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UB 2020 top legislative priority
The Western New York Legislative Delegation has made UB 2020 its top priority for 2011, reaffirming its belief that the futures of UB and Western New York are strongly linked.
Speaking at a press event held on Jan. 14 at UB, the bipartisan group announced it is sending a joint letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo asking that the chief elements of UB 2020 be incorporated into the executive budget proposal for the 2011-12 fiscal year, which is expected to be released on Feb. 1.
“As you prepare your executive budget in the coming weeks,” the letter states, “we strongly urge you to include the public policy reforms that will enable UB 2020 to move forward. We cannot stress strongly enough that UB 2020 is a top regional priority.”
These reforms include giving UB the ability to implement a rational tuition policy, enter into land-use agreements through public-private partnerships and operate under a new regulatory framework. UB says full implementation of its strategic plan could translate into 10,000 new jobs and 20,000 construction job, and have a $3 billion annual impact in Western New York.
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Costantino to lead URH&A
Andrea Costantino, director of student life, has been tapped to head the Office of University Residence Halls and Apartments (URH&A) after the sudden death of the unit’s director, Warren Hale, last month.
Costantino will serve as interim director for the next year, according to a memo to Student Affairs staff from Dennis Black, vice president for university life and services, and Barbara Ricotta, associate vice president for student affairs. “By delaying a national search for a UB housing director for a year, the university can best provide strong and immediate leadership to URH&A and avoid a situation in which there could have been four separate unit directors in less than 12 months,” the memo states. “In addition, the delay will permit UB to search for a new residence hall and apartments director during more traditional national hiring periods.”
Costantino, who has served as director of student life for 10 years, has past experience in budget, personnel, programming, student development and facility management.
Thomas Tiberi, senior associate director of apartments, URH&A, will lead the Office of Student Life in Costantino’s absence. Brian Haggerty, associate director for residential operations, will fill Tiberi’s URH&A position.
Joe Krakowiak, who retired last year as URH&A director but continues to work with the unit as project manager on William R. Greiner Hall, will serve as a senior advisor to Costantino and the URH&A leadership team.
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Funding dropped for cyclotron
A multimillion federal appropriation to UB to purchase a cyclotron to support the university’s Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) is among the funding that has been cut off due to a moratorium placed on federal “earmarks” by the Republican majority in the House.
The funding is lost for at least a year—and possibly for the entire two years of the 112th Congress.
A $4.6 million appropriation for the cyclotron had been obtained from the Department of Defense last fall by Rep. Louise M. Slaughter.
The PETrace cyclotron that was to have been obtained with the funding is an essential research device expected to lead to the development of new therapies and treatments, particularly for cardiovascular diseases, cancer and neurological disorders. It generates radiopharmaceuticals essential for supporting molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET), a technology that holds great promise for understanding mechanisms of disease.
The cyclotron would have provided researchers throughout the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, including those at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the capability of performing state-of-the-art molecular scanning.
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UB to hold Citizens Police Academy
The UB Police Department will hold its annual Citizens Police Academy starting Feb. 9. The seven-week program, which gives members of the public and university community an in-depth look into the working life of a police officer, starts in Bissell Hall on the North Campus before moving to other locations during the course.
There are a limited number of spots available.
“Our third annual Citizens Police Academy is an opportunity for students, faculty, staff and members of the greater community to take an inside look at policing and actually experience what being a University at Buffalo police officer is all about,” says Gerald W. Schoenle Jr., UB police chief.
Schoenle says the department is looking for a good mix of participants interested in how the university police force operates and the role of its officers in the justice system. “The seven-week program culminates with a ride-a-long with a veteran police officer and a graduation ceremony,” Schoenle says.
Classes are conducted in an interactive setting taught by University Police officers and other public safety professionals. Subjects include fire and first aid, New York state penal law, traffic and accident investigations, criminal and crime scene investigation, and family offenses and domestic violence. Participants will have the opportunity to take part in several hands-on activities, along with the end-of-the-course ride-a-long.
Classes will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays for approximately three hours. Classes are noncredit bearing for UB students.
For further information and applications for the Citizens Police Academy, contact Lt. Dave Urbanek at 645-2228 or Urbanekd@buffalo.edu.
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Kiplinger’s ranks UB as one of ‘Best Values’
UB provides a quality education at an affordable price, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, which has placed the university on the magazine’s 2011 list of the 100 Best Values in Public Colleges.
Kiplinger’s ranked UB No. 46, selecting the school from a pool of more than 500 four-year colleges and universities.
The magazine evaluates schools based on criteria that includes SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates, as well as cost, financial aid and student debt at graduation. Measures of academic quality carry more weight than measures of affordability.
“We’re always pleased to be recognized for providing a quality education at an affordable price,” says President John B. Simpson. “As we continue to build UB into a great research university, we have remained aware that research and education go hand in hand at the nation’s best institutions of higher education. As a public university of the state of New York, affordability is one of our core values.”
UB’s No. 46 ranking was for in-state students, whose tuition and fees for the 2010-11 academic year total about $7,136. The university ranked 18th for value for out-of-state students, who pay an annual total of about $15,546 in tuition and fees.
In fall 2010, UB’s freshman class of about 3,150 students included more than 900 merit scholarship recipients and more than 320 honors students. This year’s honors class, the largest in the history of the Honors College, entered UB with an average combined math and reading SAT score of 1,382 and average high school grades of about 97.
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