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Clarification
A headline on a story about the impact of self-esteem on relationships that appeared in the last issue of the print Reporter on Aug. 28 did not adequately reflect that it is low self-esteem that can ruin a relationship.
Voting faculty to meet Sept. 16
President William R. Greiner will address the Voting Faculty of the University at Buffalo at its annual meeting at 2 p.m. Sept. 16 in the Center for Tomorrow, North Campus.
All members of the university community are invited to attend.
For more information, contact the Faculty Senate Office at 645-2003.
WBFO to present next "Meet the Author"
WBFO 88.7 FM, the National Public Radio affiliate operated by UB, will present Paul Elie, author of "The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage," at 7 p.m. on Monday in the auditorium in Allen Hall, South Campus.
Elie's reading, which will be broadcast live on WBFO, is being presented as part of the radio station's "Meet the Author" series.
The event is free and open to the public. Bert Gambini, WBFO music director, will serve as host. A reception and book signing will take place following the reading, which is co-sponsored by Talking Leaves Books.
In the mid-20th century, four American Catholics—Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Flannery O'Conner and Walker Percy—came to believe that the best way to explore the questions of religious faith was to write about them. A friend came up with a name for them—the School of the Holy Ghost—and for three decades, they exchanged letters, read each other's books and grappled with the issue of religious faith. "The Life You Save" is the account of these four writers and their power over readers.
An editor with Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Elie's essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, Commonweal and Lingua Franca, as well as in several essay anthologies.
Safyer named interim dean of School of Social Work
Andrew W. Safyer, associate professor of social work, has been named interim dean of the School of Social Work. He succeeds Lawrence Shulman, who stepped down as dean on Aug. 30 to return to the faculty.
SAFYER
Safyer has served since 2001 as associate dean for academic affairs and director of the master of social work program in the School of Social Work. He also has served as associate dean for program development and acting associate dean for academic affairs. A member of the UB faculty since 1998, he previously was associate professor of social work at Boston University.
A nationally recognized researcher in adolescent mental health, his work focuses on prevention programs for at-risk youth and their families. Safyer is a co-investigator on a $2.9 million project funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse that is working in partnership with several Buffalo agencies to test the effectiveness of a prevention program for children of parents with alcohol problems.
From 1992-97, he was a fellow at the Center on Work and Family at Boston University, where he was principal investigator for a demonstration research project to foster health development in urban, economically disadvantaged adolescents in order to strengthen their relationships with their families and their communities.
He also has served as a research associate in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, where he took part in a longitudinal study of adolescents and family development. While there, he developed a microanalytical coding system to capture emotional expression through voice and speech content. The system has been used since to explore the adaptive function of emotions during adolescence and early adulthood.
Safyer is the recipient of the National Institute of Mental Health Faculty Scholar Award, a highly competitive award presented to M.D.- or Ph.D.-level mental-health professionals to allow them to further their clinical research training.
He is co-editor of The Clinical Supervisor: The Journal of Supervision in Psychotherapy and Mental Health, and the author of numerous articles that have appeared in publications that include Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, Social Work Research, Social Workers' Desk Reference and the Journal of Social Service Research.
Safyer received master's and doctoral degrees in social work and psychology from the University of Michigan, a master's degree from Rutgers University and a bachelor's degree from SUNY Purchase.
Nobel Laureate to speak at Roswell
"The Ten Commandments of DNA Enzymology" will be the topic of a lecture to be presented by Nobel Laureate Arthur Kornberg, as part of Roswell Park Cancer Institute's (RPCI) "50th Anniversary Celebration of the DNA Double Helix: 1953-2003."
The lecture will take place at noon on Sept. 26 in Hilleboe Auditorium in the Research Studies Center at RPCI, Elm and Carlton streets, Buffalo.
In addition to Kornberg's lecture, other activities being sponsored by the Department of Cancer Genetics and the Clinical Genetics Service at RPCI in honor of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA—one of the most important scientific discoveries in history—include a DNA display and resources, a video on the Human Genome Project and a DNA timeline.
"Dr. Kornberg's gifts to science cannot be counted," said Joel A. Huberman, professor of cellular and molecular biology in the Department of Cancer Genetics at RPCI. "He trained numerous scientists and influenced many more. His work has powerful implications for human health and understanding human disease. It is an incredible honor to have him visit Roswell Park Cancer Institute," Huberman said. "Buffalo has a unique connection to Dr. Kornberg in that many of our scientists have either trained with him or use his methods on a daily basis."
Emeritus Pfeiffer Merner Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine, Kornberg received his medical degree from the University of Rochester. His career has ranged from the U.S. Navy to the National Institutes of Health to the Department of Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine and finally to Stanford, where he remains active in research.
From his early studies of the mechanisms of the enzymatic synthesis of coenzymes and inorganic pyrophosphate, Kornberg extended his interest to the biosynthesis of the nucleic acids, particularly DNA. After elucidating key steps in the pathways of pyrimidine and purine nucleotide synthesis, including the discovery of PRPP as an intermediate, he found the enzyme that assembles the building blocks into DNA, named DNA polymerase. This ubiquitous class of enzymes makes genetically precise DNA and is essential for the replication, repair and rearrangement of DNA.
Kornberg's discovery of DNA polymerase paved the way to subsequent discovery, in his and other laboratories, of many other enzymes of DNA and RNA metabolism. These enzymes formed the basis for the invention of recombinant DNA, which helped ignite the biotechnology revolution.
Among Kornberg's honors are memberships in the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society and the American Philosophical Society; a number of honorary degrees; the Nobel Prize in 1959; the National Medal of Science in 1979, and the Cosmos Club Award in 1995.
Greiners to receive Newman's highest honor
President and Mrs. William R. Greiner will receive the Newman Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Newman Centers, Catholic Campus Ministry, at the 27th Annual Convocation and Liturgy of the Holy Spirit, to be held at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 21 in St. Joseph University Church, 3269 Main St., Buffalo.
All members of the university community are invited to attend. A reception will be held immediately following the service under the tent on the parish grounds adjacent to the South Campus.
The Greiners are being honored with the Newman Award in recognition of their efforts on behalf of UB during their many years of service to the university.
Linda Yalem run set for Sept. 28
More than 1,100 runners, walkers and joggers are expected to participate in the Linda Yalem Safety Run, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 28 on the North Campus.
The 5K race, held in memory of a UB student who was assaulted and murdered while jogging on a bike path near the North Campus, promotes personal-safety awareness and supports campus-based crime-prevention programs, including UB's Anti-Rape Task Force, "Take Back the Night" and Violence Against Women Awareness Week. At the time of her death, Yalem was training for the New York City Marathon.
The 5K U.S.A. Track and Field certified course will start and finish near Alumni Arena.
Participants can register online at http://www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/lyr/reg.shtml and pick up their race packets from 4-7:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 or from 7:30-8:30 a.m. the day of the race in the main lobby of Alumni Arena, North Campus.
Awards will be given to the overall male and female finishers in the open division, the top race walkers and the top UB male, female, faculty/staff, student and alumni finishers.
RIA sets fall seminar series
"Injection Drug Users and Needle Sharing: Grim Charity" will be the topic of the first lecture in the Research Institute on Addictions' Fall Seminar Series, to be held at 10 a.m. on Sept. 19 in Room 132 at RIA, 1021 Main St., Buffalo.
The lecture will be given by Michael Stein of the Medicine and Community Health Department in the Brown University School of Medicine.
All lectures in the series, which are free and open to the public, will be held at 10 a.m. in Room 132 at RIA. The remainder of the schedule:
Oct. 3: "Vulnerability to Relapse in Drug Addiction: Environmental and Neurobiological Factors," Friedbert Weiss, Department of Neuropharmacology, Scripps Research Institute
Nov. 7: "Family-based Treatment for Adolescent Substance Abuse: Clinical Outcomes, Process Finding and Transportation Challenges," Howard Liddle, Center for Treatment Research on Adolescent Drug Abuse, University of Miami Medical School
Dec. 12: "The Effect of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on the Activity of Brain Dopamine Neurons," Roh-Yu Shen, Research Institute on Addictions and UB Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
Fisher to kick off speaker series
Antwone Fisher, Hollywood producer and screenwriter, and author of the book "Finding Fish," will speak at 8 p.m. Sept. 24 in Alumni Arena, North Campus, as the first speaker in UB's Distinguished Speaker Series for 2003-04.
FISHER
Fisher will appear as the UB Reads Choice Speaker. All incoming freshmen were given "Finding Fish" to read before arriving on campus as part of the UB Reads program.
Lecture sponsor is the Division of Student Affairs.
Fisher, born in prison to 17-year-old Eva Mae Fisher and 23-year-old Eddie Elkins—who was shot and killed before Antwone was even born—is a man who survived the cruelties of foster care and the brutality of homelessness to become a successful Hollywood screenwriter and a devoted husband and father.
"Finding Fish" is story of a boy who made it in the world with the help of a few good souls, and by believing in himself. In a plot twist right out of a fairy tale, the story of Fisher's life made the rounds of the Sony lot, and Hollywood executives lined up to buy it. Fisher decided not to sell himself short, however, and turned down their offers. Instead, he wrote the screenplay himself and after 41 drafts, he sold it to 20th Century Fox. The movie, "Antwone Fisher," directed by and starring Denzel Washington, was released earlier this year.
Fisher is currently a producer and screenwriter working in Hollywood. His projects include the upcoming "Double '0' Soul," starring Mariah Carey, and "Trigger Happy." His latest project is "Jelly Beans," with producer Will Smith.
Tickets prices for Antwone Fisher range from $11-$20. Tickets are available at the Alumni Arena ticket office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; at Tickets.com and at all Tops outlets.
For more information, visit http://www.specialevents.buffalo.edu.
UB to celebrate end of campaign
It's official—The Campaign for UB: Generation to Generation has surpassed its $250 million goal, and UB is celebrating this monumental milestone.
The festivities will begin at 10 a.m., Sept. 19, in Slee Concert Hall, North Campus.
All members of the university community are invited to attend.