Steven Guttenberg (DDS ’69, BA ’65) will accept the UB Alumni Association’s highest honor, the Samuel P. Capen Award, during the association’s annual awards ceremony at 6 p.m. March 27 in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
President Satish K. Tripathi and UBAA President Carol Gloff (BS ’75) will present the awards. A post-award reception will feature premium food stations, an open bar and entertainment in the CFA atrium.
Tickets are $75 per person and may be purchased online or by calling the UB Office of Alumni Relations at 1-800-284-5382.
A board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Washington, D.C., Guttenberg is president of the Washington Institute for Mouth, Face and Jaw Surgery. He and his wife, Diana Guttenberg, have pledged the largest gift ever to the UB School of Dental Medicine. The speaker at the school’s 2014 commencement, Guttenberg is a past recipient of the District of Columbia Dental Society’s prestigious Sterling V. Mead Award. He is a senior attending surgeon and teaching staff member at the Washington Hospital Center. He also is a diplomate of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists and immediate past president of the American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
Others receiving awards are:
- Venkat Panchapakesan (MS ’90), head of engineering for YouTube, who will receive the Clifford C. Furnas Memorial Award. The Furnas award is presented to engineering, natural sciences or mathematics alumni who have distinguished themselves in a field of science.
- Rear Adm. Rebecca McCormick-Boyle (BS 81), commander of the Navy Medicine Education and Training Command at Fort Sam Houston, who will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Arthur Goshin (MD ’70, BS ’66), co-founder and former president and CEO of the health maintenance organization Univera Health, who will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Paul Nussbaum (BA ’67), founder and chair of Waramaug Hospitality, a private real estate firm that specializes in the acquisition of hotels and resorts, who will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Alejandro Rivera Becerra (PhD ’01, ME ’98, MS ’93), a distinguished diplomat for Mexico, who will receive the International Distinguished Alumni Award.
- Stephanie Mucha, who worked for more than four decades as a licensed practical nurse at the Buffalo Veterans Administration Hospital, who will receive the Walter P. Cooke Award. The Cooke award recognizes notable and meritorious contributions to the university and its family by non-alumni. Mucha, a self-taught investor, has contributed significantly to the university and its schools of dental medicine, engineering, medicine and nursing, and the College of Arts and Sciences.
- Dale Fish (PhD ’82), who retired from UB in December 2014 after a 40-year career at the university, who will receive the Richard T. Sarkin Award for Excellence in Teaching. Most recently senior associate dean for academic and student affairs, and associate professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Science, Fish taught the intensive “Gross Human Anatomy” course to physical therapy, occupational therapy and exercise science students for three decades.
- Alfred Caffiero, a co-founder of Western New York Physical and Occupational Therapy, and longtime friend to the UB physical therapy program, who will be presented with the Community Leadership Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Western New York community.
- Mark Travers (PhD ’08, MS ’05) who will receive the George W. Thorn Award, given to distinguished alumni under 40. A research assistant professor in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, and research scientist at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Travers’ work to reveal the dangers of secondhand smoke has helped people throughout the world literally breathe easier.
- The Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council , which will receive the Philip B. Wels Outstanding Service Award. This group has devoted countless hours to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, offering invaluable advice, leadership and financial support over two decades.
