2022-23 Academic Integrity Award Winners

Winifred is being recognized for reviving the Student Professionalism and Ethics Association (SPEA) at the School of Dental Medicine. After calling for nominations and setting up an E-board, Winifred planned an inaugural event called “To Act or Not to Act” which featured a panel discussion on improving academic integrity in the dental school. 

Dr. Gray is awarded for his proactive approach to ensuring academic integrity in his classes through clear communication of expectations, Honor Agreements, and the use of “philosopher’s stones” when students need coursework extensions. He approaches policy violations in a compassionate and educational manner, always with an eye on character development for the student. Dr. Gray’s PHI 485 course challenges students to “make the world a better place” and has resulted in projects like UB’s Homework Helpers that will positively influence our next generation of scholars. 

Dr. Kennedy is a leader in upholding and protecting academic integrity in the department of Computer Science and Engineering. He has served on the Promoting Academic Integrity Committee and co-authored their departmental values statement. As Co-Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Kennedy works tirelessly to improve the culture around academic integrity in CSE. He supports faculty in more consistent enforcement of academic honesty by sharing historical data highlighting trends.    

Kaeleigh is celebrated for her dedication to supporting both students and faculty in academic integrity matters. She takes great care to ensure that the hundreds of students in her programs know and understand UB’s academic integrity expectations. Kaeleigh designed an academic honesty contract for students to sign and developed a remedial boot camp to ensure that incoming students have the skills they need to be successful without being dishonest. When infractions occur, Kaeleigh motivates faculty to process high-volume cases and assists in the logistics of getting that done.

Dr. Przybyla has been instrumental in the pilot program of “Academic Integrity at UB,” a specially-designed module about UB’s standards for academic honesty. This module was in development when Dr. Przybyla volunteered the School of Public Health and Health Professions for participation in the pilot. She promoted the module and its necessity to the dean, faculty, advisors, and students in SPHHP and helped facilitate the logistics of the rollout. She also chairs the Academic Action Committee in SPHHP and routinely mentors faculty on upholding UB’s high academic integrity standards. 

Dr. Salac is a model to others in his dedication to upholding high standards of academic honesty. As the course coordinator for MAE 204, Dr. Salac takes tremendous care to ensure that students submit their own work. This has required many time-consuming investigations through Chegg and a subsequent realigning of course credit when Chegg stopped participating in investigations. This tremendous commitment to academic integrity has led one student to describe Dr. Salac as someone who “positively affects the morale of the many students who complete their work honestly.”