UB to hold in-person commencement ceremonies

Some 6,450 students are candidates to receive 6,876 degrees and certificates during UB’s 2022 commencement ceremonies, being held April 29 through May 22.

For the first time in two years, all commencement ceremonies will be held in person, with no vaccine or mask requirements for graduates or attendees.

Although the current increase in COVID-19 cases locally is expected to ease in the coming weeks, UB health and safety officials recommend that visitors to UB and members of the campus community use their best personal judgment in protecting themselves as they attend commencement ceremonies and other end-of-the-semester events.

The commencement season began on April 29 with the ceremony for students graduating from the MD program in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The remainder of the commencement schedule:

School of Dental Medicine: 3 p.m., May 6, Center for the Arts. Judith Albino, president emerita, Colorado School of Public Health, will speak. A. Scott Weber, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, will confer degrees.

School of Law: 3 p.m., May 14, Center for the Arts. The speaker is Hon. Eugene Fahey, ‘84, retired associate judge of the Court of Appeal of the State of New York and adjunct instructor at UB School of Law; President Satish K. Tripathi will confer degrees.

Graduate School of Education: 9 a.m., May 20, Center for the Arts. No speaker is planned; Weber will confer degrees.

School of Nursing: 9 a.m., May 20, Alumni Arena. No speaker is planned; Tripathi will confer degrees.

College of Arts and Sciences (graduate): 1 p.m., May 20, Center for the Arts. No speaker is planned; Weber will confer degrees.

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (graduate): 1 p.m., May 20, Alumni Arena. No speaker is planned; Tripathi will confer degrees. The Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, UB’s highest award, will be presented to Assemblymember Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes. The UB President’s Medal will be presented posthumously to Sargur N. “Hari” Srihari, a longtime UB faculty member and pioneer in the field of computer science. His wife, UB computer scientist Rohini Srihari, will accept the award.

School of Architecture and Planning: 5 p.m., May 20, Center for the Arts. The speaker will be Charles L. Davis II, associate professor of architectural history and criticism, School of Architecture and Planning; Weber will confer degrees.

School of Management (graduate): 5 p.m., May 20, Alumni Arena. No speaker is planned; Tripathi will confer degrees.

School of Social Work: 9 a.m., May 21, Center for the Arts. India Walton, senior adviser, NY Working Families Party, will speak. Weber will confer degrees.

School of Management (undergraduate): 9 a.m., May 21, Alumni Arena. No speaker is planned; Tripathi will confer degrees.

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (undergraduate): 1 p.m., May 21, Alumni Arena. No speaker is planned; Tripathi will confer degrees. A SUNY honorary doctorate will be presented to Ravinder K. Bansal, co-founder, former chairman and CEO of AirSep Corporation.

School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences:  5 p.m., May 21, Center for the Arts. The speaker will be Patricia D. Kroboth, dean of the School of Pharmacy and Distinguished Service Professor of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh; Tripathi will confer degrees.

School of Public Health and Health Professions: 5 p.m., May 21, Alumni Arena. Daniel Stapleton, director of public health, Niagara County Department of Health, will speak; Weber will confer degrees.

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (undergraduate and graduate, including Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center): 9:30 a.m., May 22, Center for the Arts. The speaker will be Daniel J. Kosman, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School; Weber will confer degrees.

College of Arts and Sciences (undergraduate arts, natural sciences and math): 9:30 a.m., May 22, Alumni Arena. No speaker is planned; Tripathi will confer degrees. A SUNY honorary doctorate will be presented to Francesco Calogero, a theoretical physicist and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Italy’s Sapienza University of Roma. The award will be accepted by UB faculty member Gino Biondini.

College of Arts and Sciences (undergraduate humanities and social sciences): 3 p.m., May 22, Alumni Arena. No speaker is planned; Tripathi will confer degrees.

Other special ceremonies taking place this season include the Military and Veteran Recognition Ceremony on April 28, the Lavender (LGBTQ) Reception on May 13, the recognition ceremony for graduates of the Educational Opportunity Center on May 18, ALANA Celebration of Achievement (African, Latino, Asian and Native American) on May 19 and the ceremony recognizing graduates of the University Honors College on May 19.