University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: May 4, 2006

By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Contributor

Five faculty members and lecturers received Milton Plesur Excellence in Teaching Awards from the undergraduate Student Association during a ceremony on April 12. They are, from left, Marc Adler, Kip Herreid, John Mansfield, Joel Grundy and Alex Ampadu.

Five faculty members and lecturers have received Milton Plesur Excellence in Teaching Awards from the undergraduate Student Association for their commitment to students and the quality of their teaching.

The award is named for Plesur, a professor in the Department of History who died in 1987. He was a beloved teacher, author and scholar of popular culture and the American presidency, whose humor captivated his students.

The recipients of the 2006 Plesur Awards are:

• Marc A. Adler, adjunct instructor, Millard Fillmore College. Vice president for client services for Flynn and Friends, a Buffalo-based advertising firm, Adler taught two marketing courses through MFC during the spring semester, and has taught a course, "The Marketers"—modeled after the TV show "The Apprentice"—in the School of Management. First vice president and chair of the UB Alumni Association's Development Committee, Adler holds three degrees from UB—a master's degree (1983), an M.B.A. (1982) and a bachelor's degree (1979). He is a member of the board of directors for the Buffalo Zoo and is past president of the UB Blue & White Club. He has served as an instructor at UB since 1996.

• Alex B. Ampadu, associate professor of accounting and law, School of Management. A UB faculty member since 1986, Ampadu teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate accounting courses. He developed the School of Management's endorsed internal audit program—one of only 40 such programs in the world—and is founder and faculty advisor to the Minority Management Society. He serves on the board of directors for Beta Alpha Psi, the national accounting fraternity, and chairs the Accounting Scholar Leadership Task Force of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is a recipient of the Dr. Emmanuel Saxe Outstanding CPA in Education Award. Ampadu is a certified public accountant in New York State and a certified management accountant and a certified internal auditor. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Ghana and an M.B.A. from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

• Joel T. Grundy, a lecturer in the Learning Center. Grundy joined the Learning Center in 2002 after teaching mathematics for 35 years at Iroquois Senior High School. He teaches pre-calculus in the Learning Center and will teach mathematics during the Center for Academic Development Services (CADS) Summer Program. He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Geneseo State College.

• Clyde F. "Kip" Herreid, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). The recipient of a SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1981, Herreid has pioneered the case-study approach—standard fare in schools of law, business and medicine—in teaching science to undergraduates, particularly to nonscience majors. He serves as director of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. Herreid has presented more than 120 invited lectures and seminars in the U.S. and worldwide, and is the author of three books and more than 100 scientific publications. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he received a bachelor's degree in zoology from Colorado College, a master's degree in ecology and comparative behavior from The Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate in zoology and entomology from Pennsylvania State University.

• John B. Mansfield, adjunct lecturer of religious studies, Department of Classics, CAS. Mansfield holds two master's degrees in theology and a doctor of ministry degree. An ordained minister through the Evangelical Church Alliance, he has served as director of the Buffalo Area Campus Crusade for Christ and convenor for the UB Campus Ministries Association. Mansfield has acted as the facilitator of the EPIC Asian-American Christian Fellowship and faculty advisor to the Nu Alpha Phi fraternity. He has lectured and taught courses in Romania, China, Trinidad and Ukraine. He has taught in the Department of Classics since 1990.