UB in the News

An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education on some of the shortcomings of the Test of English as a Foreign Language and other language-testing measures looks at the case of a student from Russia who came to UB as a member of the tennis team but spoke such poor English that she was unable to communicate with her teammates or coaches, and ultimately was sent home.

Kathryn Foster, director of the Regional Institute, is quoted in an article in the Poughkeepsie Journal that looks at the number of taxing authorities in New York State and efforts by some communities to consolidate. A "perfect storm" of factors is at play, she said: a weak economy, an aging and declining population upstate, higher taxes, an anti-government sentiment, and a new state law. The article also appeared in the Elmira Star-Gazette.

An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about its third annual Great Colleges to Work For survey includes UB among the 97 institutions on the list. Business First also reported on the ranking.

Real Clear Politics reports on the relationship between U.S. politics, campaigns and the status of the economy, and quotes UB professor and chair of political science, James Campbell. Campbell also is quoted in a Christian Science Monitor and EducationNews.org stories about the appearance of bias in journalists who posted comments about conservative commentators Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge.

A Scientific American magazine feature story describes the work of UB researchers Arnd Pralle, Hao Zeng and Denise Ferkey, who created a magnetic remote control that changes the behavior of tiny worms. The purpose of the research is to develop ways to use magnetic fields to stimulate cells, with the goal of unraveling the signaling networks that control ion channels, neurons and animal behavior.

An article in The New York Times reports on "The Power of SUNY," a plan developed by Chancellor Nancy Zimpher to revamp and rebrand SUNY, which the article calls "the unloved colossus that is the biggest comprehensive system of public higher education in the country." The article looks at the university system's history and the proposed empowerment legislation that would give campuses greater autonomy, including the ability to set their own tuition, and has become the fiercely contested point of contention in passage of the state 2010-11 budget: "To advocates, the effort to break the shackles that SUNY was born with has long been overdue. For the largest SUNY campus, the University at Buffalo, such self-determination is an essential part of its ambitious growth plan, 'UB 2020,' which local officials say would create thousands of jobs, expand the campus to downtown and foster new ventures with industry," the article states. The article also appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In a report in Inquirer.net, UB professor emeritus and cultural critic Elayne Rapping, weighs in on the latest scandal involving Mel Gibson.

A New York Times op-ed describes the tight control Albany lawmakers have on everything related to SUNY from cost of tuition to purchases, as well as taking back 80 percent of tuition increases for general state operating funds. It contends that although "New York's state universities badly need improvement, but the (SUNY empowerment reform) proposals on the table are not good enough."

An editorial in Crain's Business New York calls for passage of SUNY empowerment reforms and says Senator Bill Stachowski's support of the reforms is "one of the most hopeful signs that legislators might actually begin representing the interests of their constituents."

An article in the July 19 issue of Sports Illustrated about Iroquois lacrosse players who were unable to travel to England on their Haudenosaunee passports for the lacrosse world championships quotes Oren Lyons, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of American Studies and the team's chairman. The article includes a video clip that interviews Lyons and others about the story behind the Iroquois and lacrosse.