UB in the News

An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education reports that UB professors Bina Ramaurthy, Jessica Poulin and Katharina Dittman have utilized the power of collaboration and cloud computing to build an online teaching tool designed to explain concepts better than a textbook can and help reduce the number of dropouts in freshman biology courses.

Sharon Mitchell, director of counseling services, is quoted in an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about a national survey of first-year undergraduates that found that this year's freshmen are reporting record-low levels of emotional health, as well as a strong desire to succeed. "It's really important to do outreach to students that doesn't necessarily involve counseling, but focuses on the promotion of good mental health," she said. The article also reports that UB introduces students to mental-health concepts through in-class assignments.

A story in Canada.com about eating disorders and their causes quotes UB associate professor of counseling, school and educational psychology, Catherine Cook-Cottone.

An article in The New York Times about some of the quirky things people do to spend time outside during the winter months notes one man profiled "is fascinated with the work of Sergio Lopez-Pineiro, assistant professor of architecture, who has turned snow banks into landscape art."

A story on NPR about new rules announced by the Obama administration that allow schools and religious groups to resume sending travelers to Cuba interviews Jose Buscaglia, director of Caribbean studies, who said UB was one of the few schools that was able to keep sending students to Cuba under the previous restrictions.

An article in The New York Times about the decision by City University of New York, the largest urban higher-education system in the nation, to ban smoking on all 23 of its campuses reports last summer UB banned smoking on its three campuses. The article quotes Joseph A. Brennan, associate vice president for university communications, who said professors in the School of Public Health and Health Professions and alumni in the medical profession were "a driving force" behind UB's complete ban.

An article in the Christian Science Monitor about whether Jared Loughner, the man accused of killing six people and wounding 14 others in Tucson, should face the death penalty quotes David Schmid, associate professor of English. The shooting, he said, "might be a turning pointÂ…where it offers a pretty good argument that some crimes are so heinous that they deserve that kind of penalty." The article also appeared on The Crime Report, a news and multimedia information criminal justice website.

A story on CBS News Sunday Morning about the erosion of the importance of penmanship in a world filled with computers, cell phone and other technological advances interviews Tamara Plakins Thornton, professor of history, who said handwriting's decline is an old story. "That goes back to the typewriter, actually. It doesn't go back to the computer. We haven't used handwriting the way we used to use handwriting for well over 100 years."

An article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle about questions over the city's mayoral succession process and the debate focused on whether the city over-reached in installing Acting Mayor Carlos Carballada quotes Rick Su, associate professor of law and a specialist in municipal government law.

David Schmid, associate professor and associate chair of English, is quoted in an article in the Kansas City Star about the role that violent political rhetoric may have had on the weekend's shootings in Tucson, and what the media can do to tone down political discourse. The media, he said, too often rush to find out what's abnormal about the killer and what's normal about the victims. The article also appeared in a number of additional media outlets, including the Charlotte Observer and Pop Matters.