UB in the News

Mary Gresham, dean of the Graduate School of Education, was interviewed on the NPR program Marketplace for a story about a plan by New York State that would allow alternative groups like Teach for America to create their own master's programs for teaching. Teaching colleges, she says, have been unfairly criticized for favoring theory over practical training.

An article on MSNBC.com about the early start to allergy season interviews Stanley Schwartz, director of allergy, immunology and rheumatology, who says trees are what are giving people the greatest problems right now. The story originally appeared on WKBW-TV.

An article on WebMD warns that people with multiple sclerosis should not undergo a controversial new treatment that's based on the theory that blocked neck veins can trigger MS, and interviews Robert Zivadinov, professor of neurology, who says neither the theory nor the treatment has been proved in large numbers of people. An article on the controversial procedure also appears in Macleans.

A story on WGRZ-TV reports Assemblyman Jim Hayes spoke about tough decisions in the New York Assembly including UB 2020 on WBEN-AM's Hardline program. Hayes says that UB 2020 will give more freedom to UB and create more jobs for graduates.

Marcus Bursik, UB professor of geology and a leading expert on volcanic ash cloud transport, was interviewed on NPR's "Morning Edition" this morning regarding the volcanic ash cloud that has halted air traffic throughout Europe for days. Bursik discussed his recent research showing that volcanic plumes tend to end up in the jetstream and remain there, thus disrupting air traffic. Bursik also quoted in stories appearing in today's USA Today and Newsweek.

President and CEO of Greatbach, Inc. wrote an op-ed for the Buffalo News supporting UB 2020 and the Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act.

An article in Newsweek about the profits investment banks made in 2009 includes a sidebar featuring a study by Kenneth Kim, associate professor of finance and managerial economics, about the impact having a celebrity on a company's board has on its stock price. The article is not available online; a pdf of the article is available upon request.

A Rochester Democrat and Chronicle story on the New York Power Authority's proposal to place electricity-generating turbines off the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie reports that a 2008 study by the Law School recommends doing environmental and other studies, and engaging in plentiful public participation before developers are brought in.

An editorial in Business First urges the state legislature to save UB 2020 by passing the Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act (PHEEIA). "The PHEEIA would allow UB and other state colleges and universities to leverage private funding to create growth. It would free UB from some of the most restrictive bureaucratic constraints and allow the university's leaders to make key financial decisionsÂ….We'd really like to see our assemblymembers and senators stop giving lip service to UB 2020 and start demanding action in Albany."

A Business First cover story explains the economic benefits of UB 2020 that are imperiled by state budget cuts. The article also describes why so many business, community and government leaders in Western New York support UB 2020, and why UB and SUNY need the legislature to pass the Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act (PHEEIA). "We have got to see our way to this. I just don't think failure is an option here," said Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.