The Dr. Thomas J. and Barbara L. Guttuso Scholarship and Award Fund will provide an annual scholarship for a first-year medical student, as well as an award for a senior with an interest in ophthalmology. Selection of the recipients will be based on academic standing and financial need.

"I owe my success in medicine to UB and appreciate the opportunities I received when I was a student," said Guttuso, a 1960 alumnus of the UB medical school. "Now, as director of admissions and the medical school's scholarship committee, I see the tremendous financial need of nearly 40-50 percent of the school's medical students and it made me realize how crucial financial assistance is to these students. Being on the scholarship committee especially made me acutely aware of how I could do so much more."

John P. Naughton, UB vice president for clinical affairs and dean of the medical school, praised Guttuso for his valuable contribution.

"The assistance of this generous gift will help many talented students obtain their medical education, and, most significantly, enable them to concentrate on their studies and thrive academically," said Naughton "With the continued philanthropic support of medical-school alumni and friends we will be positioned to offer essential financial assistance to highly qualified students who otherwise would be unable to receive their medical education at UB."

Guttuso, who maintains a private practice in ophthalmology in Lockport, has held several clinical positions at the Erie County Medical Center. In addition to serving as the medical-school's director of admissions since 1982, he was program director of the UB Department of Ophthalmology from 1985-87.

Throughout his association with UB, Guttuso said he has found his interaction with faculty and medical students to be highly gratifying. His admiration for the university, he noted, was particularly heightened when he became a patient of a UB medical-school graduate who Guttuso previously accepted to the medical school. The experience of seeing firsthand the alumnus' remarkable work in medicine intensified Guttuso's commitment to support the university.

"Whether a gift is designated for a scholarship or any other source of support, I think university graduates owe a debt to the school that provided their education and a way to partially repay that debt is to be as generous as possible," Guttuso said.

The Guttusos' two daughters are graduates of the UB medical school and their son is attending the medical school.