UB to hold 168th commencement

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Some 5,500 students are candidates to receive degrees during the University at Buffalo’s 168th University Commencement and 13 other commencement ceremonies to be held through May 18.

President Satish K. Tripathi will deliver remarks at University Commencement, to be held at 10 a.m. May 18 in Alumni Arena on the UB North Campus. Marjorie T. Breslawski is the student speaker.

The late Ralph Wilson Jr., founder and 54-year owner of the Buffalo Bills, will posthumously receive the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, UB’s highest honor.

Nancy H. Nielsen, MD ’76, senior associate dean for health policy, UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and Robert Gioia, president of The John R. Oishei Foundation and chair of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation, will receive the UB President’s Medal in recognition of extraordinary service to the university.

Also during the ceremony, SUNY honorary doctorates will be presented to UB alumnus Ira Flatow, host of Public Radio International’s “Science Friday”; Jack Lightstone, president and vice chancellor of Brock University in St. Catharines; and UB alumnus Norman McCombs, recipient of the 2013 National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Tripathi and A. Scott Weber, senior vice provost for academic affairs, will confer bachelor’s and associate degrees from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Forty-two students will receive special recognition during the ceremony.

Marc Pierre will receive the Student Affairs Senior Leadership Award.

Students receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence are Kelsey T. Barbour, Erin M. Ellis, Emily S. Fiore, Courtney E. Kodweis, Taylor M. Lansing, Andrew N. Lyons, Elise J. Martin, Kayla A. Maxwell, Daniel E. Ovadia, Elise M. Roberts, Amanda K. Sherman, Matthew Silver, Christine D. Tjahjadi-Lopez, Phillip M. Tucciarone and Trenton P. Van Epps.

Graduates receiving the Outstanding Senior Award from the College of Arts and Sciences are Alexander D. Heywood, Anthropology; Sarah C. Boerschig, Asian Studies; Rachel L. La Rosa, Biological Sciences; Christina E. Wong, Chemistry; Lesley G. Crawford, Classics; Zachary W. Arth, Communication; Kathleen A. Blackburn, Communicative Disorders and Sciences; Qianying Li, Economics; Farhana B. Hasan, English; Cary L. Anderson, Geography; Michael J. Merkwa, Geology; Stephen M. Rabent, History; Francis Mollica, Linguistics; Stephanie L. Brown, Mathematics; Jason L. Hesch, Media Study; Maria Chomicka, Music; Mattias A. Carosella, Philosophy; Paul Glenn, Physics; Rachel Coolican, Political Science; Ethan M. Guthman, Psychology; Elise M. Roberts, Romance Languages and Literatures; Courtney A. Burroughs, Social Sciences Interdisciplinary; David Zack, Sociology; Shivani S. Kamodia, Special Studies; Gabrielle M. Petrosino, Theatre and Dance; Lindsay M. Richardson, Transnational Studies; and Christopher Borschel, Visual Studies.

Vocalists are Gina Tarrou and Zoe Tchapraste.

The rest of the 2014 commencement schedule:

• School of Dental Medicine: 3 p.m., May 9, Center for the Arts, North Campus. Steven A. Guttenberg, president of the Washington Institute for Mouth, Face and Jaw Surgery, Washington, D.C., will speak. Provost Charles F. Zukoski will confer degrees.
• Biomedical Sciences (undergraduate and graduate): 6 p.m., May 15, Center for the Arts. The speaker will be Ana Maria Cuervo, The Robert and Renee Belfer Chair for the Study of Neurodegenerative Diseases and co-director of the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University. Tripathi will confer degrees.
• Graduate School of Education: 9 a.m., May 16, Center for the Arts. No speaker is planned. Zukoski will confer degrees.
• College of Arts and Sciences (graduate): 1 p.m., May 16, Center for the Arts. No speaker is planned. Zukoski will confer degrees.
• School of Management (undergraduate): 1 p.m., May 16, Alumni Arena, North Campus. No speaker is planned. Tripathi will confer degrees.
• School of Architecture and Planning, 5 p.m., May 16, Center for the Arts. Walter Hood, founding principal of Hood Design; professor of landscape architecture & environmental planning and urban design at the University of California, Berkeley; and designer of UB’s Solar Strand, will deliver remarks. Tripathi will confer degrees.
• School of Management (graduate): 5 p.m., May 16, Alumni Arena. No speaker is planned. Zukoski will confer degrees.
• School of Nursing: 9 a.m., May 17, Alumni Arena. The speaker will be Maureen Kelly, vice president for patient care services and chief nursing officer at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Zukoski will confer degrees.
• School of Social Work: 9 a.m., May 17, Center for the Arts. Mary Murphy, executive director of the Family Justice Center, will speak. Tripathi will confer degrees.
• School of Engineering and Applied Sciences: 1 p.m., May 17, Alumni Arena. No speaker is planned. Tripathi will confer degrees.
• UB Law School: 1 p.m., May 17, Center for the Arts. U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana will speak. Zukoski will confer degrees.
• School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences: 5 p.m., May 17, Center for the Arts. The speaker will be Patricia Chase, dean of the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy. Tripathi will deliver welcoming remarks; Michael Cain, vice president for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, will confer degrees.
• School of Public Health and Health Professions: 3 p.m., May 18, Center for the Arts. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez will speak. Tripathi will confer degrees.