UB to hold 169th commencement

Some 5,645 students are candidates to receive degrees during UB’s 169th University Commencement and 15 other commencement ceremonies being held May 1 through May 23.

President Satish K. Tripathi will deliver remarks at University Commencement, to be held at 10 a.m. May 17 in Alumni Arena, North Campus. Abigail LaPlaca is the student speaker.

Robert G. Wilmers, chairman and chief executive officer of M&T Bank Corporation, will be awarded the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, UB’s highest honor.

John T. Ho, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School, and Gerald Lippes, UB council member emeritus, will receive the UB President’s Medal in recognition of extraordinary service to the university.

Also during the ceremony, SUNY honorary doctorates will be presented to UB alumnus Christopher Scolese, director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and Academy Award- and Grammy Award-winning artist David Shire.

Tripathi and A. Scott Weber, senior vice provost for academic affairs, will confer bachelor’s and associate degrees from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Thirty-eight students will receive special recognition during the ceremony.

Samah Asfour will receive the Student Affairs Senior Leadership Award.

Students receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence are Matthew A. Eldred, Sara-Ann E. Fox, Ryan J. Hauser, Karin R. Hsieh, Tara L. Kaczorowski, Elizabeth A. Lakota, Chams E. Mballo, John T. O’Brien, Megan A. Pszonak, Chelsea Reinhardt, Christopher J. Reinhardt, Nathaniel J. Sundholm, Mackenzie R.H. Ward, Chelsea Wheeler and Jennifer R. Whittaker.

Graduates receiving the Outstanding Senior Award from the College of Arts and Sciences are Jessica N. Micceri, Anthropology and Classics; Samantha L. Romand, Art; Daniel P. Loebell, Asian Studies; Ronald A.S. Bola, Biological Sciences; Shaunna M. McLeod, Chemistry, Rachel B. Kramer, Communication; Nathaniel J. Sundholm, Communicative Disorders and Sciences; Lucas M. Sokolowski, Economics; John T. O’Brien, English and Social Sciences Interdisciplinary; Justin M. Imiola, Environmental Geosciences; Rebecca E. Johnstone, Geography; Alyssa K. Hessler, Geology; Christine M. Schaefer, History; Anna E. Davidson, Linguistics; Thomas D.W. Effland, Mathematics; Morgan Stewart, Media Study; Jason A. Ross, Music; Karin R. Hsieh, Philosophy; Sean R.B. Bearden, Physics; Jessica M. Yarnes, Political Science; Victoria S. Kent, Psychology; Emily R. Niemel, Romance Languages and Literatures; Emma C. Frieh, Sociology; Ivana D. Bosek, Special Studies; Jocelyn B. Girigorie; Theatre and Dance; and Samantha A. Winter, Transnational Studies.

Vocalists are Erin M. Bonura and Aaron Wilson, both of whom will receive degrees in music theatre.

The 2015 commencement season begins on May 1 with the ceremony for the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at 1:30 p.m. in the Center for the Arts, North Campus. Delivering remarks will be Steven J. Stack, president-elect of the American Medical Association.

The remainder of the commencement schedule:

• School of Dental Medicine: 3 p.m., May 8, Center for the Arts. The speaker will be Stanley M. Bergman, chairman and chief executive officer of Henry Schein Inc., the world’s largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, medical and animal health practitioners.
• Graduate School of Education: 9 a.m., May 15, Center for the Arts. No speaker is planned.
• College of Arts and Sciences (graduate): 1 p.m., May 15, Center for the Arts. No speaker is planned.
• School of Nursing: 1 p.m., May 15, Alumni Arena. Maureen Kelly, vice president for patient care services at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, will speak.
• School of Architecture and Planning: 5 p.m., May 15, Center for the Arts. Delivering remarks will be Howard Zemsky, president and CEO of Empire State Development and co-chair, with President Satish K. Tripathi, of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council.
• School of Management (graduate): 5 p.m., May 15, Alumni Arena. No speaker is planned.
• School of Management (undergraduate): 9 a.m., May 16, Alumni Arena. No speaker is planned.
• School of Social Work: 9 a.m., May 16, Center for the Arts. The speaker will be Ronald Schoeleman, forensic mental health specialist with the Erie County Department of Mental Health.
• School of Public Health and Health Professions: 1 p.m., May 16, Center for the Arts. Myron Glick, family practitioner and founder and chief medical officer for Jericho Road Community Health Center, will speak.
• School of Engineering and Applied Sciences: 1:30 p.m., May 16, Alumni Arena. Krishna “Kittu” Kolluri, winner of the Dean’s Award, will speak.
• School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences: 5 p.m., May 16, Center for the Arts. The speaker will be Gene D. Morse, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy Practice at UB.
• Biomedical Sciences (undergraduate and graduate, including Roswell Park Graduate Division): 2 p.m., May 18, Center for the Arts. Delivering remarks will be Allen Barnett, president emeritus of Kinex and UB adjunct professor of pharmacology and toxicology.
• Educational Opportunity Center: 7 p.m., May 20, Slee Hall, North Campus. Ellen E. Grant, deputy mayor of the city of Buffalo, will speak.
• Law School: 1 p.m., May 23, Center for the Arts. New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will speak.