Laychock named IREWG co-director

	Laychock

Suzanne Laychock, professor and vice chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, has been named co-director for the Institute for Research & Education on Women and Gender (IREWG).

A member of the IREWG Executive Committee since 1999, Laychock replaces Margaret Acara, who recently retired as a professor of pharmacology and toxicology.

Laychock has chaired the Women in Pharmacology Committee of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and has written several essays related to the success of women in science for the society's news journal The Pharmacologist.

A UB faculty member since 1989, Laychock serves on the President's Review Board and chaired the Departmental Merger Committee for Biochemical Pharmacology and Pharmacology and Toxicology.

Jacobs' MS study named among top 10

A study published in September in the New England Journal of Medicine by Lawrence Jacobs, Irvin and Rosemary Smith Professor of Neurology, has been selected by the Harvard Health Letter as one of the top 10 health advances of 2000.

The study showed that early treatment with one of the drugs used to control multiple sclerosis (MS) can significantly reduce the rate at which people at high risk develop full-blown symptoms.

"The results of this study demonstrated that treatment with interferon beta-1a reduced the rate of development of clinically definite MS for these high-risk individuals by 44 percent versus treatment with placebo," Jacobs said when the results of the study were released in September.

The study involved 50 medical centers in the United States and Canada, and was halted early because the results were so strong. Researchers believe the results could help thousands of patients who currently don't get treatment until they have substantial brain or nerve damage.

"To date, there are no accepted guidelines for treating patients who have experienced a single MS-like attack, but who have not yet developed clinically definite MS," Jacobs said. "This study is important because it indicated that initiating therapy with interferon beta-1a at the first indication that a patient may have MS can significantly delay development of the disease."

“UB Today” sets February lineup

The Buffalo Film Seminars hosted in the Market Arcade Theater in downtown Buffalo by English department faculty members Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian will be among the topics to be discussed on the February edition of “UB Today,” the monthly Adelphia Cable television program sponsored by the UB Alumni Association.

In addition to Jackson, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Samuel P. Capen Professor of American Culture, and Christian, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, other guests will be B. Beth Cohen, director of the Psychological Services Center, and Sebastian Ciancio, professor and chair of the Department of Peridontology.

Each new program runs throughout the month at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays on Channel 18 International and Channel 10 in Lancaster, Clarence, Orchard Park and Elma, and at 9 p.m. on Mondays on Channel 18 International.

Zodiaque to present “Ripples Too”

The Department of Theatre and Dance will present the spring concert of the Zodiaque Dance Company, “Ripples Too,” Feb. 15-18 and 22-25 in the Drama Theatre in the Center for the Arts, North Campus. Performances will begin at 8 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays; the show on Sundays will begin at 2 p.m.

A “talk-back session” with the choreographers will be held at 1:45 p.m. before the Feb. 18 performance.

“Ripples Too” will feature two distinguished Zodiaque alumni as guest artists.

Choreographer Jody Dombrowski will present a contemporary work centering on themes of creation and evolution. Roberto Villaneuva, choreographer and “Mr. Dance of America 1993,” will choreograph for the company and be a featured performer in a solo.

Tickets are $12 for the general public and $5 for seniors and students and are available at the Center for the Arts box office from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and at all Ticketmaster locations.

Five to be inducted into Athletic Hall of Fame

	D'Amico
	Bell
	Gorski
	Lilley

Two of the most prolific offensive players in UB football history, the first 1,000-point scorer and leading rebounder in women’s basketball and a record-setting swimmer comprise the next class to be inducted into the UB Athletic Hall of Fame.

The quartet, as well as a contributor and staunch supporter of the UB athletics program, will be honored during a dinner and induction ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 23 in the Center for Tomorrow on the North Campus.

The Hall of Fame is sponsored by the UB Alumni Association.

Tickets for the dinner and induction ceremony are $50 and can be obtained by contacting the Office of Alumni Relations at 829-2608.

This year’s inductees are:

- The Rev. Christopher D’Amico, B.S. ‘85, a wide receiver for the football team who set seven school records, two of which still stand.

In 1983, D’Amico set what were then school records in receptions (56), yardage (929) and touchdowns (10). In single-season statistics, D’Amico remains tied for first in TDs, and stands fourth in yardage and fifth in catches.

In addition, he is tied for first in career TD receptions (19) ranks second in career yardage (2,331) and third in total receptions (143).

His four TD grabs against Alfred in 1983 remain a school record.

- Alan Bell Jr., B.A. ‘97, the second leading career rusher in Bulls’ gridiron history. A starter for four years, Bell also returned punts and kickoffs. Statistically, he stands in the top 10 in 34 categories and is the leader in three: single-game rushing (266 yards), average gain per carry in a single game (10.2) and kickoff yardage (159) in a single game. Bell rushed for 100 yards or more in 10 games and stands second in career 100-yard games.

- Ann Marie Gorski, Ed.M. 2000, B.A. ‘94, who broke eight UB women’s swimming records from 1991-95 and was a member of the team that won the East Coast Conference (1993-94) title. She still maintains the UB mark (4:31.28) in the 400-yard individual medley. Gorski was a multiple Division II All-American and also earned honors within the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

- Janet Lilley, who attended UB from 1977-82, and became the most prolific rebounder in women’s basketball history. Although the 6-0 center played in only 67 career games, she stands fifth on the all-time point list with 1,127. Her per-game career average of 16.8 points is the highest in UB women’s history, and her 480 career field goals rank her second in that category. Lilley also is UB’s all-time leading rebounder, with 982 during her career.

- The late Howard Tieckelmann, Ph.D. ‘48, who will be presented, posthumously, with the Russell J. Gugino Award for his “significant and long-term commitment to athletics.” Tieckelmann, former chair of the UB Department of Chemistry, served on the Faculty Athletic Committee, the principal planning and oversight body for UB athletics. Tieckelmann and his wife, Betty, were long-time season ticket-holders in basketball and football.

Praxair donates $600,000

Praxair Inc., a global supplier of industrial gases that has operations in Tonawanda, has pledged $600,000 to UB—$400,000 for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and $200,000 for the School of Management and its Executive MBA Program in China. Payments will be made over a period of five years.

Praxair’s gift to the engineering school will support a variety of projects, including a Praxair seminar series in several engineering departments, a seminar series in the Department of Chemistry, Industry-University Day and undergraduate student club activities, and will supplement a graduate-student fellowship in chemical engineering. Praxair executives hope that these activities will help attract talented minorities to the engineering profession.

Of the annual sum, $45,000 will be used to help build strength in various areas of research proficiency, with the first year’s support focusing on the area of multidisciplinary optimization led by Christina L. Bloebaum, professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Praxair’s gift to the management school tops a long history of support and donations. The $200,000 grant will go to the school’s Executive MBA program at Renmin University in Beijing. Praxair has aided the school with its educational efforts in China since 1995, providing funding for the creation of the Renmin program and contributing to the upgrade of classroom technologies there.

Women’s Club to host Valentine wine-tasting

The UB Women’s Club will host its 10th annual “Valentine’s Wine-Tasting Party” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 in the Center for Tomorrow on the North Campus.

Presented by Premier Liquors, the party will feature gourmet food, a selection of California wines, dessert and coffee.

The cost is $35 per person. The deadline for reservations is Saturday.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Grace Capen Academic Award Fund.

For reservations or more information, contact Helene Connolly at 639-7655 or Terri James at 741-8740.

New Fulbright program offered

Applicants are being sought for the Fulbright Senior Specialist Program, a new initiative of the Fulbright Scholar Program.

The Fulbright specialist program will offer short-term Fulbright grants of two to six weeks to provide U.S. faculty and professionals with opportunities to collaborate with professional counterparts across the globe on curriculum and faculty development, institutional planning and a variety of other activities.

The traditional Fulbright Scholar Program awards grants for terms ranging from three months to an academic year.

Mark Ashwill, Fulbright adviser at UB, notes that the specialist program will enable qualified faculty and professionals whose schedules do not otherwise permit them to spend extended periods of time abroad to benefit from a Fulbright experience.

For more information, contact Kristen Johnson, senior program officer for the Council for International Exchange of Scholars at (202) 686-4000 or via email at fulspec@cies.iie.org.

More information about the program is available at http://www.iie.org/cies/specialists/.

“Asia at Noon” series to begin tomorrow

The “Asia at Noon” brown-bag lecture series will kick off the spring semester with an address by Okuma Hiroshi, professor of international relations at Seijo University in Tokyo, at noon tomorrow in 280 Park Hall, North Campus.

Hiroshi will discuss “Japan and the European Community.”

Also on tap for the series during February are talks by Tao Wenhen, associate professor of communication at Renmin University in Beijing, and David Banks, UB professor of anthropology.

Wenhen will speak on “The Internet and Freedom of Speech in China” at noon Feb. 9 in 280 Park Hall. Banks will discuss “Healing in Borneo” at noon Feb. 23 in 280 Park.

The “Asia at Noon” series is presented by the Asian Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Alliance to mark successes

Retention of thousands of Western New York jobs and creation of hundreds of new ones. A $600,000 federally funded partnership designed to bring jobs and technologies to the region.

These are just two of the accomplishments that will be celebrated at the UB Business Alliance’s 2001 Grand Reception, to be held from 4-6 p.m. Feb. 8 in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus.

Keynote speaker Arvin Mueller, group vice president of General Motors Powertrain, will discuss his organization’s recent decision to expand operations in Western New York. Through the Center for Industrial Effectiveness, the UB Business Alliance helped provide the technical assistance and training necessary for the GM Powertrain Tonawanda Engine Plant to receive QS 9000 certification.

Other speakers will be Kevin Donovan, area director, United Auto Workers Region 9, and Ron Allman, vice president for manufacturing for the forging division of American Axle & Manufacturing. The UB Business Alliance has a long history of working with American Axle to retain jobs by assessing, planning, scheduling and implementing education-and-training sessions for labor and management at the company’s two local plants.

Wayne Diesel, SUNY vice chancellor for business and industrial relations, will make opening remarks.

During the reception, the theme of which is “Igniting Ideas,” one individual each from the public and private sectors will be honored with awards that recognize their leadership in igniting ideas for economic development.

Also at the reception, the Business Alliance will launch its new, improved Web site, designed to make it easier for businesses to quickly find the assistance they need at UB by doing simple keyword searches. The new site, located at the alliance’s existing URL, http://www.uballiance.buffalo.edu, also features for the first time a searchable database of technologies available for licensing.

Exhibition marks Black History Month

“They, Too, Had a Dream,” an exhibition of autographs, signed photographs and historical documents of distinguished African Americans, will be on display Feb. 1-28 near the circulation desk on the main level of Lockwood Memorial Library on the North (Amherst) Campus.

The material — culled from such varied individuals as Marian Anderson and Frederick Douglass to Bill Robinson (Bojangles) and RuPaul — is drawn from the Weekes Manuscript Collection owned by Ronald C. Weekes, keyboard specialist in the Center for the Arts.

The exhibition, which will commemorate Black History Month, may be viewed during the normal library hours of 8 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to midnight on Sunday.

Swoopes to visit UB

Sheryl Swoopes, four-time WNBA champion and 2000 WNBA Most Valuable Player, will visit UB on Wednesday as the university marks National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

Swoopes will participate in a ceremonial tip-off before the start of the UB women’s basketball team’s game against Western Michigan at 7 p.m. in Alumni Arena on the North Campus.

Earlier in the day, Swoopes will attend a reception in the Center for the Arts and will speak before an invited audience in Slee Hall.

Tickets for the basketball game are available in the arena ticket office at a cost of $5 for general admission and $3 for children 12 and under. Tickets are free for students with ID. The first 1,000 fans will receive an autographed photo of Swoopes.

National Girls and Women in Sports Day is an annual event honoring women’s participation in and contributions to sports around the country and around the world.

A 6-foot forward, Swoopes began her career in the WNBA just six weeks after giving birth to her first child in 1997 and has led the Houston Comets to four straight WNBA titles.

A 1993 graduate of Texas Tech, she led the Red Raiders to a 58-8 record in two years, including two Southwest Conference titles and an NCAA title as a senior.