Greiner to take calls on WBFO program
President William R. Greiner will answer questions posed by the campus community from 7-8 p.m. Feb. 16 on WBFO-88.7 FM, UB's National Public Radio station. Dennis Black, vice president for student affairs, will be Greiner's guest. Call 829-6000 with your questions.

Ridge Lea Larry takes a break, but he'll be back next year
For 15 years, Ridge Lea Larry, the Department of Geology's groundhog, symbol of winter's mid-point and all-around mascot dressed in custom-made threads and top hat, has lightened the dreary winter blues by predicting whether or not there will be six more weeks of winter.

But on Groundhog Day this year, the stuffed woodchuck did not see his shadow-or anything else. Depending on whom you asked, Ridge Lea Larry was either "under the weather" or on sabbatical. But it's only a temporary setback: Larry will be back on Groundhog Day, Y2K.

Beutner to receive award for research in dermatology
Internationally known immunologist and professor emeritus Ernst H. Beutner has been named co-recipient of one of four prestigious research awards from the American Skin Association. The New York City-based association supports research and programs to educate and inform the public about skin disorders. Beutner will share the $5,000 Inflammatory Skin Disorders Research Award with former UB post-graduate fellow Robert E. Jordan.

Beutner, who will receive the award in May during the annual meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology, was selected for pioneering research that has led to better understanding of the links between human immune-system components and skin disorders. Many of his research contributions over four decades helped define and standardize labeled antibody techniques for microscopy leading to improved diagnostic tests.

Beutner, currently director of diagnostics at the Buffalo-based Beutner Laboratories, was a UB faculty member from 1956 until he retired in 1997 from what is now known as the Department of Microbiology in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

He is a member of numerous professional societies and organizations, including the New York Academy of Sciences and the American Association of Immunologists.

Correction
Due to a typographical error, a story in last week's Reporter stated that Mary Gresham had served as interim vice president for public service and urban affairs since August 1977. It should have read August 1997. We regret the error.

Live teleconference set on HIV/AIDS resources
The Health Sciences Library and the Western New York Library Resources Council will host a live teleconference on HIV/AIDS information resources sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and the National Library of Medicine from 1-3 p.m. Feb. 11 in Room B15 Abbott Hall on the South Campus.

The teleconference, which is open to the public, is aimed primarily at public-health professionals who are responsible for providing HIV/AIDS services and information in their communities.

Admission is free but registration is required due to space limitations.

The broadcast will provide an overview of electronic resources, discuss criteria for evaluating and selecting the best resources, demonstrate online searching and present Web-based tutorials that will serve as a supplement to the broadcast.

Faculty presenting the broadcast will be Gale A. Dutcher, special assistant to the associate director, specialized information systems, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Md.; Rose S. Foster, group manager, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Maryanne P. Blake, outreach coordinator, Pacific Northwest Region, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Seattle.

Two hours of continuing-education credit will be offered.

Additional sponsors include the Public Health Training Network, Public Health Practice Program Office, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and the National Association of City and County Health Officials.

Interested persons may register by calling Amy Lyons at 829-3402 or by emailing her at alyons@msmail.buffalo.edu. More information on the broadcast is available at http://www.cdc.gov/phtn/130019.htm.

Acclaimed British flutist to headline February concerts
The acclaimed British flutist William Bennett, principal flutist of the English Chamber Orchestra, will make his first Buffalo appearance in a concert at 8 p.m. Feb. 18 in Slee Concert Hall. Pianist Clifford Benson will join Bennett for the performance, which will include Reynaldo Hahn's Variations on a Theme of Mozart and Benjamin Godard's Suite de Trois Morceaux, Op. 116. Tickets for the concert are $15. Bennett also will present a flute master class in Slee at 3 p.m. Feb. 19; admission is $10.

Other February highlights on the Department of Music's concert schedule include a program, "Romantic and Beyond," by pianist Stephen Manes, UB professor of music, at 8 p.m. Feb. 13 in Slee that will feature piano literature from the "romantic" era and the 20th century. Tickets are $5.

The Cassatt Quartet will continue its run of successful concerts as the Slee Quartet-in-Residence with two performances, one at 8 p.m. tomorrow as part of the Slee/Beethoven String Quartet Cycle, Concert IV, and a second at 8 p.m. Feb. 26 as part of the Slee Visiting Artist Series, Concert V. Tickets for both concerts are $12, $9 and $5. The Cassatt will give a master class at 3 p.m. Feb. 23 in Slee. There is no admission charge.

Eastman Organists' Day Feb. 19 will bring three young soloists - Ji-yoen Choi, Jason Leister and Nicole Keller-to Slee Hall. The three have performed in numerous U.S. cities and placed in a number of organ competitions. Tickets are $5 for the 8 p.m. concert.

The Amherst Saxophone Quartet will present a program at 3 p.m. Feb. 27 in Slee that includes one of the most significant pieces ever written for saxophone quartet, Quartett for Saxophones, by Alexander Glasunow. Tickets are $10 and $5. The quartet also will appear at noon Feb. 22 in the Center for the Arts Atrium. There is no admission charge.

Exhibits to note Black History Month
Two exhibits celebrating Black History Month will be displayed on the North Campus during February.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1967 visit to Buffalo, documented through photographs, news clippings and a copy of his presentation on the future of integration, will be on display in the UB Archives, 420 Capen Hall.

The 1964 Nobel laureate who spoke at Kleinhans Music Hall under the sponsorship of UB's Graduate Student Association, originally was scheduled to speak in Norton Union on the South Campus.

The exhibit, free and open to the public, is on display from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays from mid-February through early March.

Another exhibit of original letters, signed photographs and other memorabilia are part of the third annual Black History Month autographic exhibit entitled "They, Too, Had A Dream," compiled by Ron Weekes of the Center for the Arts staff.

Throughout February, visitors to the second floor of Lockwood Memorial Library can view items from such notable African Americans as comedian Jackie "Moms" Mabley, singer/actress Ethel Waters, actress and performer Pearl Bailey, and Roy Wilkins, executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Buffalo Chips to perform in Valentine's Extravaganza
The Buffalo Chips, UB's first a cappella ensemble, will perform at 8 p.m. Feb. 13 in the fourth annual Valentine's Day A Cappella Extravaganza, to be held in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts.

Seventeen voices strong, The Chips are a diverse group of students majoring in subjects ranging from aerospace engineering to medicine to music. Founded in 1995, The Chips are under the direction of Darrell Belch and Eric Fosbury.

The Buffalo Chips are making their mark on the national scene, establishing themselves as one of the 12 best college a cappella groups in the nation, with a second-place finish in the second round of the National Competition of Collegiate A Cappella. With two successful CD releases, "Poncherello" and "Wait..What Just Happened?" they are set to release a third, "Remember the Songs," this spring.

Tickets for the extravaganza are $3, available at the CFA Box office and all Ticketmaster locations.

UB to host first Miss University Pageant
Women in Western New York between the ages of 17 and 24 will have one more opportunity to win scholarships and compete in the Miss New York State Pageant, which is an official preliminary competition for Miss America, with the creation of the new Miss University Pageant.

The pageant, to be hosted by UB, will be held at 7:30 p.m. April 17 in the theater of the Student Union on the North Campus.

An informational meeting for potential participants will be held at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 19, in Room 330 of the Student Union.

While the Miss University Pageant will be held at UB, participation will not limited to UB students. Applications may be obtained in the Office of Student Affairs in Room 150 of the Student Union or by contacting Lorrie Turner-Proulx at 848-1504.

Creation of the third local preliminary pageant for Miss New York State was the initiative of Maryalice Demler, Miss New York State 1990 and now an anchor/reporter with WGRZ-TV. The other local preliminary pageants are Miss Buffalo and Miss Wheatfield (formerly Miss Western New York).

Demler noted that in many parts of the U.S., major universities-including Pennsylvania State University and Rutgers University-host similar Miss America preliminaries. UB, she added, will be the first college or university in New York State in recent years to host a preliminary pageant.

Several UB students have placed as top-five finalists in the Miss New York State pageant.

In 1996, Tammy Harris won the title of Miss New York State a month after her graduation from UB and went on to participate in the Miss America Pageant.

Jennifer Dittmar Campbell participated in the state pageant as a UB student and was named second runner-up in 1993. Campbell will participate in the informational forum on Feb. 19.

Gift to law school by family remembers 1926 graduate
A family gift to the Law School has become a living tribute to the memory of Harry A. Rachlin, a 1926 graduate of the school. Buffalo attorney Lauren D. Rachlin of Kavinoky and Cook, and family members have given $25,000 to the law school to be used for the Harry A. Rachlin Prize in Property and Real Estate Law.

Lauren Rachlin said it was a joint decision among the siblings and grandchildren "because they knew the law school was very important to my father and they wanted to let his name and the law school connection continue." He added that his father had "a great interest in the welfare of law students and young lawyers, particularly in the area of property law."

Rachlin, who received an undergraduate degree from the UB School of Management, said he hopes "this kind of gift can serve as a catalyst for other alumni to give back to the university."

The first two Harry A. Rachlin prizes were awarded to Steven Sturman of Buffalo and Sarah Rudell of Williamsville, who received their awards during the Alumni Convocation for the Law School.

Sturman, a 1997 graduate of the Law School, received the award on behalf of his efforts in helping to organize the Edwin F. Jaeckle Government Law Center, which deals with property law and local land use. Rudell is a third-year student who received the award for her studies in property law.