tuscany region’s charming village of Cortona will be your base as you discover Montepulciano, set in the heart of Chianti country; Siena’s narrow cobblestone streets lined with Gothic buildings; and Duomo’s Piazza del Campo, one of the loveliest squares in Italy. Experience the brilliant artistic and architectural heritage of Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance. In the Umbria region, explore medieval Assisi, home to the exquisite Basilica For more information, of St. Francis, and Perugia, an ancient including cost and travel dates, visit www. Etruscan city-state. alumni.buffalo.edu/benefits-and-services.
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Member Spotlight
Vince LoRusso, BS ’07 Los Angeles, Calif. Member since 2007
Why did you join UBAA? Being a member of the UBAA means always having a piece of Buffalo nearby. The UBAA is one of the best ways to establish and build relationships when you move to a new city, and that’s why I’m leading the effort to begin a Los Angeles chapter. Everyone should leverage the benefits of your UB Alumni Association!
LoRusso close-up: After graduating, I worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Buffalo within their audit practice. I moved to LA to expand my network and business opportunities within technology and entertainment. After working for Cornerstone OnDemand, then as an independent CPA at Lionsgate Entertainment, I recently established my own firm, CPA for Startups LLC, to offer business planning, accounting and cash-budgeting services for startup ventures.
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rience as a pharmacy specialist. Morris lives in San Diego. Pamela J. Baker, PhD 1989 & MA 1978, is vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where she is also a baker professor of biological sciences. Baker focuses her teaching and research on cell and molecular biology and immunology. Her research has earned major grant support from the National Institutes of Health. She resides in South Paris, Maine. Sujata Yalamanchili, MBA 1989 & BS 1988, serves as practice area leader for the real estate, finance and bankruptcy practice area at Hodgson Russ LLP in Buffalo, N.Y. Yalamanchili is a member of the board of directors of Summit Educational Resources, trustee of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural yalamanchili Site Foundation and member of the board of directors of the UB School of Management Alumni Association, which she previously served as president. She resides in Williamsville, N.Y.
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Fond UB memories: My involvement with the UB Accounting Association—we had such great times between studying together, mentoring each other, socializing and uniting to make our club great. I also miss the campus events within the School of Management, such as the annual “Meet the Professionals” night.
The asterisk says they are members of the UB Alumni Association.
Are you?
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David McKibbin, PhD 1991, was honored by the City of Fort Collins, Colo., with its Character in Action award. He was cited for the volunteer history class he taught at a local nursing home. He lives in Fort Collins. Andy Chau, BS 1993, is president and chief operating officer of U.S. Operations for PAX, one of the fastest growing point-of-sale (POS) solution providers in China. Chau has more than 15 years of experience with POS technology, and previously co-founded and served as the chief technology officer for SoundPOS in Redmond, Wash. He resides in Bellevue, Wash. Gregory J. Schaffer, BS 1993, is Metropolitan Tennessee’s first chief information security officer, overseeing Nashville’s information security management program. He also works with human resources to coordinate the employee information security training program. He lives in Christiana, Tenn. David Anschel, BA 1994, is the director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center of Long Island at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, N.Y. He recently returned anschel from Bolivia, where he was serving as visiting professor under an award from the International League Against Epilepsy to
improve the care of people with epilepsy in South America. He resides in Rocky Point, N.Y. Yvonne Goldberg, BA 1994, is a senior project manager at CMI, a full-service marketing research company in goldberg Atlanta, Ga. She lives in Roswell, Ga. Grant Williams, BS 1994, is director of the MMT Observatory on Mount Hopkins in Arizona. Williams’ research focuses on the study of evolved williams high-mass stars called Wolf-Rayet stars and the stellar explosions they produce. He joined the observatory in 2002 when he was awarded a Firestone Postdoctoral Fellowship, and had served as the observatory’s associate director since 2007. Williams lives in Tucson. Arun Chandra, BS 1995, founded Chandra Law Offices P.C. in Forest Hills, N.Y. The firm serves small businesses and individuals in matters including real estate closings, business formation and contracts, and franchise agreements, representing clients in New York City and Long Island. Chandra resides in East Hills, N.Y. John E. Kelly Jr., JD 1995, is a partner at Fulbright & Jaworski in Washington, D.C. He is part of the firm’s health care and white-collar and government investigations practice groups, and focuses his practice on criminal and civil health care litigation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, corporate and government investigations, white-collar defense, and regulatory and compliance issues. He lives in
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Arlington, Va. Ram Kumar Krishnamurthy, MS 1995, is a senior principal research engineer at Intel’s Circuits and Systems Research Lab in krishnamurthy Hillsboro, Ore. He received two Intel Achievement Awards for his pioneering research on microprocessor arithmetic and data-path research. Krishnamurthy resides in Portland, Ore. Michael S. Getz, BS 1996, was elected to CA Technologies’ Council for Technical Excellence, an internal think-tank comprising the company’s brightest and most accomplished technologists and based in Islandia, N.Y. He lives in Bayside, N.Y. Jeremy M. Booth, BS 1997, is managing director of the tax firm WTAS in New York, N.Y. He has extensive experience in tax and financial matters booth affecting high net-worth individuals and specializes in providing and developing individual group services programs for executives of professional services firms, hedge funds and private equity funds. Booth resides in Fairport, N.Y. Jonathan Chou, BA 1998, is chief financial officer of Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. in Singapore. He has more than 20 years of financial leadership at recognized public institutions and has a proven track record of strengthening companies’ operational focus and financial discipline. He lives in Somerset, Antonio Singapore. DePaolo, ME 1998 & BS 1997, is vice president of business excellence at Endicott Interconnect Technologies in Endicott, N.Y. Most recently, he was
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director of operational excellence at Taconic Corporation in Petersburg, de paolo N.Y. He resides in Red Hook, N.Y. Bernard Hurwitz, JD 1998, is executive assistant to the president of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y. Hurwitz lives in Rochester. Ambar S. Qureshi, MBA 1998 & BS 1997, is director of operations at Superior HealthPlan in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he lives. Caroline Raimy, EMBA 1998, is director of sales development and physician liaison for Catholic Health in Buffalo, N.Y. She resides in Lancaster, N.Y. Matthew J. Sheehy, MLS 1998 & MA 1998, is assistant director of the Harvard University Library for the Harvard Depository. He sheehy resides in Ashland, Mass. Ronald E. Kaczmarek, BS 1999, is director of public works for Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Va., one the nation’s oldest and most historic military installations. He lives in Chambersburg, PA. Marc A. Romanowski, JD 1999 & BS 1995, is a partner at the law firm of Harter Secrest & Emery in Buffalo, N.Y., where he is a member of the firm’s environmental practice, representing clients in development projects before federal, state and local agencies. He resides in Orchard Park, N.Y. Michael W. Stratemeier, MD 1999, has been named chief of emergency medicine at Huntington
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Hospital in Huntington, N.Y., where he previously served as associate chief and director of clinical services in the emergency department. He lives in Holtsville, N.Y.
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Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, EdM 2000, was elected to the board of trustees for the Foundation Center, the leading source of information Dedecker about philanthropy worldwide. She is the first representative from Western New York to be appointed to the board. Dedecker is president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and is a national delegate to the Vision 2020 Equality in Sight project, and serves on the board of CFLeads. She resides in Buffalo, N.Y. Andrew G. Fiorella, BA 2000, is an attorney at the law firm of Ulmer & Berne in Cleveland, Ohio, where he focuses fiorella his practice on complex business litigation and class actions. Fiorella lives in Bay Village, Ohio. Clifton Ganyard, PhD 2000, MA 1994 & BA 1991, associate professor of humanistic studies and history at the University of Wisconsin– Green Bay, received the
university’s 2010 Founders’ Award for Excellence in Teaching. He resides ganyard in Green Bay. James Moore, BA 2000, is a senior manager of traditional production at William S. Hein & Co. Inc. in Buffalo, N.Y. In this position, he oversees Moore the company’s binding, printing, microforms, warehousing and inventory control areas. He lives in Amherst, Peter A. Petrella N.Y. Jr., BA 2000, is director of business development for the Buffalo Sabres. Petrella is a member of the UB Alumni Association board of directors and resides in Lancaster, N.Y. Brian M. Walters, BS 2000, is director of emergency services for the Upper Allegheny Health System in Amherst, N.Y. In this role, he facilitates the integration and standardization of emergency department policies and procedures for Olean General Hospital and Bradford Regional Medical Center. Walters lives in Cheektowaga, N.Y. Terri M. Brennan, MSW 2001, is a mental health clinical supervisor for Horizon Health Services at the Family Recovery Center (FRC) in East Amherst, N.Y. In this role, she provides direct clinical supervision and training to the counseling staff of FRC’s mental health team. Brennan resides in North Tonawanda, N.Y. Eric Decker, MS 2001 & BS 2001, is director of tech-
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nology implementation at Independent Health in Amherst, N.Y. Decker lives in Marilla, N.Y. Daniel D. Hackett, BS 2001, is a civil engineer and project manager for Stantec’s Boston, Mass., office. As part of the planning and landscape architecture division of the firm, Hackett works on the site design of various development projects. He resides in Revere, Mass. Serafina M. Mitri, JD 2001, MBA 2001 & BA 1996, is special counsel at the law firm of Damon Morey in Buffalo, N.Y., practicing in the firm’s real estate and banking practices. She lives in Williamsville, N.Y. Judy N. Cuzzacrea Wagner, JD 2001 & BA 1998, is a partner at the law firm of Harris Beach, where she is a member of the life and asset planning practice group at the firm’s Buffalo, N.Y., office. She lives in Middleport, N.Y. Mel Freedman, EdM 2002, has been named senior medical recruiter for PeopleFind in Canada and the United States. He lives in Dundas, Ont. George Hajduczok, JD 2002, PhD 1986 & BA 1981, is a board member for Suneel’s Light, a foundation that raises funds for genetic research in hopes of finding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He is special counsel Hajduczok at Phillips Lytle in Buffalo, N.Y., where he focuses his practice in medical device and pharmaceutical products liability litigation. He resides in East Amherst, N.Y. John D. Lopinski, JD 2002 & PhD 2001, is a
Got news? Tell us! UB alumni are always on the move, and we want to hear about it. If you have news to share, please submit a classnote for consideration in UB Today. Submit your entry online at www.alumni.buffalo.edu/classnotes, or via e-mail at ub-alumni@buffalo.edu. It’s a great way to reconnect with your fellow alumni!
partner at the firm of Hodgson Russ in Buffalo, N.Y. He focuses his practice Lopinski on patent preparation and prosecution in the areas of genetics, immunology and molecular biology. Lopinski resides in Snyder, N.Y. Bradley J. Nowak, BS 2002, was named among Washington D.C.’s legal elite in Washington SmartCEO magazine. As an attorney at Williams Mullen in Washington, he focuses his practice in the areas of corporate, finance, securities, energy, infrastructure and Nowak international transactions. Nowak lives in Alexandria, Va. Marla Waiss, JD 2002 & BA 1999, is a partner at the law firm of Hodgson Russ in Buffalo, N.Y. She focuses her practice on crossborder tax matters and Waiss tax controversy matters with the IRS. Waiss resides in Amherst, Eileen ConnorN.Y. Costilow, MBA 2003, is director of human resources for the law firm of Damon Morey in Buffalo, N.Y. She lives in Hal P. Williamsville, N.Y. Kingsley, EMBA 2003, is director of workforce development at Trocaire College in Buffalo, N.Y. He resides in Getzville, N.Y. Shane Marmion, BS 2003, is vice president of product development at William S. Hein & Co. Inc. in Buffalo, N.Y. In this role, he oversees the development of new products and undertakes corporate management of marketing and digital products. He lives in Buffalo, N.Y. Patrick J. marmion Matthews,
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BS 2003, is a senior manager at Tronconi Segarra and Associates in the firm’s accounting and auditing department. He resides in Williamsville, N.Y. Kathy Y. Monnin, MBA 2003, is a senior accountant at Tronconi Segarra and Associates in the sales and use tax department. She lives in Williamsville, N.Y. Nicholas J. Snyder, MBA 2003 & BS 2003, is vice president of Evans Bankcorp in Buffalo, N.Y. He is the controller and principal accounting officer of the bank, and has been with the finance division for the past three years. Snyder resides in Buffalo, N.Y. Brian W. Zielinski, BS 2003, is the head of mitigation and senior technical writer at Guardian Solutions in Clearwater, Fla. In this position, he oversees the commercial loan loss mitigation and proposal writing, preparation and editing operations. Zielinski lives in Saint Petersburg, Fla. Claudia Casciani, BA 2004, is an account representative for Liberty Solutions, a health care information technology consulting company in Orchard Park, N.Y. She resides in Rochester, N.Y. Nirmal Kaur, MD 2004 & BS 2000, is director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich. She lives in Novi, Joshua J. Lynch, Mich. BS 2004, is an emergency physician at FDR Medical in Buffalo, N.Y. He also serves as medical director for Mercy Flight of Western New York, Mercy EMS and several volunteer fire departments. Lynch resides in Williamsville, N.Y. Dale T. Payne, BS 2004, is a sales and client relations manager at Sovran Self Storage in Williamsville, N.Y. He lives in Clarence Center, N.Y. Elisha J. Burkart, JD 2005, is the corporate director of labor relations for Catholic Health in Buffalo, N.Y., where she Susan Mund, MBA lives. 2005, formed Smart Technology Strategies LLC
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in Amherst, N.Y. With more than 25 years’ experience in information technology, Mund offers a variety of services, including the creation of a technology plan to give the business a roadmap to using and acquiring technology resources for success. She lives in Amherst. Scott M. Severance, PhD 2005 & MS 1994, is an associate professor in the School of Arts and Sciences at Baptist Bible College & Seminary in Clarks Summit, Pa., where he resides. Sudip Umachigi, MS 2005, is a project manager at Razz Construction in Bellingham, Wash., where he lives. Catherine Lengel, EdM 2006 & BA 2004, is a graduate program recruiter for Medaille College in Amherst, N.Y., where she works with Canadian students in the master of science in education programs. She lives in North Tonawanda, N.Y. Christopher R. Gallant, MFA 2007, assistant professor of digital media and communication at Hilbert College, received a 2010 Professional Achievement Award from Buffalo State College’s communication department. He was honored for professional excellence and distinguished achievement in the local media industry. The honor follows Gallant’s 2010 Emmy Award for the WGRZ-TV documentary “Niagara Falls: A Tale of Two Cities.” He resides in Buffalo, N.Y. Jennifer M. Oliver, JD 2007, MBA 2007 & BS 2003, was honored at the Sanctuary for Families Above & Beyond Pro Bono Achievement Awards and Benefit in New York City in November 2010. Associate attorney at the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, she was recognized for outstanding dedication to a victim of domestic violence and for her skilled and strategic advocacy in a hard-won, five-year battle for custody, visitation and an order of protection for her client. She lives in Long Island City, N.Y.
Having a great time, wish you were here! Send friends and family an electronic postcard with an iconic image of UB illustrated by alumnus Michael Gelen, JD ’88. Go to alumni.buffalo.edu/postcard.
Matthew S. Burwick, BS 2008, is a licensed financial adviser at L&M Financial Services in Amherst, N.Y. In this position, he works with 401(k) plan sponsors and provides for numerous types of financial planning needs. Burwick resides in Williamsville, N.Y. Jonathan R. Davis, MBA 2008, is a senior analyst at Brisbane Consulting Group, a valuation and real estate appraisal firm in Buffalo, N.Y. In this role, he provides business valuation, forensic accounting and litigation support services. Davis resides in Kenmore, N.Y. Edmund L. Markey III, DDS 2008, is a pediatric dentist at First Impressions Dentistry and Orthodontics in Wausau, Wis., where he resides. Craig R. Przyklek, BS 2008, is senior accountant and a member of the audit team at Lumsden & McCormick LLP in Buffalo, N.Y. He is responsible for auditing services to przyklek commercial businesses and exempt organizations. Przyklek is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New
York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. He lives in Rochester, N.Y. Lauren McCarthy, PharmD 2009, is pharmacy clinical coordinator at Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House, N.J. She is a member of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists, American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the Western New York Society of Health Systems Pharmacists. McCarthy resides in Severn, Md.
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Laura A. McFeely, BA 2010, is a production coordinator at SKM Group, a marketing communications agency in Depew, N.Y. In this position, she is responsible for day-to-day direct marketing production assistance. McFeely resides in Orchard Park, N.Y.
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opinion
Alumni share their thoughts
inmy
What’s the best career advice you have ever received? As a veteran of changing majors and merging careers, I would say the best career advice I have received many times over is network, network, network. Stay in contact with alumni, former classmates and colleagues. Use social media to report professional and career updates (not what you had for breakfast this morning). Join a professional organization ... and go to the meetings. Any position I have had in the past 10 years has been a result of networking. Linda Doherty Pratt, BA ’82 Rochester, N.Y.
I’m now 65 years old. When I was 27, an “old” man of 50 told me that he was retired. I asked, “How did you do it?” “Saved $10 per month,” he replied. “That’s not enough to retire,” I responded, to which he said, “True, but you have to start somewhere.” I retired at 49—beat him by a year. Sometimes the pupil is smarter than the teacher.
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Henry Borowiec, BS ’68 New York, N.Y.
My dad worked as a laborer at DuPont’s River Road rayon plant and suggested that I go to Tech High School [now Hutchinson Central Technical High School in Buffalo] taking industrial chemistry as a major, which I did. The basics learned there prepared me to be a chemistry major at UB—parents actually know best, after all.
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Gordon Gibson, BA ’57 Orangevale, Calif.
The toes you step on today, may be connected to the butt you kiss tomorrow.
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Ken Paulin Jr., MBA ’88 & BS ’87 Lockport, N.Y.
Do what you love, and you’ll love what you do!
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Ruth Kleinman, BA ’05 Port Washington, N.Y.
Stay humble. Marcia Koch, BS ’89 Geneseo, N.Y.
I was sitting in the VP’s office, chatting about nothing in particular, when our conversation was interrupted by a phone call. It was from a former employee who had been fired and was calling to tell the VP about his new job/ career. After the call, the VP said to me, “Never be afraid to fire someone who is not suited for the (job/company). The result will always turn out to be better for both the employee and the company.” That remained in my thoughts, especially when I had to terminate employees (only two in my career). I had success turning around performance in some employees. When that doesn’t happen successfully—and you’ve done all you can to make a nonproductive employee a productive one—consider termination for everyone’s benefit.
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Margot Fulmer, BA ’65 Auburn, Calif.
The question for In My Opinion derives from the monthly electronic newsletter @UB. To subscribe to this newsletter, go to the News tab at www.alumni.buffalo.edu.
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James C. Hansen, (1936-1999), emeritus professor of counseling and educational psychology at the time of his death, directed an NDEA (National Defense Education Act) Counseling Institute in 1965-66. He advised me to continue my studies at UB for a doctoral degree. Instead, I took a position as a school counselor. Within six months, I called Dr. Hansen and said I wanted to return, and he guided me through the admissions process. After receiving the PhD, I spent 36 years training counselors and family therapists, working two years at Teachers College at Columbia University and 34 years at the University of Rhode Island. I think about Jim Hansen often and remember his advice and kindness. Peter Maynard, PhD ’70 & EdM ’66 Kingston, R.I.
Choose something you love to do and it will fuel your career for the rest of your life. If you can’t find work in your chosen area of skill or experience, use it in some way “on the side” as part-time or volunteer work. Then when you look for paid, full-time work (if it is not in the area of your choice), apply where you like the philosophy of the business, the way the employees are treated, the location, etc. Mary McIntosh, MA ’77 Vancouver, Wash.
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