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• “Today, we add another celebration: celebrating the wonderful spirit and generosity of our UB family.”

  Dennis Black

  Chair, 2011 Employees Campaign for the Community

By SUE WUETCHER

Published: January 19, 2012

The 2011 Employees Campaign for the Community has raised 91 percent of its goal, and individuals who worked on the campaign gathered in the Center for Tomorrow yesterday to celebrate that achievement.

The campaign, which has a goal of $825,000, had raised $752,814.10 as of Jan. 17.

Campaign chair Dennis Black, vice president for university life and services, reminded unit liaisons and members of various campaign committees who attended yesterday’s event that when they first gathered in September to kick off the campaign, “we talked about celebration”: We were celebrating UB’s engagement in the community, we were celebrating support for our campaign and we were celebrating the inauguration of President Tripathi.”

“Today, we add another celebration: celebrating the wonderful spirit and generosity of our UB family,” Black said.

He said that the United Way brings people, organizations and resources together to improve community well-being, adding that this year’s campaign theme was “Rewrite someone’s story.”

“It’s our hope that through the support of the community from our UB family, we’ve not only helped people rewrite their stories, but changed their stories and changed them for the better.”

He also praised the volunteers who ran UB’s campaign.

“I learned (serving as campaign chair) what an incredible group of people we have in our family and how hard they work to make a difference for everybody,” he said.

President Satish K. Tripathi told attendees that he considers UB’s engagement with the community to be one of the chief priorities of the university—along with excellence and efficiency, the “three Es” that define his vision for the university.

And while commitment to academic excellence is UB’s first priority, “the principle of engagement is what helps us give new meaning to this,” he said. “It’s what helps us share our excellence with others and make their lives better as a result. It’s what allows us to take our discoveries in the lab, our great ideas from the classroom and our achievements on stage and transform them into tangible, lasting benefit to others.

“That commitment is at heart of the campaign,” he said.

“Buffalo is well-known as ‘the city of good neighbors,’ and at UB, we strive very hard to be one of the best of the neighbors in all that we do,” Tripathi said.

He commended UB employees, whose giving, he said, consistently ranks the university among the top givers in the state SEFA campaign, as well as among universities nationwide.

“Thank you for your outstanding efforts, your caring and your dedication,” he said. “UB is better as a result and so are all of our neighbors here in Buffalo and beyond.”

The highlight of yesterday’s event was the presentation of awards to the campaign’s top achievers. A. Scott Weber, vice provost and dean for undergraduate education—and next year’s campaign chair—announced the award winners.

The Gold Award was given to the Office of the President, which ranked first in percentage of contributors and fifth in response rate.

The Silver Award went to the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, which reached 99 percent of its goal and raised more than $10,000.

Receiving the Bronze Award was the Division of Athletics, which raised 126 percent of its goal.

The William R. Greiner Award, recognizing an individual who demonstrates the same level of commitment to the campaign as the late UB president, was given to Allison Garvey, project director for accreditation, School of Public Health and Health Professions. Garvey has served as chair of the celebration committee for several years and has organized campaign fundraisers year round.

Ray Dannenhoffer, associate dean for support services, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, was named Volunteer of the Year. Dannenhoffer, a member of the campaign steering committee, has been involved in the campaign for many years in many capacities.

Named “Unsung Hero” of the campaign was Debbie Perkins, keyboard typist, University Human Resources. Perkins, who works in customer service for HR, has served as point person for all incoming campaign donation forms for eight years.

The Chair’s Cup, awarded each year at the discretion of the campaign chair to a unit that achieved some special distinction during its annual campaign, was presented to the UB Foundation. The foundation reached 99 percent of its goal and raised more than $3,000 while increasing its response rate and number of gifts.

The Bennett Cup, dubbed the “MVP award for the campaign,” was awarded to the School of Management. The school was the first unit to reach its goal, raising more than $42,000—a $5,000 increase over last year’s total.