The UB Alumni Association (UBAA) will honor alumni who have brought distinction to the university at the 2022 UBAA Achievement Awards program to be held at 6 p.m. June 2 at the Marriott Buffalo Niagara in Amherst. UB President Satish K. Tripathi and Dharshan Jayasinghe, CEL ’12, BA ’03, president of the alumni association's board of directors, will present the awards.
Honorees will include Jean Alberti, PhD ’70, EdM ’62, an educator and clinical psychologist, who will accept the association’s highest honor, the Samuel P. Capen Award. She coined the phrase “bullying abuse” and developed groundbreaking theories on bullying. In 2010 she established the Dr. Jean M. Alberti Center for the Prevention of Bullying Abuse and School Violence at the Graduate School of Education.
The College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented to Ellen Baker, BA ’74, a 30-year veteran of NASA and a medical doctor. She flew on three space shuttle missions, including the 1989 mission that launched the Galileo space probe to study Jupiter. Baker connects academic specialists with health care providers in rural and underserved communities at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Other alumni being honored are:
- James Van Wyck, MA ’08, assistant dean for professional development in the Graduate School at Princeton University, will receive the George W. Thorn Award.
- James Chou, BS ’84, start-up tech executive and seed-stage investor who previously was chief technology officer for many well-known companies, will receive the Clifford C. Furnas Memorial Award.
- The School of Management Faculty Philanthropy Committee will receive the Philip B. Wels Outstanding Service Award.
- Danise Wilson, MPH ’14, executive director of the Erie Niagara Area Health Education Center, will receive the Walter P. Cooke Community Leadership Award.
- Marcelo Araujo, PhD ’03, MS ’99, chief science officer for the American Dental Association (ADA) and CEO of the ADA Science and Research Institute, will receive the International Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Michael Holtz, MArch ’74, a leader in architectural and energy research, development and sustainable design consulting, will receive the School of Architecture and Planning Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Steven Guttenberg, DDS ’69, BA ’65, retired oral and maxillofacial surgeon and leader in his field, will receive the School of Dental Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Karen Clinton Jones, PhD ’05, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at Binghamton University, will receive the Graduate School of Education Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Kay Stanney, BS ’86, founder and CEO of Design Interactive, which specializes in human systems integration, will receive the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Norma Nowak, PhD ’86, MS ’80, UB professor of biochemistry, executive director of the university’s New York State Center for Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences and founder and chief scientific officer of Empire Genomics, will receive the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Hon. John Ark, JD ’72, New York State Supreme Court Justice, will receive the School of Law Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Perry Schonfeld, BS ’80, principal and chief operating officer for LBA Realty, will receive the School of Management Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Marie-Anne Sanon Rosemberg, BS ’06, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, will receive the School of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Kenneth Dow, BS ’80, vice president for law at Century Therapeutics, will receive the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Andrew Hyland, PhD ’98, MA ’95, BA ’92, chair of the Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and director of the New York State Smokers Quitline, will receive the School of Public Health and Health Professions Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Tamekia Slaughter-Smith, MSW ’02, a major with the 7301st Medical Training Support Battalion at Ft. Dix and sexual assault response coordinator for the 914th Air Refueling Wing at the Niagara Falls Air Force Base, will receive the School of School of Social Work Distinguished Alumni Award.
Details on the awardees and the event are available on the UBAA website. Tickets are $75 (individual) and $600 (tables of eight). Registration deadline is May 19.
The UBAA, a volunteer-led international organization, fosters pride, spirit and tradition among the university’s 287,000-plus graduates.