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Robert E. Rich Sr., supporter of UB, Athletics
RICH
Robert E. Rich Sr. built a small dairy into one of the nation's leading frozen food companies. He was frequently listed on the Forbes magazine list of the nation's wealthiest people, and led his family's efforts to bring major league baseball to Buffalo.
Yet, the successful business executive—today, sales at Rich Products are in excess of $2.5 billion—had a soft spot in his heart for UB; in particular, the university's wrestling program.
Rich, who died on Feb. 15 at the age of 92, was an ardent supporter of UB wrestling. He founded the program while a student at the university in the 1930s and was the team's first coach.
"Bob Rich started the sport at UB and nurtured it, both spiritually and financially, over the years," said Ed Michael, former head wrestling coach and recently retired director of recreational sports at the university.
Michael, who knew Rich for 34 years, said Rich read every newsletter the wrestling program ever sent him.
"How do I know this? If there was a discrepancy with the history of the sport (in the newsletter), he would immediately respond and go into detail" about the error, he said. "It (UB wrestling) was very important to him."
He recalls that Rich eloped with his college classmate and sweetheart, Janet, en route to Cornell University for a UB wrestling match in 1934.
Michael said Rich was "a great people person. He was not ostentatious; he was extremely humble. He was warm and engaging and gregarious; a wonderful man."
President John B. Simpson said Rich was one of UB's most distinguished alumni.
"Bob's longtime support of UB has benefited the university and our students tremendously over the years," Simpson said. "Starting from his days as a UB student-athlete, to his and his family's generous support of students and programs, Bob was a faithful steward of the university.
"His legacy will live on in countless ways at UB."
Warde Manuel, director of athletics, called Rich "one of UB's most passionate athletic advocates."
"From his days as a student-athlete, to his numerous philanthropic efforts, Mr. Rich never stopped giving of himself to UB athletics," Manuel said. "He was truly a Bull for life."
Rich received a bachelor's degree in business administration from UB in 1935. In addition to being a wrestler, he was a star football player at the university, serving as team captain for a then-unprecedented two years in a row.
Rich's involvement with the university extended beyond athletics. He served on the UB Council, as a trustee of the UB Foundation and as president of the Alumni Association. He also was honorary chair for several university fund-raising campaigns, including the Pathways Campaign, the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship and "The Campaign for UB: Generation to Generation."
Rich was inducted into the UB Athletic Hall of Fame in 1966. He received a SUNY honorary doctorate in law in 1987 and the university's most prestigious award, the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, in 1996.
Roy Slaunwhite, retired professor of biochemistry
W. (Wilson) Roy Slaunwhite, a retired professor of biochemistry who was active in United University Professions, died Feb. 8 in his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 86.
A native of Waltham, Mass., Slaunwhite earned degrees in biophysics and chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He helped design the radar system that ended the Uboat threat in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II.
He moved to Buffalo in 1953 to work at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. He was a principal cancer research scientist at RPCI in 1967 when he became research director of the Medical Foundation of Buffalo, now known as Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute.
Slaunwhite joined the UB faculty in 1969 as a professor of biochemistry, and also served as director of the endocrine laboratories at what is now Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo. He retired from the university in 1987.
A specialist in steroids, he authored more than 100 scholarly articles, contributed chapters in 15 books and wrote a textbook on biochemical endocrinology.
One of his significant contributions was the delineation of the androgenic pathway to determine how male hormones are made. He also discovered how to separate and analyze urinary estrogens, a measurement useful to obstetricians in determining when immediate delivery is needed to avoid loss of pregnancy.
Slaunwhite served as president of UUP's Health Sciences Chapter from 1981-86, and was an active member of the board from 1979-97, when he moved from Buffalo to Arizona. His union leadership earned him the Regina Kociecki Award from the local chapter and the Nina Mitchell Award from statewide UUP.