Celebrating faculty and staff excellence

UB’s outstanding faculty and staff exemplify the excellence and impact that are the foundation of the university’s mission and the center of all its activities, Provost Charles F. Zukoski told those attending Thursday’s Celebration of Faculty and Staff Excellence.

“You have received these accolades because you have changed practices and perspectives, advanced understanding and improved lives through your work,” Zukoski said in closing remarks at the annual event recognizing the work and achievement of faculty and staff in research, teaching and service.

“These are exceptional achievements, and SUNY and UB awards recognize their significance for honorees’ disciplines and for our university, students and communities.”

Zukoski noted that in addition to these awards, UB faculty have received numerous other prestigious national and international honors and awards that recognize “the broad impact and excellence of their scholarly, teaching, creative, clinical and outreach activities.”

“These awards play an important role in building our global reputation,” he told the crowd in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall that included the honorees, their family and friends, and other members of the university community. “More importantly, the public relies on us as a public research university to have a significant societal impact.

“Faculty awards are strong markers of success that demonstrate our impact to the public and bring attention to our entire university.”

After welcoming remarks from President Satish K. Tripathi, the program turned to the main event: public recognition of UB faculty and staff members who received prestigious UB and SUNY awards during the past year.

Those honored included faculty members who were named SUNY Distinguished Professors, UB Distinguished Professors, UB Exceptional Scholars and UB Teaching Innovators, as well as recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence. A full list of the honorees can be found online.

Also recognized were 17 employees who have completed 50 years of service to UB, as well as recipients of two UB mentoring awards: the UB Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award and the UB President Emeritus and the Mrs. Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring.

The celebration also featured a screening of an excerpt from “Sing for Me,” a film by Sama Waham, visiting assistant professor in the Department of Media Study, that earned the Best Film Award for Long Documentaries at the Alexandria International Film Festival.

A reception in the Slee lobby followed the ceremony.