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Dagobert Soergel is new department chair
The Department of Library and Information Studies, Graduate School of Education, has a new chair this fall, Dagobert Soergel, an award-winning scholar from the University of Maryland College of Information Studies and the Dipartimento di Ingegneria e Scienza dell'Informazione, University of Trento, Italy.
Soergel has worked in the areas of classification and thesauri, both practically and theoretically, for more than 40 years and has taught at several universities in the U.S. and Germany. In 1997, he received the highest award given by the American Society for Information Science (the Award of Merit), and in 2009 the Contributions to Information Science and Technology Award of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Society for Information Science & Technology.
He is the author of the still-standard text and handbook, Indexing Languages and Thesauri: Construction and Maintenance (Wiley, 1974), and of Organizing Information (Academic Press, 1985), which received the American Society of Information Science Best Book Award, as well as of numerous papers and presentations in the area of classification/ontologies (including their development and change over time) and, more broadly, in information science.
Robinson notes that Soergel was the chief architect for several thesauri, including the Alcohol and Other Drug Thesaurus and the Harvard Business Thesaurus.
“He also has written about the future of digital libraries,” she says, “and led the editing team for the DELOS Network of Excellence in Digital Libraries in response to a call by the European Union for online consultation; he also was a member of the DELOS Working Group on the DELOS Digital Library Reference Model. We are most fortunate to have him as a member of our faculty.”
Life Sciences certification program offered
Professionals who are currently employed by the life sciences industry in Western New York, or who would like to be, are invited to register for “Becoming a Leader in the Life Sciences,” a certification program offered by the University at Buffalo's Division of Continuing and Professional Studies—Millard Fillmore College.
The UB program will help mid-level professionals compete more successfully in the life sciences job marketplace and approach their current and future positions with a more strategic outlook based on needs and trends in the industry. The program also will be helpful to graduate students and those who may be changing careers and would like to know more about entrance into the local life sciences industry.
Participants will attend eight sessions Sept. 16 to Nov. 4, from 6-8 p.m. in the Zebro Conference Room, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, 701 Ellicott Street in Buffalo. Deadline for registration is Sept. 11. Class size is limited. The program costs $249, which covers all course materials and instruction.
It is being offered with partial funding by the New York State Department of Labor and in partnership with UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences.
Topics to be covered include product development and regulatory affairs, management issues and biosciences business environment, corporate culture and career development, innovation and start-up business challenges and business plan development.
Click on for program information, or contact Larry Gingrich at gingrich@buffalo.edu or 829-3131.
TCIE lunch program to focus on financials
Managers who want greater insight into common financial measures used by successful companies may register for a business performance lunch series offered by UB’s Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE).
The first program, “Financial Management for Non-Financial Managers,” will familiarize attendees with the application of financial measures and the effects they have on bottom-line valuation.
The 90-minute seminar starts at noon on Sept. 24 in the Ramada Hotel & Conference Center, 2402 N. Forest Rd., Amherst. The cost is $59 and includes lunch. Registration is required by Sept. 10.
Facilitator Sriram “Sri” Vilayanoor will define EBITDA—Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization—and explain how this indicator of a company's financial performance impacts every stakeholder in the company.
Students will learn how proper management of balance sheets, income statements and cash-flow statements can positively affect EBITDA. A few advanced financial management concepts also will be discussed.
Vilayanoor, a transformation expert with TCIE, specializes in quality management systems, design of engineering and knowledge processes, business development strategies and operations management. He has improved operational efficiencies for a wide range of organizations in the United States, Canada, Argentina, China, Taiwan and India.
The Sept. 24 seminar is the first of four business lunch programs being offered by TCIE this fall. The series continues with a change management presentation on Oct. 22, a knowledge process management session on Nov. 19 and a workshop about non-profit project selection on Jan. 14.
For more information on any lunch series presentation or to register, visit or e-mail klynch4@buffalo.edu. You may also call 636-2568.
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