Kudos

Career Services’ collaborative Virtual Career Fair has received a 2013 Outstanding Student Affairs Program Award from the SUNY Council of Chief Student Affairs Officers and the Office of University Life and Enrollment Management.

The annual award recognizes outstanding student affairs programs that have demonstrated a positive impact on students. Award submissions are judged in 10 categories and evaluated on creativity and excellence of program design, effectiveness of implementation and collaboration. 

Career Services’ submission, “Virtual Career Fair: Featuring New York’s 4 SUNY University Centers,” highlighted two key features of the Virtual Career Fair concept: collaboration between UB, the University at Albany, Binghamton University and Stony Brook University, and the use of an innovative technology solution to assist students in their job search.

Held on April 17, the Virtual Career Fair allowed students, alumni and employers to communicate through a group instant-messaging tool where resumes could be reviewed by employers. Employers then could interview students via private chat. The use of real-time chat technology enabled employers to engage with potential employees faster, and without the cost of travel.

Nearly 400 UB students and more than 30 employers participated in the Virtual Career Fair.

“We were delighted to provide the leadership to this effort after having sponsored Virtual Career Fairs at UB the past two years,” says Arlene Kaukus, director of career services. “This effort enabled us to work collaboratively with our colleagues in the SUNY academic research centers, as well as to leverage the relationships that each of our institutions has with various employers, thereby bringing value to all.”

The Getzville Fire Company recently presented Lynda A. Burey, code enforcement officer in the Fire, Life, Safety Division of Environment, Health & Safety Services, University Facilities, with its Michael Zbieski Memorial Award in appreciation for her “outstanding contributions and devotion to the Getzville Fire Company.”

Burey was recognized in particular for coordinating UB’s Building Awareness Training Program, which provides specialized training to the Getzville Fire Company and other fire companies that provide support to Getzville during emergencies on campus. The program holds quarterly sessions that focuses on one particular building on the UB North Campus. Firefighters receive an extensive tour and overview of the building, as well as critical information on the building’s use; occupancy; fire protection systems; location of the mechanical room, annunciator panel and shut-offs; building access and any hazardous areas in the building.

This training results in more efficient response from firefighters by providing them with extensive knowledge of the buildings on the North Campus.

Burey acts as liaison for communications to the fire company for many events scheduled on campus.

Working with the UB Office of Sustainability, members of Campus Dining & Shops (CDS) presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), held earlier this week in Nashville.

Adam Coats, assistant dining director, and Elizabeth Amato, assistant manager at Crossroads Culinary Center (C3), highlighted several sustainability aspects of C3, including the design and construction of the facility, local purchasing and food-waste composting, in a presentation titled “UB’s Crossroads Culinary Center: Fine Dining in Sustainable Fashion.”

“We have such a great story to share, and one that is of great interest to many other colleges and universities,” says Erin Moscati, sustainability education manager for the Office of Sustainability who submitted the presentation proposal on UB’s behalf.

Moscati notes that CDS has earned national recognition for the C3 concept, having been awarded the Loyal E. Horton Grand Prize for Best Residential Dining Concept, as well as a silver award in the category of Outreach & Education, in the National Association of College and University Food Service’s (NACUFS) 2013 Sustainability Awards.

AASHE’s mission is to empower higher education to lead the sustainability transformation. It provides resources, professional development and a network of support to enable institutions to model and advance sustainability in everything they do, from governance and operations to education and research.

Patrick J. Long, ’00, coordinator of the UB Law School’s Legal Analysis, Writing and Research (LAWR) program, will be recognized by the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) as a “Teacher of the Year” at the organization’s annual meeting in January in New York City.

Long was chosen by the UB Law School Class of 2013 as the recipient of the school’s Faculty Award at this year’s commencement ceremony.

“Pat Long is simply one of the best research and writing professors in the country,” says Dean Makau W. Mutua. “His masterful command of legal argument and his superior ability to teach legal skills to lawyers in embryo is one of the reasons our LAWR program is without doubt a key cornerstone of UB Law’s curriculum.

“Pat’s recognition as the best professor at UB Law School by the 2013 graduating class is a fitting nod to an excellent teacher, a mentor and a caring academic. We are honored he will be so recognized at AALS.”

Long, whose undergraduate degree is from Harvard, spent four years in the Navy and taught English for four years at the private Nichols School in Buffalo before enrolling at UB Law School. After graduation, he practiced litigation for five years with the Buffalo firm Hodgson Russ, then returned to Nichols before joining the Law School faculty.