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Memorial service planned for Drinnan
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Butler Auditorium, Farber Hall, South Campus, for Alan Drinnan, D.D.S. '62, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences in the School of Dental Medicine. Drinnan died from heart disease on Jan. 8 in Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital. He was 71.
A native of Bristol, England, Drinnan received dental and medical degrees from the University of Bristol He served as a dental officer in the British army, and later ran a private dental practice, taught oral surgery as a member of the faculty of the University of Bristol and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Drinnan joined the UB faculty in 1964 after earning a dental degree from the university.
He served as professor and chair of the then Department of Oral Medicine from 1970-1994, and was named a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor in 1994.
An authority on forensic dentistry, he was chair and a founding member of the Erie County Sheriff's Department's Scientific Staff.
Drinnan was a diplomate of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, and served as president of the American and International Associations of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathologists.
He also hosted numerous public affairs programs on WKBW-TV, Channel 7, and WNED-TV, Channel 17.
Drinnan retired from UB in 2000.
Paul J. Edwards, retired professor of social work
Paul J. Edwards, who retired as a professor in the School of Social Work in 1993, died on Dec. 24 in Sisters Hospital. He was 81.
A native of Bridgeport, Conn., Edwards served three years with the Army in England and France during World War II before obtaining his master's degree in social work from Boston University.
He came to Buffalo in 1948 to assume a position as program director and group worker at Neighborhood House Association. He also worked at the Urban League before becoming executive director of the Erie County Association for the Help of Retarded Children in 1956.
Edwards was recruited by the UB School of Social Work in 1961 and remained on the faculty until his retirement in 1993. He also held several administrative posts in the School of Social Work, including director of administration and assistant dean.