UB Alumni Association Achievement Awards - UB Alumni Association Achievement Awards - University at Buffalo

2026 Nominations Open Now

An annual tradition, this award program is proudly presented by the UB Alumni Association to recognize outstanding alumni who demonstrate success in their careers, support the university and give back to their communities.

Nominations for our 2026 awards program close Feb. 6, 2026. Recognize an outstanding UB graduate with a nomiation today! Recipients will be honored at an event during Homecoming and Family Weekend in fall 2026. The date will be announced in March 2026.

2026 Awards Criteria

Past Award Recipients

The 2025 Honorees

Samuel P. Capen Award
10/6/25
Russell Agrusa, BS '76
Walter P. Cooke Community Leadership Award
10/6/25
LaVonne Ansari, PhD '03
Clifford C. Furnas Memorial Award
10/6/25
Jeremy Gilbert, BS '81
George W. Thorn Award
9/27/25
Winston Duke, BA '09
Philip B. Wels Outstanding Service Award
10/6/25
Gary Jastrzab, BA '76, BA '76
International Distinguished Alumni Award
10/6/25
Murat Soygeniş, MArch '85
Sema Soygeniş, MArch '86

Distinguished Alumni Awards

The following individuals were selected by each academic unit to be honored.

School of Architecture and Planning
7/10/25
Mitchell Joachim, BPS '94
College of Arts and Sciences
7/10/25
Eric Cortellessa, BA '14
School of Dental Medicine
7/1/25
Robert Lalor, DDS '00 &
Mary John, DDS '00
Graduate School of Education
7/10/25
Julie Gorlewski, PhD '08, EdM '92
Honors College
7/10/25
Henry Nowak, JD '93, BA '90
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
9/15/25
William Weppner, BS '59
School of Law
7/10/25
Michael Hecker, JD '09
School of Management
7/17/25
Darcy MacClaren, MBA '85
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
7/10/25
Thomas Lawley, MD '72
School of Nursing
7/10/25
Mary Carey, BS '90
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
7/10/25
Karen Daly, BS '80
School of Public Health and Health Professions
7/10/25
Enrique Schisterman, PhD '99, MA '95
School of Social Work
7/10/25
Elizabeth McPartland, PMBA '13, MSW '03, BA '98

To see a list of all previous award winners, please CLICK HERE.

2025 celebration recap