African Liberation Week will be observed April 26 from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. at the Center for the Arts, North Campus. The program theme is "Faces of Our African Ancestors: Interpreting African Arts from an African Perspective." The public is invited to attend.

Among the events scheduled are lectures on African and African-American arts at 11 a.m.; a sacred Africana arts exhibit at 2 p.m. and a folk music festival by the Free Spirit Baptist Church Majestic Choir and the Kakilambe Folk Performers of the African American Cultural Center at 7 p.m.

Speakers will be Salah Hassan, director and professor, Africana Institute, Cornell University; Philip Ravenhill, chief curator, National Museum of African Arts, The Smithsonian Institution; Sam Pittee-Polkah Toe, founder and president, Africana Research Museum/ New York International African Institute, Inc. and consultant, African Development Bank for Museums/Archives/ Schools; Ibrahima Sy, ambassador, Organization of African Unity to the United Nations.

Moderators will be Kevin Smith, curator of anthropology, Buffalo Museum of Science and Kary's Enterprises director Dennis Prisinzano.

Among the sponsors and co-sponsors are the Department of Art History at UB; American Studies Department at UB; the Graduate Student Association; Iranian Graduate Student Club; Anthropology Graduate Student Club; English Graduate Student Club; the African American Cultural Center; the Free Spirit Missionary Baptist Church; the New York International African Institute, Inc.; Africana Research Museum/New York International African, Inc.; Organization of African Unity to the U.N.; ChemieToe Africana Business World; BCAM-Buffalo Public Access and Kary Enterprises, Inc.

COLE OUTSTANDING SENIOR IN NATURAL SCIENCES, MATH

Leah Elizabeth Cole, a biological sciences major at UB, has been named Outstanding Senior in the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics for 1996.

Cole and others nominated for the honor will receive a certificate and a grant at a luncheon to be hosted April 30 by Dean Joseph J. Tufariello.

Cole, who has a 3.99 grade-point average, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Golden Key Honor Society. She is a recipient of a Howard Hughes Undergraduate Fellowship and the Grace Capen Memorial Award. She also is active in Habitat for Humanity, the "Buffalonian" yearbook staff, intramural sports and the Girl Scouts of America.

Five other students nominated for the award by their departments will be honored as runners-up:

Michael L. Gostowski, a chemistry major, has a 3.96 GPA. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Lambda Upsilon, he has been a volunteer for the Muscular Dystrophy Society and American Cancer Society.

Teresa Ann Gianni, a computer science major, has earned a 3.78 GPA. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key, and is a recipient of the Grace W. Capen Award and a Senator Byrd Scholarship. She is an Intervarsity Christian fellow and is a member of the UB theater group EGATS.

David Frank, a geology major, has a 3.62 GPA. He is a recipient of a National Science Foundation fellowship and a member of Golden Key. He is vice president and co-captain of UB's frisbee team and a member of the Undergraduate Geology Club.

Heather A. Dye, a mathematics major, has a 3.77 GPA. She is a member of Golden Key, Phi Beta Kappa and the Undergraduate Mathematics Club. A staff member of the UB student magazine Generation, she is a volunteer at the Brothers of Mercy Nursing Facility.

Hidenori Tashiro, a physics major, has earned a 3.94 GPA. He previously attended Senshu University in Japan.

students receive 'Courage to Come Back' Awards

Two UB students, Rachel Davidson and Beth Wainwright, have been honored with Courage to Come Back awards, and were introduced April 3 at a reception in the office of County Executive Dennis Gorski. The awards, to be presented April 24 at a dinner in Hyatt Regency Buffalo, recognize achievements of WNY individuals who contribute to the quality of life for others despite their own adversities.

Rachel Davidson, who received the award in the category of mental health, struggled for several years with an eating disorder. Since regaining her health, she has been a frequent speaker at area junior and senior high schools for the Eating Disorder Association of WNY. She chose to get involved to increase awareness of the problem of eating disorders to help foster prevention and early recognition.

Beth Wainwright received the award in the area of economic adversity. A single mother with four children, she was once a high school dropout. She has returned to the work force and to school and last year was named one of the state's top 10 community college students. After finishing at Erie Community College, she was accepted into the honors program at UB. She volunteers for Hospice Buffalo and, through her church, is involved with the Prison Fellowship Angel Tree Program and other volunteer endeavors.

companies receive GRANTS with help OF UB CENTER

With the assistance of The Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE) at UB, six WNY companies have received grants under the local arm of the statewide Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR). The SPIR program was designed to help local companies improve their competitiveness and productivity.

Based in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, SPIR aims to help create and retain WNY manufacturing jobs.

Carborundum Abrasives Co. of Niagara Falls, a manufacturer of coated abrasives, adhesives and grain technologies, has received a $36,225 grant to develop a new technology that will allow the company to increase product consistency and quality and reduce waste.

International Imaging Materials, Inc. of Amherst, a manufacturer of custom-engineered thermal transfer ribbon products, has received a $17,408 grant to continue a training assessment.

Strippit, Inc. of Akron, a manufacturer of metal-fabricating equipment and tooling, has received a $16,525 grant to develop alternative annealing processes.

Father Sam's Syrian Bread, Inc. of North Tonawanda, a manufacturer of pita bread, has received a $10,250 grant to conduct a training assessment. The company expects to add 30 jobs.

American Massage Products Co. of Silver Creek, a manufacturer of massage products and health-care devices, has received a $1,632 grant to develop an improved controller for products.

Globe International, Inc. of Buffalo, a manufacturer of lightweight conveyor belts, has received a $750 grant to improve belt products.

Shapiro is speaker at Colloquium in France

Stuart C. Shapiro, professor of computer science and a member of the Center for Cognitive Science, was the invited speaker at Time, Space and Identity: The Second International Colloquium on Deixis, held at the Centre de Recherche en Informatique de Nancy (CRIN), Nancy, France, March 28-30.

Shapiro spoke on "Use of Deixis by a Computational Cognitive Agent," and gave a demonstration of Cassie, the computational cognitive agent which he developed with his colleagues and students. Using the Internet, Shapiro ran the program on a computer housed in the Department of Computer Science at UB, while supplying the input and displaying the output on a computer at CRIN in Nancy. The computer display was projected onto a large screen so that attendees at the colloquium could watch the demonstration.

DOCTORAL STUDENTS WIN LEADERSHIP PAPER AWARD

A paper on leadership has won two students in the doctoral program at the UB School of Management first place in the competition for the Kenneth E. Clark Research Award presented by the Center for Creative Leadership. The paper written by Margarita Mayo and Juan C. Pastor, "Leadership in the Context of Gender Diversity: A Workteam Analysis," will be considered for publication in a future issue of the journal Leadership Quarterly. It also earned Mayo and Pastor $1,500 in prize money and a trip to the center in Greensboro, N.C. to present their work.

The award is named for Clark, a distinguished scholar, former president and board chairman, and current Smith Richardson senior scientist at the Center for Creative Leadership.

STARR TRAVELS TO SWEDEN AS PART OF ROTARY TEAM

Edward Starr, a clinical psychologist at UB, has been selected by Rotary District 7090 and its Clarence Chapter to visit Sweden in May as part of a U.S.-Canadian team promoting international and intercultural understanding. Starr is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology in the Graduate School of Education.

Chautauqua County Legislator Nancy G. Barger will escort the team in Sweden. Sponsored by Rotary Foundation's Group Study Exchange Program, the team will meet with leaders in the Swedish government, legal, education and business communities. A Swedish team will visit the U.S. and Canada. Starr, a UB graduate, has done research on alcohol use among Native Americans. He also is working with individuals who suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

PHARMACY STUDENT WINNER OF NATIONAL ESSAY CONTEST

Jeanine A. Weaver, a UB pharmacy student is one of three nationally to win a Rhone-Poulenc Rorer/Drug Topics Essay Award. A fifth-year student in the School of Pharmacy, Weaver received a $4,000 savings bond and a trip to the American Pharmaceutical Association's annual meeting in Nashville.

Her winning essay focused on ways in which presidents of drug companies can encourage pharmaceutical care. The competition, sponsored by Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in association with Drug Topics magazine, encourages the exchange of inventive and practical ideas to improve industry-professional relations.