UB's 151st Commencement concludes Sesqui celebration

By MARY BETH SPINA
News Services Editor

John P. Naughton, dean of the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences from 1975-96, will receive the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, the University at Buffalo's highest tribute.

Philip B. Wels, chair emeritus of the UB Council, will be awarded the university's President's Medal.

About 5,500 students will be candidates to receive degrees in 13 ceremonies to be held Friday, May 16, through Sunday, May 18. Commencement ceremonies for the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences were held Sunday, May 11. The various ceremonies will conclude the university's 18-month celebration of its sesquicentennial.

UB President William R. Greiner and graduating senior Kristinn R. Rzepkowski of Rochester will speak at the university's 151st commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 18, in Alumni Arena on the North Campus.

Greiner and Provost Thomas E. Headrick will confer degrees on graduating seniors from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the Faculty of Arts and Letters and the Faculty of Social Sciences.

The recipients of the three Dean's Awards will be Christian R. Brunelli of Peekskill, social sciences; Soumya Raychaudhuri of Rochester, natural sciences and mathematics, and Barbara Abad of Sunnyside, arts and letters. Stuart S. Goldberg of Rochester will receive the senior leadership award.

Student vocalist at the university commencement ceremony will be Heather M. Robert of Grand Island.

Naughton, who will receive the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal during the general commencement, stepped down on Dec. 31 as dean of the UB medical school and vice president for clinical affairs. He continues as a professor of rehabilitation medicine, social and preventive medicine, medicine and physiology.

Naughton was one of the key players in establishing UB's innovative consortium of teaching hospitals and it was under his guidance that the school instituted aggressive new approaches to medical training for underrepresented groups. His leadership brought renewed emphasis to programs in primary-care medicine.

Wels, who will receive the President's Medal, earned his baccalaureate, master's and medical degrees from UB.

He has served his alma mater in many capacities. He is a trustee of the UB Foundation, served on the UB Council for 17 years and is professor emeritus of surgery and associate dean emeritus of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. A founder of UB's fencing team, Wels was a member of the United States' Olympic team in fencing in 1936 and in 1965 was the first person inducted into the UB Athletic Hall of Fame.

SUNY Trustee Candace de Russy will confer an honorary doctorate in music from SUNY on Christie, an East Aurora native who has earned worldwide renown for his unparalleled accomplishments in classical music.

Christie in 1979 founded the group, Les Arts Florissants, which performs music of the 17th and 18th centuries in the original style and on original instruments. He has produced recordings and internationally acclaimed performances of the music of Monteverdi, Lully, Rameau, Handel, Mozart and other composers up to Beethoven.

He is the only American to be named a professor at the Paris Conservatory. In 1993, Christie received the Legion of Honor, the highest award the French government can confer on a civilian.

Commencement ceremonies, speakers and those who will confer degrees this weekend are:

- Graduate School, 2 p.m., Friday, May 16, Center for the Arts. Claire Fraser of the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, Md., will speak. Headrick will confer degrees.

- Health Related Professions, 9 a.m., Saturday, May 17, Alumni Arena. Peter Pileggi, SUNY associate provost for health sciences and hospitals, will speak. John R. Wright, interim UB vice president for clinical affairs and interim dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, will confer degrees.

- Graduate School of Social Work, 9 a.m., Saturday, May 17, Center for the Arts. Speaker will be Bonnie Collins, family counselor and social worker. Greiner will confer degrees.

- School of Nursing, 9 a.m., Saturday, May 17, Slee Concert Hall. Donna M. Juenker, associate professor and director of UB School of Nursing Undergraduate Program, will speak. Headrick will confer degrees.

- Information and Library Studies, 10 a.m., Saturday, May 17, Student Union Theatre. Elizabeth Sywetz, executive director, Western New York Library Resources Council, will speak. Senior Vice Provost Kenneth J. Levy will confer degrees.

- Engineering and Applied Sciences, 1 p.m., Saturday, May 17, Alumni Arena. Dean Mark H. Karwan will speak. Headrick will confer degrees.

- Law School, 1 p.m., Saturday, May 17, Center for the Arts. Nationally known attorney Herald Price Fahringer, a partner in the New York law office of Lipsitz, Green, Fahringer, Roll, Salisbury & Cambria, will speak. Greiner will confer the degrees.

- School of Pharmacy, 1 p.m., Saturday, May 17, Slee Concert Hall. There will be no speaker. Wright will confer degrees.

- School of Architecture and Planning, 3 p.m., Saturday, May 17, lawn of Hayes Hall. Allan Temko, Pulitzer Prize winner and architectural critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, will speak. Levy will confer degrees.

- School of Management, 5 p.m., Saturday, May 17, Alumni Arena. Dean Frederick W. Winter will speak. Headrick will confer degrees.

- Graduate School of Education, 5 p.m., Saturday, May 17, Center for the Arts. Dean Hugh G. Petrie will speak. Greiner will confer degrees.

- School of Dental Medicine, 2 p.m., Sunday, May 18, Center for the Arts. Arthur A. Dugoni, professor and dean of the School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific, will speak. Greiner and Dean Louis J. Goldberg will confer degrees.