Kudos

The UB Law School has been recognized for its commitment to diversity by the New York Law Journal.

The journal has designed the law school’s Discover Law program, under the leadership of Lillie Wiley-Upshaw, vice dean for admissions and student life, as a Diversity Initiative Project 2015.

The designation recognizes commitment to creating a diverse legal community and sustained efforts to reach that goal. The honorees are law firms and legal organizations that have confronted barriers to attracting, training, retaining or supporting diverse talent, and created realistic initiatives to overcome those obstacles and provide ongoing opportunities for growth and advancement.

UB Law School is the only law school honoree.

The Discover Law initiative aims to attract underrepresented minority students into the legal profession. Under the program, 20 students of color who have completed one or two years of college live on the North Campus for a month over the summer. The students earn a stipend, take four courses taught by UB Law faculty members and take part in other activities of interest to prospective law students.

Once again, accounting graduates from the School of Management are No. 1 in CPA exam performance among the 10 largest accounting programs in New York State.

According to the 2014 National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) Uniform CPA Examination Candidate Performance publication released last month, School of Management graduates had a pass rate of over 68.3 percent, significantly higher than the average of 55 percent for all jurisdictions and 55.5 percent statewide.

UB’s pass rate increased for the third consecutive year and is more than 9 percent higher than the next contender in the largest school category, the University at Albany.

In addition, among the state’s 10 largest programs, UB School of Management graduates scored highest on each of the three sections that focus on topics taught in accounting classes and second, just behind Fordham, in the Business Environment and Concepts section, covering economics, finance and technology.

Across Western New York schools, regardless of size, UB was a close second to Geneseo.

Among large national universities, UB ranked 12th, ahead of such schools as the University of Illinois, Ohio State University and Penn State, and up from 24th just three years ago.

“These results are a true reflection of the high quality of our accounting programs and the caliber of our students,” says Arjang Assad, dean of the School of Management.

The high success rate comes at a great value as well. The Accounting Degree Review ranked the School of Management No. 13 nationwide on the “30 Most Affordable Residential Master’s Programs in Accounting for 2015.” UB was the only school in the state to make the list.

Nicholas J. Everest, clinical assistant professor of organization and human resources in the School of Management, has been awarded the Arjang A. Assad Excellence in Teaching Award.

Established with a personal endowment from School of Management Dean Arjang A. Assad, the award recognizes the contributions of outstanding faculty members. It is presented biennially to a faculty member in the school, with preference given to an undergraduate professor who has demonstrated excellence in teaching, leadership and a passion for the profession.

Recipients of the award are chosen based on the recommendations of the school’s teaching effectiveness committee. According to the committee, Everest has taught more than half a dozen courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He also has played an integral role in the development and implementation of LeaderCORE, the school award-winning leadership-certification program that spans the entire two years of the UB MBA experience.

“With his extensive multinational industry experience and his years of professional consulting, Nick brings real-world leadership development and a remarkable passion for teaching into all his classes,” says Assad. “It is an honor to present him with this well-deserved award.”

UB faculty member John M. Violanti has been invited to testify at a “listening session” to be held by the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing on Feb. 23 in Washington, D.C.

Violanti, research professor in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, will testify as part of a panel on police officer safety and wellness. It will be the seventh event in a series of eight featuring testimony from invited witnesses and comments from the public.

A former New York State trooper, Violanti is an epidemiologist whose research and publications address the causes, prevention and treatment of work-related stress among police officers. The consequences of this stress, he says, include unusual health risks, among them post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol and drug abuse, lowered sensitivity to violence, physical illness, injury and suicide.

President Barack Obama established the task force with an Executive Order signed on Dec. 18, 2014. Its role is to identify best policing practices and make recommendations to the president on how to promote effective crime reduction while building public trust; foster strong, collaborative relationships between local law enforcement and the communities they protect; and promote effective crime reduction.

The Task Force has been directed to provide an initial report on recommendations to the president by March 2.