John Woods and Douglas Wright have been named assistant directors in the UB Department of Public Safety.

A 22-year veteran of the department, Woods will be in charge of patrol service. He had been serving as acting assistant director. Woods holds a master's degree in social sciences from UB and a bachelor's degree in sociology from Northeast Louisiana University. He joined the department as a patrol officer and most recently had been involved in developing the community policing and special programs. He served as interim director of public safety at the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1989.

Wright, a former police chief of Gary, Ind., and Forest Hill, Texas, joins the UB department, where he will be in charge of special events planning and coordinating, including crime prevention and other special assignments.

Wright is a former chief deputy with the Tarrant County Police Department in Ft. Worth and a police sergeant with Texas Christian University. He holds an associate's degree in criminal justice from Tarrant County Junior College and a bachelor's degree from the California Graduate School of Technology.

UB professor winner of chili cookoff

Members of the UB faculty, staff, student body and alumni helped Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center celebrate its zany annual Chili Cookoff on Sunday, Feb. 11.

First prize in the cookoff's "Conceptual Chili" category went to Lucinda Finley, UB professor of law, who won for her "Pataki Chili." It consisted of an empty bowl, which she described as "filled" with the governor's support for the arts. Finley beat out several other contenders in her category including a glowing bowl of talking chili and a frightening chocolate ice cream chili.

Four of the 12 judges were from UB: Mike Brill, professor of Architecture and Planning; Masani Alexis DeVeaux, assistant professor of American Studies; Pat Donovan, senior editor, News Services, and Law School alumna Barbara Kavanagh, newly elected at-large member of the Buffalo Common Council.

The cookoff took on a carnival air courtesy of the hot, brassy beat of "12/8," a roving African-Caribbean path band founded and led by ethnomusicologist Charlie Keil, associate professor of American Studies at UB.

Burdick president-elect of Anesthesiology Society

James P. Burdick, clinical assistant professor at the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has been installed as president- elect of the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists.

Director of anesthesia services at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Burdick is chair of the quality assurance committee for anesthesia at the UB medical school.

A diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology, he also serves on the board of the New York State Department of Health's Office of Professional Medical Conduct.

Burdick, a graduate of the UB medical school, is a member of many professional organizations including the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the International Anesthesia Research Society and the American Society of Regional Anesthesia.

Music From China Performs at UB Feb. 26

Music From China, a virtuoso traditional Chinese instrumental ensemble which played at UB two years ago, is returning to Buffalo and will perform Monday, Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. in Baird Recital Hall on the North Campus. The concert is free and open to the public.

The ensemble, which played to acclaim at the opening of the Chinese painting exhibition at the UB Center for the Arts, now returns at the invitation of the Arts in Education Institute of Western New York for a week-long tour of local schools. The Institute and the UB Music Department are co-sponsoring Music From China's appearance at UB to celebrate the Chinese New Year and to show appreciation for the large number of Chinese students and scholars at UB.

Established performers from mainland China and from the U.S., are part of the ensemble which will present a repertoire of traditional and contemporary Chinese music.

Med school faculty listed among country's best heart doctors

Two faculty members of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences have been named to a list of "The Country's Best Heart Doctors,' published in the March issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. L. Nelson Hopkins, professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, was listed under neurosurgeons. John Ricotta, professor of surgery, was listed under vascular surgeons.

UB ALUMNI SCHEDULE SENIOR LUNCHEON PROGRAMS

A slide tour of the 150-year history of UB, truth-telling and deception in everyday life, an investigation of the paranormal and a tour of East Aurora's Roycroft Inn will be topics for the UB Senior Alumni Programs set for this spring.

The schedule: