UB to Hold Commencement Ceremonies May 11, May 16-18

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- James F. Holland, M.D., internationally known cancer researcher, and William Christie, founder of the Paris-based ensemble Les Arts Florissants, will receive honorary degrees from the State University of New York in commencement ceremonies to be held this month at the University at Buffalo.

John P. Naughton, M.D., dean of the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences from 1975-96, will receive the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, the University at Buffalo's highest tribute.

Philip B. Wels, M.D., chair emeritus of the UB Council, will be awarded the university¹s President's Medal.

About 5,500 students will be candidates to receive degrees in 14 ceremonies to be held on Sunday, May 11, and Friday, May 16, through Sunday, May 18. The various ceremonies will conclude the university¹s 18-month celebration of its sesquicentennial.

UB President William R. Greiner and graduating senior Kristinn R. Rzepkowski of Rochester will speak at the university's 151st commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 18, in Alumni Arena on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Greiner and Provost Thomas E. Headrick, Ph.D., will confer degrees on graduating seniors from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the Faculty of Arts and Letters and the Faculty of Social Sciences.

The recipients of the three Dean's Awards will be Christian R. Brunelli of Peekskill, social sciences; Soumya Raychaudhuri of Rochester, natural sciences and mathematics, and Barbara Abad of Sunnyside, arts and letters. Stuart S. Goldberg of Rochester will receive the senior leadership award.

Student vocalist at the university commencement ceremonies will be Heather M. Robert of Grand Island.

Naughton, who will receive the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal during the general commencement, stepped down on Dec. 31 as dean of the UB medical school and vice president for clinical affairs. He continues as a professor of rehabilitation medicine, social and preventive medicine, medicine and physiology.

Naughton was one of the key players in establishing UB¹s innovative consortium of teaching hospitals and it was under his guidance that the school instituted aggressive new approaches to medical training for underrepresented groups. His leadership brought renewed emphasis to programs in primary-care medicine.

Wels, who will receive the President¹s Medal, earned his baccalaureate, master's and medical degrees from UB.

He has served his alma mater in many capacities. He is a trustee of the UB Foundation, served on the UB Council for 17 years and is professor emeritus of surgery and associate dean emeritus of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. A founder of UB's fencing team, Wels was a member of the United States' Olympic team in fencing in 1936 and in 1965 was the first person inducted into the UB Athletic Hall of Fame.

SUNY Trustee Candace de Russy will confer an honorary Doctorate in Music from SUNY on Christie, an East Aurora native who has earned worldwide renown for his unparalleled accomplishments in classical music.

Christie in 1979 founded the group, Les Arts Florissants, which performs music of the 17th and 18th centuries in the original style and on original instruments. He has produced recordings and internationally acclaimed performances of the music of Monteverdi, Lully, Rameau, Handel, Mozart and other composers up to Beethoven.

He is the only American to be named a professor at the Paris Conservatory. In 1993, Christie received the Legion of Honor, the highest award the French government can confer on a civilian.

SUNY Trustee Edward S. Nelson will confer the honorary Doctorate of Science on Holland at the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences commencement ceremony at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 11, in the Center for the Arts, on the North Campus.

CUNY Distinguished Professor of Neoplastic Diseases at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, Holland is a former UB research professor of medicine and chief of medicine at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Holland, who will be the medical school¹s commencement speaker, has for more than 40 years waged a relentless war on cancer, using experimental treatments which have resulted in extraordinary success and new hope for many.

Credited with being instrumental in shaping modern treatments of leukemia and many other cancers, he is known for his daring approach to difficult problems. He is a recipient of the prestigious Lasker Award for his work in cancer chemotherapy.

President Greiner and Provost Thomas E. Headrick will confer the degrees at the medical school commencement.

- Graduate School, 2 p.m., Friday, May 16, Center for the Arts. Claire Fraser, M.D., of the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, Md., will speak. Headrick will confer degrees.

- Health Related Professions, 9 a.m., Saturday, May 17, Alumni Arena. Peter Pileggi, SUNY associate provost for health sciences and hospitals, will speak. John R. Wright, M.D., interim UB vice president for clinical affairs and interim dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, will confer degrees.

- Graduate School of Social Work, 9 a.m., Saturday, May 17, Center for the Arts. The speaker will be Bonnie Collins, M.S.W., family counselor and social worker. President Greiner will confer degrees.

- School of Nursing, 9 a.m., Saturday, May 17, Slee Concert Hall, North Campus. Donna M. Juenker, Ph.D., associate professor and director of UB School of Nursing Undergraduate Program, will speak. Headrick will confer degrees.

- Information and Library Studies, 10 a.m., Saturday, May 17, Student Union Theatre, North Campus. Elizabeth Sywetz, executive director, Western New York Library Resources Council, will speak. Senior Vice Provost Kenneth J. Levy will confer degrees.

- Engineering and Applied Sciences, 1 p.m., Saturday, May 17, Alumni Arena. Dean Mark H. Karwan, Ph.D., will speak. Headrick will confer degrees.

- Law School, 1 p.m., Saturday, May 17, Center for the Arts. Nationally known attorney Herald Price Fahringer, a partner in the New York law office of Lipsitz, Green, Fahringer, Roll, Salisbury & Cambria, will speak. Greiner will confer the degrees.

- School of Pharmacy, 1 p.m., Saturday, May 17, Slee Concert Hall, North Campus. There will be no speaker. Wright will confer degrees.

- School of Architecture and Planning, 3 p.m., Saturday, May 17, , lawn of Hayes Hall, South (Main Street) Campus. Allan Temko, Pulitzer Prize winner and architectural critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, will speak. Levy will confer degrees.

- School of Management, 5 p.m., Saturday, May 17, Alumni Arena. Dean Frederick W. Winter, Ph.D., will speak. Headrick will confer degrees.

- Graduate School of Education, 5 p.m., Saturday, May 17, Center for the Arts. Dean Hugh G. Petrie, Ph.D., will speak. Greiner will confer degrees.

- School of Dental Medicine, 2 p.m., Sunday, May 18, Center for the Arts. Arthur A. Dugoni, D.D.S., professor and dean of the School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific, will speak. Greiner and Dean Louis J. Goldberg, D.D.S., Ph.D., will confer degrees.