Gathering in person to celebrate excellence

It was a little weird, trying to recognize the person behind the mask, but wonderful at the same time to be back together in Slee Concert Hall on Thursday as UB faculty and staff gathered to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of their colleagues during the past year.

President Satish K. Tripathi welcomed everyone back in person for the annual Celebration of Faculty and Staff Academic Excellence, a “great UB tradition.”

“At UB, excellence is at the heart of everything we do,” Tripathi said. “It is what guides us in the lab, the classroom, the conference room — indeed, in all of our professional pursuits.

“Without excellence, we can never truly realize our university’s mission,” he said. And while he noted that UB often uses metrics to track its progress in this regard, he said that when it comes to measuring the excellence of faculty and staff, it’s the “intangible qualities” that matter — like a “desire to push boundaries,” an “unwavering commitment to surpass expectations in our profession” and going “above and beyond for our students.”

The faculty and staff recognized at Thursday’s event “embody these qualities,” Tripathi said, “and inspire our entire university community to reach higher.”

“By harnessing your professional skills and your creative capacities, you’re making a difference at UB and in the communities serve.”

He thanked the honorees “for your meaningful contributions to this culture. By making your mark on your field, you’re helping UB make its mark on society.”

Provost A. Scott Weber echoed Tripathi’s sentiments.

“You, our colleagues we have celebrated today, exemplify excellence at UB,” Weber told the honorees. “Through your groundbreaking work, you have pioneered research approaches, opened new fields of inquiry and enriched our understanding of the world.

“Through your excellent teaching and mentorship, you have enabled student success and created exciting learning opportunities for students at UB and beyond.

“And finally, your dedication and contributions have allowed UB to continue delivering exceptional research, education, clinical care and engagement through a global pandemic,” he said.

Weber noted that the SUNY and UB awards the honorees have received “recognize the significance of these achievements for your disciplines, and for the university’s students and our wider communities,” while the highly competitive national and international awards “play an important role in building UB’s global reputation by publicly demonstrating the significant societal impact of our faculty and our university.”

“Your achievements and efforts are critical to UB’s success and momentum,” he said. “Congratulations, and thank you for everything that you do for the university. Well done.”

The main event of the day centered on the public recognition of the UB faculty and staff members who received prestigious UB, SUNY and national awards during the past year.

Those honored included faculty members who are recipients of awards recognized as “prestigious” and “highly prestigious” by the National Research Council, and those who were named SUNY Distinguished Professors and UB Distinguished Professor, as well as faculty and staff recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence.

Robert Granfield, vice provost for faculty affairs and event emcee, called it an “especially unique experience” to recognize Harvey Breverman, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art, for completing 60 years of service to UB. Breverman is an internationally acclaimed artist whose work is included in the permanent collections of more than 150 prominent museums and galleries worldwide, including the British Museum, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Modern Museum of Art and the National Portrait Gallery.

Over the past 60 years, Breverman’s work has “enriched and documented our campus community,” Granfield said, “and he has provided exceptional educational experiences for generations of UB students.”

Granfield also recognized six faculty members for 50 years of service: Michael Cohen, professor emeritus of neurology; Stephen C. Dunnett, retired vice provost for international education; Carolyn Korsmeyer, professor emerita of philosophy; Ann McElroy, associate professor emerita of anthropology; Anthony J. Rozak, professor emeritus of art; and Phillips Stevens Jr., associate professor emeritus of anthropology.

Also recognized were recipients of three UB mentoring awards — the UB Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award, the UB President Emeritus and the Mrs. Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring, and the UB Distinguished Postdoc Mentor Award — as well as the UB Teaching Innovation Award, the UB Exceptional Scholar: Young Investigator Award, and the UB Exceptional Scholar: Sustained Achievement Award.

A full list of the honorees can be found online.