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Summit to examine ‘complete streets’
How can streets that accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and transit users influence a region’s environment, prosperity, health and livability?
That’s the theme of the Buffalo Complete Streets Summit, a two-day symposium being held April 19-20.
The event will explore why communities across the country—including Buffalo—are adopting ‘complete streets’ policies that think beyond the motorist when planning infrastructure. Experts say that such policies offer myriad benefits, from reducing congestion to combating obesity.
The Buffalo Complete Streets Summit will kick off with a free, public panel discussion from 5:30-7:30 p.m. April 19 in Asbury Hall, 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo. The conversation will focus on how national best practices can shape the Buffalo streetscape. Featured experts will include Tavis Dockwiller, a green infrastructure expert, Viridian Landscape Studio, Philadelphia; Gail Dorfman, county commissioner, Hennepin County, Minn.; Jeff Olson, designer and past New York State Pedestrian and Bicycle Program manager, Alta Planning and Design, Saratoga Springs; and Sam Zimbabwe, transit and sustainable development advocate, District Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.
The panel’s moderators will be Robert G. Shibley, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning and chair of UB’s Environmental Stewardship Committee, and Daniel Robison, reporter from WBFO.
On April 20, local policymakers will gather in UB’s Jacobs Executive Development Center, 672 Delaware Ave., for an invitation-only dialogue. Attendees will learn from experts from around the country about how different jurisdictions are implementing and maintaining complete streets plans.
The Buffalo Complete Streets Summit is presented by GO Bike Buffalo, with funding provided by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), along with Righteous Babe Records, Wendel Companies, UB’s Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA Center) and the New York State Department of Transportation.
Additional support comes from Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities-Buffalo Partnership, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, Joy Kuebler Landscape Architect, and UB’s Civic Engagement and Public Policy research initiative.
For information, visit the summit’s website.
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‘Grease’ to be performed
The Department of Theatre & Dance will present the musical “Grease” April 19-21 and April 26-29 in the Drama Theatre in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
The cast of “Grease” is made up of students from the music theatre and dance programs.
The production is directed by Greg Natale, a member of the UB Theatre and Dance faculty, and a well-known Western New York director; Nancy Townsend (Music Director), a UB Clinical Assistant Professor of Music Theatre, serves as music director and Tracy Navarro, a dance teacher at UB and owner of Infinity Dance Project Inc., is the choreographer.
“Grease” opened on Broadway in 1972 and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical that year. The show went on to become one of the most successful films of all time, starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton John, Didi Conn and Stockard Channing. It has subsequently become one the most-produced musicals of all time and has produced a number of hit singles, including “You’re the One That I Want,” “Summer Nights” and “Greased Lightning.”
Tickets for “Grease” are $24 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors and are available at the CFA box office and at all Ticketmaster locations, including Ticketmaster.com.
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Ethicist Lessig to speak
Award-winning ethicist Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School and director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, will speak at 7 p.m. April 19 in 106 O’Brian Hall, North Campus.
Lessig’s address, entitled “Institutional Corruption and the Financial Crisis,” is part of the Gerald S. Lippes Speaker Series, which focuses on current issues and topics related to business and finance.
Co-sponsored by the UB Law School and the UB School of Management, the event is free and open to the public.
S. Todd Brown, an associate professor at UB Law School and director of its Center for the Study of Business Transactions, says Lessig and the Safra Center for Ethics have assumed prominent roles in advancing Harvard’s understanding of institutional corruption in business and the American political system.
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Fight cancer by viewing video
Members of the UB community can celebrate the work of the late Nan Harvey, Hall of Fame student-athlete, coach and administrator, by viewing a special video made in honor of Harvey by UB Athletics for the Title IX Trailblazer Tribute Video Contest. The contest, being sponsored by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators to recognize 40 years of Title IX, will award $9,000 to the women’s athletics program of the institution whose video receives the most views until 6 p.m. EST April 23 on the NACWAA YouTube page.
Click here to watch UB’s video of Harvey. The video may be viewed every day.
Harvey, associate athletic director and senior women’s administrator, died in 2003 at age 46 after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer. She had served the Bulls for almost 30 years—first as a student, then as a coach and administrator.
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Police Academy graduates fourth class
UB Police held its fourth Citizen’s Police Academy graduation last week, honoring 21 participants—mostly UB staff and students—who received certificates for successfully completing the eight-week program that began Feb. 15.
The Citizen Police Academy is held in an interactive setting, where students receive instruction by University Police personnel and other public safety professionals with extensive training and years of experience in their respective specialties.
Participants received instruction in such areas as fire and first aid, emergency dispatch systems, New York State Penal Law, patrol procedures, traffic and accident investigations, recruiting and training procedures, criminal and crime scene investigations, family offenses/domestic violence, sexual offenses, alcohol and narcotics issues, and haz-mat incidents.
Participants also received hands-on training in defensive tactics and emergency vehicle operation, as well as a “ride along” with a patrol officer.
Members of the UB community who graduated from the Citizen Police Academy are Jennifer Van Laeken, assistant director of admissions, School of Management; Ann Marie Landel, customer support analyst, Computing and Information Technology; Erika Grande, staff assistant, University Police; Cynthia Todd, production coordinator, University Communications; Tracey Eastman, marketing coordinator, Student Affairs; Sara Cuomo, assistant complex director, South Lake Village; Jennifer Chazen Konshin, director, Graduate Student Services; Chris Bragdon, advisor, International Student and Scholar Services; Starlynn Ferguson, instructional support associate; and students Danielle Canazzi, Michael P. Daly, Megan Moravec, Ronald L. Wood, Dominic Baratta, Adam Turton, Shawn Wang, Nicole Donovan, Richard Donovan and Cheow Soon Chia.
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Zodiaque Dance Ensemble to perform
The Zodiaque Dance Ensemble, one of UB’s resident student dance companies, will present “In Concert!” April 20-22 in the Black Box Theatre in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Directed by Anne Burnidge, assistant professor of theatre and dance, Zodiaque Dance Ensemble features 26 dance majors ranging from freshman to seniors. The concert will showcase eight diverse dance pieces, with choreography by guest artist Jenny Showalter; UB dance faculty members Shelley Hain, Joyce Lichtenberger and Anne Burnidge; and advanced-level UB choreography students Brittany Bennett, Julie LaMancuso and Marlee Sroka.
The concert will embody a spectrum of current dance styles, ranging from post-modern partnering to contemporary jazz.
Tickets for “Zodiaque Dance Ensemble In Concert!” are $20 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors, and are available at the CFA box office and at all Ticketmaster locations, including Ticketmaster.com.
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Planners to discuss Siberian experience
UB planning student Matthew Wattles and faculty member Daniel Hess will discuss their experiences this winter at an international planning competition in Siberia during a lecture on April 25.
The talk, “UB Planners in Siberia: Learn about our recent trip to Irkutsk, Russia,” will begin at 5:30 p.m. in 301 Crosby Hall, South Campus.
It is free of charge and open to the public.
Wattles, a senior environmental design major, took part in an international competition to solicit proposals to address uncontrolled development in the city of Irkutsk, Russia. His team, which included students from Russia, Lebanon and France, won the 13th session of the International Winter University (WU) competition, held Feb. 11 to March 4 at Baikal International Winter University of Urban Planning Design in Irkutsk, Russia.
Hess, UB associate professor of urban and regional planning, accompanied Wattles to Russia and served on the jury that helped students make their presentations more professional and critiqued them for content and quality.
Both called the experience the opportunity of a lifetime.
Read a story about their trip to Russia in the UB Reporter.
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