Or found a philosophical movement? Help revolutionize dentistry while preventing heart attacks? Or simply change the way undergraduates learn about art or science or engineering or medicine?

    Like everything else in our lives, higher education is changing. Thanks to many generous gifts to enhance the university’s academic programs, nowhere does that change hold more promise than at UB.

    To enable UB students to turn their dreams into real-world success, Henry Panasci Jr., a pharmacist and business executive–turned–venture capitalist, created the Henry A. Panasci Jr. Entrepreneurship Award with a $1 million gift. The award provides two annual prizes of $35,000 and $15,000 for the two most promising business plans submitted by UB students, or recent graduates, each year. With his gift, Panasci is giving UB students a helping hand along the path to entrepreneurial success while stimulating the economy of New York State.

    The contemplative life received an equal boost with a gift from a philosophy professor who’s sharing more than his teaching excellence with the university. SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Peter H. Hare gave two gifts totaling $1 million to support activities of the philosophy department, where he has taught since 1962. Along with establishing an endowed chair, Hare’s gift will provide much-needed funds for everyday expenses, including benefits for visiting professors from foreign countries, awards for service by department staff, awards for excellence in teaching by graduate students and support for undergraduates.

    And in the School of Dental Medicine, groundbreaking research on the link between periodontal disease and heart attacks, led by Dr. Robert Genco, D.D.S., Ph.D., has attracted worldwide attention and major supporting gifts that in turn provide new opportunities for students and faculty alike.

    Every gift to the University at Buffalo, no matter what size, strengthens the quality of undergraduate and graduate education at this university. And just as each gift enhances educational opportunities at UB, so every one helps to enhance the university’s reputation as a leader in higher education regionally, nationally and around the world.

    As these gifts—and the stories of UB’s alumni and friends—show, a gift for a particular program can have far-reaching effects throughout the university community and beyond. Interdisciplinary thought is crucial in the modern world, and the frontiers of knowledge are expanding rapidly. You can be sure that no matter what academic program your gift supports, the benefits will be experienced by many students, in many different ways, for many years to come.