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20 to be honored by the UB Alumni Association
The UB Alumni Association will honor 20 individuals with achievement awards at a gala to be held March 20 in the Adam's Mark Hotel, 120 Church St.
The awards are presented each spring to alumni and friends of UB for bringing distinction to themselves and the university through outstanding professional and personal achievement, loyal service to UB and exemplary service to their communities. Also that evening, four students will be awarded J. Scott Fleming Scholarships, and new to the ceremony this year is the Volunteer Service Medal, which will be given to four outstanding volunteers.
The alumni association's highest honor, the Samuel P. Capen Award, will be presented to Louis A. DiBerardino Jr., B.S. ’80, of Westport, Conn.
A native Buffalonian, DiBerardino worked his way through school and up the corporate ladder at Ernst & Young. He now serves as tax managing partner for Ernst & Young’s North Central region, encompassing 14 offices in six states.
DiBerardino has served on the School of Management Alumni Association Board, the Buffalo and New York City-based Accounting Advisory Councils, and the School of Management Dean’s Advisory Council, which he now chairs. Along with wife, Kate, DiBerardino in 1999 made the initial commitment that resulted in the Ernst & Young Connected Classroom in the School of Management, and secured an additional $50,000 gift from fellow alumni who work for Ernst & Young partners throughout the country to complete the $100,000 gift.
The couple also funded the Louis A. and Kathryn A. DiBerardino Accounting Resource Center, which opened in the Jacobs Management Center last fall and provides space for tutoring, studying, meetings and conducting research.
Buffalo Bills owner and president Ralph C. Wilson Jr., newly elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and his wife, Mary McLean Wilson, will receive the Community Leadership Medal in appreciation of their outstanding accomplishments in making the Western New York community a better place to live and work.
Ralph C. Wilson Jr. is the founder, owner and president of the NFL's Buffalo Bills and a 2009 inductee to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was one of the founding owners of the American Football League, which merged with the NFL in 1970.
Wilson’s philanthropic pursuits include the creation in 1999 of the Ralph Wilson Medical Research Foundation, which has contributed more than $10 million in support of basic science, high-risk, high-impact research of cancer, heart and blood vessel diseases, neurological diseases and disorders of the muscles and bones. Roswell Park Cancer Institute is one of its five partner institutions.
Mary Wilson spends her time giving back to the Buffalo community and beyond, and in 2002 was presented with the Burt P. Flickinger Jr. Community Service Award by the Western New York Food Bank. She is also the founder of Western New York Girls in Sports, dedicated to providing opportunities, encouragement and personal development to underserved girls in Buffalo.
In addition, Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented in recognition of exceptional career accomplishments, community or university service, or research and scholarly activity to Lester A. Gerhardt, Ph.D. ’69 and M.S. ’64, of Clifton Park; Vikki L. Pryor, J.D. ’78 and B.A. ’75, of New Rochelle; Sharad K. Tak, M.S. ’69, of Bethesda, Md.; and Connie R. Vari, M.B.A. ’04, M.S. ’97 and B.S. ’94, of Williamsville.
The Clifford C. Furnas Award, presented to engineering, natural sciences or mathematics alumni who have distinguished themselves in a field of science, will be given to Marjorie E. Winkler, Ph.D. ’80 and B.A. ’75, of Burlingame, Calif.
Nicole C. Lee, J.D. ’02 and B.A. ’00, of Washington D.C., will receive the George W. Thorn Award, which is given to alumni under 40 in recognition of outstanding national or international contributions to their career field or academic area.
Reserved for nonalumni who have made notable and meritorious contributions to UB, the Walter P. Cooke Award will be presented to Ravinder K. Bansal of Clarence.
The Dr. Richard T. Sarkin Award for Excellence in Teaching will be presented to Patricia R. McCartney, Ph.D. ’95 and M.S. ’77, of Amherst.
The Dr. Philip B. Wels Award will be given to Ralph T. Behling, M.D. ’43 and B.S. ’40, of San Mateo, Calif., recognizing achievements that have greatly enhanced the quality of life of the entire UB community.
Four students will receive the J. Scott Fleming Scholarship: Kayla Geelan, of Springville, Mary Greenberg, B.A. ’08, of Amherst, Chris Llop, of Amherst, and Shanita Mitchell of Buffalo.
In appreciation of outstanding volunteer contributions to the university, Volunteer Recognition Medals will be presented to Mary H. Berlow of Buffalo; John Bodkin II, M.D. ’76, of East Amherst; Jean C. Powers, J.D. ’79, of Williamsville; and Jay Schwartzkopf, B.S. ’97, of Hainesport, N.J.
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