UB Professor Emeritus and His Wife Establish Fund for Scholarships in Graduate School of Education

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- As a professor in the Learning and Instruction Department of the University at Buffalo's Graduate School of Education, Leroy Callahan spent 28 years helping students learn about teaching elementary mathematics. And although he retired in 1994, he's still helping those students today with a gift to UB.

Callahan and his wife, Margaret Hensberry Callahan, have directed that proceeds from a $30,000 trust that they have created be used to establish the Leroy and Margaret H. Callahan Scholarship Fund. The fund will benefit students in the Graduate School of Education who are interested in elementary mathematics instruction. The Callahans live in Clarence.

"My whole career at UB was in the area of mathematics instruction with a special interest in how young children learn math and how teachers should teach it," Callahan said. "I thought I could help others continue in that area. There's still a lot of work to do. In fact, one of the leading researchers in the field, Doug Clements, is at UB."

Callahan, who joined the UB faculty in 1967, said he was grateful to the university for hiring him fresh out of graduate school, and for supporting him and his wife as they raised their seven children.

"I thought the university and the State of New York were very generous to us, so when The Campaign for UB: Generation to Generation came along, it seemed like a good idea if we could give something back," he added.

Mary Gresham, dean of the Graduate School of Education, said the Callahans' gift "is a wonderful tribute to the school where Professor Leroy Callahan so generously gave of himself for so many years. He and his wife, Margaret, will be fondly remembered by future students in his field."

The scholarship pledge is part of UB's $250 million campaign, one of the largest ever conducted by a public university in New York and New England. Although it is the fifth major fund-raising campaign conducted by UB, it is the first national/international campaign, the first

university-wide campaign and the first to be alumni-driven with campaign volunteer leaders from across the country. Funds raised will be used to enrich academic programs, support students ranging from undergraduates to post-doctoral students and to enhance university life.

For information on how you can support the University at Buffalo, go to http://www.buffalo.edu/giving.