News Releases

As a result of Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Americans have been hit with a "double shock," according to Paul Senese, assistant professor of political science at the University at Buffalo and an expert in international security and conflict process and American foreign policy.

While the use of hijacked commercial airliners by terrorists to attack the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Tuesday may leave many reluctant to board an airplane, the issue is not about flying, says Gayle Beck, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University at Buffalo and an expert in panic and anxiety disorders and post-traumatic problems.

The University at Buffalo quickly responded on Tuesday to the needs of students from the New York City metropolitan and Washington, D.C., areas following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Student Affairs established a "NYC/DC Response Center" staffed with counselors and equipped with a telephone bank for students to use to call relatives in those areas.

Tuesday's terrorist strikes at the World Trade Center and Pentagon "bring the horror of war into Americans' lives in ways others have been experiencing it for decades," according to Michael Frisch, professor of American History at the University at Buffalo.

University at Buffalo President William R. Greiner today issued a statement in response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. "In the wake of this great tragedy," Greiner said, "we are declaring the rest of the day a day of mourning and memorial for the victims of these horrendous, unspeakable attacks. On behalf of the University at Buffalo community and the UB Council, we do so out of respect for the dead, dying, wounded and their families."

As part of its centennial celebration of the Pan-American Exposition, UB on Sept. 13 will sponsor "Pan-Americanisms: Myths and Realities," an international symposium that will look at the myths and realities embodied in the concept of pan-Americanism.

Andrew W. Safyer, associate professor of social work at the University at Buffalo, has been named associate dean for academic affairs and director of the M.S.W. program in the School of Social Work.

The planners call themselves "Panamaniacs," a name that expresses their obsession with Buffalo's 1901 Pan-American Exposition and with its centennial celebration. And the Panamaniacs at the University at Buffalo have put together an eponymous two-day on-campus festival Sept. 22-23 in which visitors can experience the thrill of the original Pan-Am midway through films, music, foods, games and memorabilia.

The University at Buffalo ranks among the top 26-50 public and private research universities in the country in a new data-based report by a University of Florida research center. UB posted improvement in six of the nine measures of performance for which accurate and valid data were available and that "reflect quality of research university performance," according to "The Top American Research Universities," the annual report charting the comparative performance of research institutions by TheCenter at the University of Florida.

A new risk map that reveals the hazards most likely to occur in the future on Popocatepetl -- located just 60 kilometers from Mexico City and considered the planet's riskiest volcano -- has been developed by University at Buffalo volcanologist Michael F. Sheridan, Ph.D., and colleagues at UB and the National University of Mexico (UNAM).