University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

News

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  Minority high schoolers preview careers

  Approximately 30 minority students from area schools are being introduced to the accounting profession this week at the fourth annual Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession Program (COAP) being held in the School of Management.

  The program, a collaboration between the management school and the Foundation for Accounting Education of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, features a comprehensive series of breakout sessions designed to provide participants with insights into all components of an accounting education and career.

  A number of area accounting firms are giving presentations on campus, and students also are making off-site visits to Lumsden & McCormick, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Rich Products, where they are taking company tours and speaking with accounting representatives from those firms.

  Students who attended last year‘s program found it worthwhile.

  “COAP nudged me out of my comfort zone and helped me to strengthen my public speaking skills,” says Marcella Ramirez, who attended the program last year as a senior from Orchard Park High School. “It also demonstrated the importance of networking.” Ramirez plans to attend UB in the fall.

  Ann Burstein Cohen, associate professor of accounting who helped organize the event, says the goal of the program is to increase awareness of the many opportunities that an accounting education and career can provide. “It is our hope that if minority students realize early on that the accounting profession has a variety of interesting opportunities, we can increase the number of candidates who enter the field,” she adds.

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  Newman Center presents Bridge lectures

  Isaac Ehrlich, SUNY and UB Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Economics, will offer “Reflections on the State of the Economy: Nationally and for New York State,” on July 15 during the next session of the 2009 Bridge Lecture Series presented by the UB Newman Center.

  All bridge lectures, which are free and open to the public, will be held at 7 pm in the Newman Center office, 520 Lee Entrance, Suite 209, the Commons.

  The remaining lectures:

  • •July 22: “Facial Recognition,” Venugopal Govindaraju, professor, departments of Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering.
  • •July 29: “A Real CSI's Perspective of the Body,” Joyce Paterson, clinical assistant professor, Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences.
  • •Aug. 5: “The Role of an NPR Station at the University/The Way NPR Presents the News,” Bert Gambini, music director, WBFO-FM 88.7.
  • •Aug. 12: “What are the Next Three Big Changes in the Catholic Church”? Msgr. J. Patrick Keleher, director, UB Newman Center.
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  UB to host Paterson forum for area leaders

  New York State Gov. David A. Paterson is partnering with UB to offer a series of events throughout the summer to continue to educate New Yorkers on how to utilize the resources of the state during tough economic times.

  The workshops will be held Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to noon, from June 30 through Aug. 18, at UB’s Downtown Gateway (the former M. Wile building) at 77 Goodell Street in Downtown Buffalo.

  The Governor’s College is a series of free summer forums with state agencies that are designed and intended for community leaders. The Governor’s Office is conducting these events in Westchester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Poughkeepsie and Utica.

  The objective is to educate local leaders (elected, community, faith-based, block clubs and grassroots), along with business owners, partnering agencies, contractors, chamber of commerce representatives, municipal leaders and others on how they can leverage state resources, programs, technical assistance and stimulus programs. The workshops will draw on the expertise of the agency officials and the local leaders assembled.

  “The Governor’s College is an excellent opportunity for community leaders to expand their knowledge of existing state programs,” says Paterson. “These forums will provide real-time guidance on how we can work together to resolve the challenges we face.”

  For more information, contact Janique S. Curry at (716) 783-0726 or Janique.Curry@chamber.state.ny.us.