You will always be part of the UB family - stay connected, and involved.
With much of our country and the world navigating an uncharted course through the short- and long-term impact of COVID-19, we extend our most heartfelt and best wishes for the health and safety of you and your families. Our concerns and support extend beyond our own community to all who are affected by this health crisis. We know that many of our alumni and friends across the world are being impacted by this issue, and we continue to keep you in our thoughts during these challenging times.
As you may know, the University at Buffalo has implemented a distance learning model for our students and is moving to a remote work accommodation for our faculty and staff to the extent possible. It’s important to share that, in this ever-evolving situation, our two guiding principles are the health and safety of our community, and the continued academic progress of our students.
In many ways, it is your ongoing support of UB that enables the university to provide the resources to support our community in these difficult times. Whether your gifts have been to the UB Fund, or to a specific scholarship or research initiative, each and every day we put your contributions to work where they will have the maximum impact at UB. Thank you for your investment and commitment to UB.
While we won’t be able to see you in person at UB programs and events in the short term, we are working on ways to keep your connection to UB – and to each other – strong. Pursuant to recent University, CDC and local health department guidelines, all alumni, in-person gatherings, including events, conferences, meetings and other forums, are being cancelled or postponed until at least early June.
Noteworthy Alumni
Published March 20, 2020
In an article recently published for UBNow about how the nature of a message affects the audience's perception of the speaker, UB Professor Melanie Green, PhD, spoke about what may drive public doubt despite the conclusions of credible experts.
Melanie Green, a social psychologist and UB Professor in the Department of Communication, was recently quoted in an article regarding audience perception for UBNow. According to Green, her current study explores "why people are sometimes distrusting of what amounts to the best possible evidence..." Green notes that issues like climate change and COVID-19 are at the center of this problem, where perception might serve as a communication barrier.
Dr. Green, alongside other researchers involved in this study, tested whether a speaker telling a story increases the perception of warmth and causes an audience to appreciate a narrative more. The results of the study point to some helpful information about the benefits of building warmth and trustworthiness when presenting an important concept. Dr. Green assures that trustworthiness forms "a general positive effect" on competence.
Read more here.