16 to be honored by the UB Alumni Association

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Alumni Association will honor a physicist and a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph during the UB Alumni Association Achievement Awards ceremony to be held at 6 p.m. April 12 in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall on the UB North Campus.

A UB Foundation trustee, Ashok G. Kaveeshwar, PhD ’69, will receive the UB Alumni Association’s highest honor, the Samuel P. Capen Award, and Sister Janet DiPasquale, MSW ’82, will receive the Community Leadership Award. They are among the 13 individuals who will be honored, along with three university volunteers. UB President Satish K. Tripathi and UB Alumni Association President Tim Lafferty, BS ’86, will present the awards. A post-award reception will feature premium food stations, an open bar and entertainment in the Center for the Arts atrium.

Tickets for the Alumni Association Achievement Awards are $75 per person and may be purchased online at www.alumni.buffalo.edu/events or by calling the UB Office of Alumni Relations at 1-800-284-5382.

Kaveeshwar, of Bethesda, Md., has a long history of service and philanthropy to UB. A native of India, Kaveeshwar is a member of the UB Foundation Board of Trustees and chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Deans Advisory Council. He has spent 40 years working in the high tech industry, supporting federal agencies such as NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration. In addition, he was nominated by President George W. Bush as the first administrator of the Federal Research & Technology Administration (RITA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Sister Janet DiPasquale, MSW ’82, of Buffalo, has spent her life in service to others. She is executive director of Teaching and Restoring Youth (TRY), a transitional housing program whose mission is to empower committed young women to rebuild their lives and become productive members of society. DiPasquale also holds a degree in education and a master’s degree in counseling, and for many years ran a full-time marriage and family therapy practice.

Additional 2012 awardees include Distinguished Alumni Award recipients Robert J. Beall, PhD ’70 & MA ’70, of Potomac, Md.; Clark D. Manus, BA ’74, of Oakland, Calif.; James A. Miller, PhD ’76, of Washington, D.C.; and Craig R. Smith, MD ’72, of Naples, Fla.

The International Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented to Richard Ru Gin Chang, MS ’79, of Shanghai, China.

The Walter P. Cooke Award, which recognizes notable and meritorious contributions to the university and its family by non-alumni, will be given to Cindy Abbott Letro, of Buffalo.

The Clifford C. Furnas Memorial Award, presented to engineering, natural sciences or mathematics alumni who have distinguished themselves in a field of science, is to be given to John K. Schneider, PhD ’90 & BS ’80, of Amherst.

The Dr. Richard T. Sarkin Award for Excellence in Teaching will be presented to Jennifer L. Zirnheld, PhD ’04, MS ’97 & BS ’93, of Buffalo.

The George W. Thorn Award, given to distinguished alumni under 40, will be given to Eric S. Reich, JD ’02 & MBA ’02, of Amherst, and Michael J. Weisman, MBA ’01, of Buffalo.

The Dr. Philip B. Wels Outstanding Service Award will be given to Marilyn J. Ciancio, EdM ’82 & BA ’75, of Amherst, for her contributions to the university, academia, the community and the profession.

In appreciation of outstanding volunteer contributions to the university, Volunteer Recognition Awards will be presented to: Thomas A. Palmer, JD ’75 & MBA ’71, of East Amherst; Edward F. Ryczek, BS ’71, of Sun Lakes, Ariz.; and Claude E. Welch Jr., friend of UB, of Williamsville.

Detailed biographical information about the award recipients is available at http://bit.ly/ZhOa09.