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Obituaries
Longtime faculty member Charles H.V. (Vince) Ebert, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geography, died Dec. 30 in the Center for Hospice & Palliative Care, Cheektowaga. He was 86.
A native of Hamburg, Germany, Ebert attended private schools in Switzerland and served in the U. S. Army. He earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in geography from the University of North Carolina.
He joined the UB in 1954, became an expert in the field of disasters, and wrote a textbook, “Disasters: Violence of Nature and Threats by Man.”
He spoke five languages: German, Russian, Spanish, French and English. He traveled around the work—to Costa Rica, Russia, Poland, Greece, Peru and Afghanistan, among other countries—to study the effects of earthquakes, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, deforestation and soil erosion. His field work took him to Switzerland as recently at 1996 to study pollution and the melt rate of a glacier.
Closer to home, he conducted field research on the spread of toxic leachates at Love Canal, using soil samples and infrared aerial photographs, and once assisted Erie County prosecutors investigating a homicide by correlating ground conditions and weather radar data.
But Ebert may be best remembered for his teaching. He won numerous teaching awards, including the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 1975 and 1976; UB’s Mr. Faculty Award in 1965 and 1968; and the Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Geography Teaching from the National Council for Geographic Education in 1990. He was designated a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor—the highest rank in the SUNY system—in 1989.
And while Ebert retired in 2000, he continued to teach as many as four courses a semester, including his popular and long-running undergraduate course, “Disasters: A Study of Hazards.” It has been estimated that Ebert taught more than 32,000 students during his career at UB.
Warren Hale, director of the Office of University Residence Halls and Apartments, died suddenly on Dec. 23. He was 53.
Hale came to UB in July after serving as director of residence life at Loyola University in Chicago.
He had worked for more than 25 years in college and university housing at such institutions as the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Bemidji State University in Minnesota and Washington State University, in addition to Loyola and UB.
Hale also had been a youth Hockey coach in Minnesota, Alabama, New York and Illinois—he was a member of the National Youth Hockey Association—and had held leadership and programming positions with the Association of College and University Housing Officers International, among other professional organizations.
He earned a BA in sociology and anthropology, and an MS in college student personnel services, both from Western Illinois University.
Arthur L. Kaiser, professor emeritus in the Department of Learning and Instruction, Graduate School of Education, died Jan. 9 in the Chautauqua County Home after a long illness. He was 87.
A native of Buffalo, Kaiser lived almost his entire life in Dunkirk. He received a bachelor’s degree in education from Fredonia State College and master’s and doctoral degrees in education from UB.
He began teaching at UB while pursuing his doctorate, later earning appointments as assistant professor and full professor. He later held a number of administrative positions at the university, including chair of the education department, director of university admissions and as an adviser to master’s and doctoral candidates.
Following his retirement from UB in 1985, Kaiser maintained an office at the university, where he continued to advise students, many of whom stayed in contact with him for years.
Kaiser also served on the Medaille College board of directors and received an honorary degree from the college.
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