Jonathan Dandes, '74

Jonathan A. Dandes is the longest serving member of the UB Council, first appointed in 1994 by Governor Mario Cuomo, and twice reappointed by Governor George Pataki. In October 2013, Dandes was appointed to his fourth consecutive term on the Council by Governor Andrew Cuomo. A 1974 graduate of UB’s School of Management, Dandes also graduated from the Harvard Business School Management Development Program in 2003.

Since October 2001, Dandes has served as president of Rich Baseball Operations. Rich Baseball Operations is comprised of Rich Products’ subsidiary companies including Buffalo Bisons Baseball, Northwest Arkansas Naturals Baseball, Jamestown Jammers Baseball, National Baseball Congress and Palm Beach National Golf & Country Club in Lake Worth, FL. Dandes joined Rich Products Corporation Food Services Division in 1986 as product manager and was soon appointed director of restaurant operations. He was named vice president/general manager of Stadium Services, Inc. in 1988, and executive vice president of the Rich Entertainment Group in 1996. Dandes also serves as an adjunct professor at Niagara University in the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management and teaches in the Niagara University’s Sport Management Program.

An active civic leader, Dandes is vice-chair of the Buffalo Zoological Society, chair of the Upstate New York Transplant Services Foundation, and a director of the National Kidney Foundation. He serves on the board and is past chair of Visit Buffalo Niagara (the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau). His prior board service includes terms as chair of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, vice chair of the Buffalo-Niagara Enterprise and chair of Erie County Jewish Family Services.

In the education arena, Dandes is a director of the Buffalo Public Schools Foundation, past president of the UB Alumni Association board, and a past trustee of the Nichols School in Buffalo.

Within the hospitality profession, Dandes is a past president of the New York State Restaurant Association, and is a member of La Chaine des Rotisseurs, Les Amis du Vin, the National Association of Concessionaires and the Stadium Managers Association. In 1994, he was designated as a certified Foodservice Management Professional by the National Restaurant Association.

Dandes is chair of the Erie County Sheriff’s 21st Century Foundation, and also serves on the board of the Erie County Law Enforcement Foundation and the 100 Club of Buffalo. He has served as chair of the Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission director, and as a director of the Amherst Junior Football League and Lou Gehrig Youth Baseball.

Dandes son, Leo, is a 2010 graduate of the UB Law School, and daughter, Arin, is a 2009 UB graduate, with a BFA in Musical Theatre.