Kenneth J. Levy named interim dean of GSE
Senior Vice Provost Kenneth J. Levy has been named interim dean of the Graduate School of Education by Provost David Triggle. Levy will replace Jacquelyn Mitchell, who is on medical leave. Levy will serve as interim dean concurrent with his position as senior vice provost.

"Dr. Levy brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the position in the Graduate School of Education," Triggle said. "He will serve as the critical, two-way link between my office and the Graduate School of Education. Dr. Levy will concentrate on the ongoing planning efforts of GSE over the next several months as it continues to define its focus and future."

Prior to his appointment as senior vice provost, Levy served as acting provost, associate provost and executive officer of the Graduate School.

Gibbs awarded ACLS fellowship

Christopher Gibbs, assistant professor in the Department of Music in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) fellowship, with a stipend of $25,000, for the period July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000. ACLS is a funder of humanities research; its grants permit distinguished scholars to devote a full year to research and writing. Gibbs, a faculty member at UB since 1993, plans to use the fellowship to write a book on the comparative images of Beethoven and Schubert during the 19th century. In 1998, he was the winner of an ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, given to authors whose publications on music are selected for their excellence. He is editor of "The Cambridge Companion to Schubert" and has completed a biography of Schubert for Cambridge University Press.

Final call for Reporter Commencement Extra
The Reporter will publish its "Commencement Extra" on May 13. Send lists of students receiving honors, identifying honors concisely. Information must be received no later than April 30. The Reporter can only accept lists electronically. No faxes will be accepted. Information may be submitted on disk, specifying the program in which it is written and including a printout of information on the disk, or by email to wuetcher@buffalo.edu.

Include a contact name, department, campus address and phone number. Deliver disks to 136 Crofts Hall, North Campus.

A melange of music events to be presented on campus in May
May will bring a variety of concerts to UB, including concerto competition winners, singers, jazzers and a symphony of saxes.

Concerts this month include:

May 1: UBuffalo Symphony, Magnus Martensson, conductor, featuring winners of this year's Baird Concerto Competition, including Keara Kowal, Yun-Joo Song and Vikram Rajan, 8 p.m., Slee Concert Hall. Tickets are $3.

May 2: Faculty recital, featuring Melissa Thorburn, mezzo soprano, and Brian Zunner, baritone, with Cheryl Gobbetti-Hoffman, flute, and Kathryn Burns, piano, 3 p.m. Slee Concert Hall. Tickets are $5.

May 2: UB Jazz Ensemble, Sam Falzone, conductor, featuring Don Menza, tenor sax, and Sam Noto, trumpet, 8 p.m., Baird Recital Hall. No admission charge.

May 3: UB Eclectic Ensemble, Jon Nelson, conductor, noon, Center for the Arts Atrium. No admission charge.

May 3: S.O.S. Symphony of Saxes, with UB Saxophone Ensemble, alumni and invited guests, Edward Yadzinski, conductor, 8 p.m., Slee Concert Hall. No admission charge.

Tickets can be obtained at the Slee Hall Box Office, Center for the Arts Box Office or at TicketMaster locations.

Coles re-elected chair of Professional Staff Senate
H. William Coles III will assume a second, two-year term as chair of the Professional Staff Senate, effective July 1.

Coles, associate director of the Educational Opportunity Program, defeated Vice Chair Keith Herms, senior programmer/analyst in University Facilities, in an election held earlier in the year. James Ramsey, an admissions counselor for EOP, will become vice chair and Anna Kedzierski, staff assistant for the PSS and the Faculty Senate, will become secretary. They will replace Herms and Maureen Kanaley, assistant director of financial aid, respectively.

Since Ramsey and Kedzierski ran unopposed-and a second call for candidates failed to produce any viable candidates-the senate voted at its April 22 meeting to direct the secretary of the senate to cast one ballot for each.

Alan Gross Resource Room opens in dental school
Students, faculty and staff in the School of Dental Medicine yesterday honored a popular teacher and mentor posthumously with the grand opening of the Alan J. Gross Student Resource Room in B-14 Squire Hall on the South Campus. Gross died last November after a long battle with cancer.

Last October, Gross received the Dental Alumni Association's Humanitarian Award for his commitment to dentistry, concern for others and for distinguishing himself as a leader in the community. Twice voted Alpha Omega dental fraternity's Educator of the Year, he also received the William M. Feagans Award for outstanding teaching and was designated Educator of the Year in the 1990 dental school year book. He held four degrees from UB and had been on the dental school faculty since 1983.

At the grand opening of the resource room dedicated to his memory, Gross was remembered for his "intense interest in improving dental education and a deep concern for students." The space will be devoted to improving the quality of the educational environment for dental students. At present, resources include a private tutoring area, a separate study area and copying services. Plans are under way to expand the study area into an adjoining space. The resource room will be open 24 hours a day.

UB Today sets May schedule
UB Today, which airs on Adelphia Cable, in May will highlight faculty members who are conducting research on the role of pets as stress reducers, Millard Fillmore College's 75-year role in education and the Center for Hearing and Deafness, one of the world's leading hearing-research laboratories. The half-hour program can be viewed at 6:30 p.m. Sundays on Adelphia Communications Channel 18 International; Channel 21, City of Buffalo; Channel 10 in Lancaster, Clarence, Orchard Park, Lockport and Elma, and at 9 p.m. Mondays on Channel 18 International.

On the May show will be: George Lopos, dean of Millard Fillmore College (MFC), who will talk about MFC's history and its role in education throughout its 75 years; Karen Allen, research scientist in the Department of Medicine in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who will discuss her research on the role of pets in reducing human physiological responses to stress; Richard Salvi, co-director of the Center for Hearing and Deafness, who will discuss research on hearing problems related to aging or noise exposure and the nine individuals who will be honored at the alumni association's awards dinner tomorrow.

Registration for University Commencement 1999
Undergraduate candidates in the College of Arts and Sciences, including those in interdisciplinary programs, special and individualized majors, biophysics and statistics, and those earning associate degrees, are urged to register now to participate in the University Commencement ceremony on May 16.

The deadline for registration is Monday. Registration forms are available at the Student Union Information Desk on the North Campus or by registering online at http://www.specialevents.buffalo.edu.

Candidates scheduled to graduate with other academic units should consult the specific registration procedures with the appropriate commencement coordinator. The full commencement schedule and coordinators for each unit are listed on the above Web site.

Stuttering workshop to be held at UB on May 15
The Buffalo Chapter of the National Stuttering Project and the UB Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic will sponsor a workshop May 15 for teens who stutter, their parents, adults who stutter and for speech-language pathologists. It will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 280 Park Hall on the North Campus.

The workshop will be presented in celebration of National Stuttering Awareness Week and to note the Buffalo chapter's fifth anniversary. Gary J. Rentschler of Duquesne University, who will be facilitator, served as director of the speech clinic at UB for six years and helped start the chapter. His workshop is entitled "Stuttering: Taking a Closer Look in the Mirror."

Buffalo walking tours to begin Saturday
The summer program of walking tours conducted by The Friends of the School of Architecture and Planning will begin Saturday and continue until Oct. 30.

Two 90-minute tours of downtown Buffalo will be offered. The South tour, which will include the Landmark District, will be conducted on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. The North tour, which will include the Theater District, will be conducted on Thursdays at 2 p.m. and Saturdays at 11 a.m.

All tours depart from the Market Arcade, 617 Main St., opposite the Theater District Metro Rail stop. Cost of the tours is $5 per person. For more information, call 829-3543.

Mini medical school to help consumers understand health care
Understanding health care and making it work for you will be the focus of a three-part, mini-medical-school course designed for members of the public and sponsored by the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The course, which will meet from 7-9 p.m. May 11, 18 and 25 in Butler Auditorium in Farber Hall on the South Campus, aims to help consumers become more savvy about changes and current concepts in health-care delivery.

The course will be presented by Harry A. Sultz, director of the medical school's Health Services Research Program, and Kristina M. Young, executive director of UB's Healthcare Careers Center.

Session I will focus on understanding health care-the present and the future-and what it means to the consumer. The second session will concentrate on understanding hospital emergency rooms, medical practices and how to relate to physicians and staff. The final session will attempt to take the mystery out of Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care, forces of reform and the future of health care.

Sultz and Young are co-authors of "Health Care USA: Understanding Its Organization and Delivery," the best-selling text used by more than 200 professional schools to explain the health-care system to medical, dental, nursing and allied-health students.

A former dean of the UB School of Health Related Professions, Sultz also is a professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine in the medical school.

Young, a clinical assistant professor of social and preventive medicine, has served as an executive vice president of an integrated corporation of the Buffalo General Hospital and Health Care Plan, Inc., and as vice president for research and development for Millard Fillmore Hospitals. She is president of Kristina M. Young & Associates.

The cost for the course is $25 for an individual, $40 per couple, $20 for a senior individual, $30 for a senior couple and $15 for students. There is a discount for UB Mini-Medical School Alumni Association members. Due to limited space, advance registration is required. Call 829-2196 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for application forms and information.

EOP to hold honors convocation
The Educational Opportunity Program will hold its annual Honors Convocation and Awards Ceremony at 2 p.m. tomorrow in the Student Union Theatre. During the ceremony, EOP will recognize more than 415 students who have attained a QPA of 3.0 or higher, including more than 40 who have earned averages above 3.5.

In addition, 157 graduating seniors will be honored, including 33 who have achieved a cumulative QPA of 3.0 or higher, 94 who have been recognized in "Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities" and 19 who have received Latin Honors.

EOP, a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Urban Affairs, offers college access and support to talented students whose educational and economic circumstances have severely limited their college educational opportunities.