UB in the News

An article in the Syracuse Post Standard on the enduring popularity of the Star Wars movies quotes Elayne Rapping, who says some of the original film's success is because its story pitted absolute good against utter evil at a time when such clear distinctions seemed blurred in American culture.

An article in the San Diego Union Tribune on a federal bankruptcy judge allowing United Airlines to terminate four pension plans quotes James Wooten, associate professor of law, who says that too often, firms are not putting in the money needed to fund pensions.

An article in USA Today on the generational differences over which Star Wars trilogy is best -- the original movies from the 1970s and '80s or the new prequel trilogy -- quotes Elayne Rapping, who says it's natural for each generation to favor the movies it grew up with.

An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education asks five former college and university presidents -- including former UB President William R. Greiner -- about life after the presidency, and to describe what they miss, what they don't and to offer a few words of advice to academics who also are about to take the leap.

An article in the Boston Globe reports Massachusetts officials have begun a voluntary financial literacy initiative aimed at teaching high school juniors and seniors the basics of budgeting, saving, credit cards and insurance. The article quotes Lewis Mandell, professor of finance and managerial economics, who says we work hard at teaching our kids to make money, but don't educate them on using it wisely.

An article in The State on the increasing number of high school students who are using credit cards for everyday expenses quotes Lewis Mandell, professor of finance and managerial economics, who says that when parents properly supervise their teens' credit card use, it can be an instructive experience rather than a financial disaster.

An article in the Chicago Tribune on self-service replacing face-to-face service quotes Alex Halavais, assistant professor of communication, who says the U.S. Post Office's adoption of self-service postal machines is the "acid test" of the self-service push.

An article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer looks at why highly paid corporate executives improperly charge extravagant personal items to their expense accounts and quotes Kenneth Kim, assistant professor of finance and managerial economics, who says abusing their expense accounts is just human nature.

In its "Hot Sites" column, USA Today is featuring graduate student Chris Barr and his Web site, http://www.availableonthursday.com, on which he accepts requests from all over the world to perform tasks as diverse as visiting a nursing home, bumming cigarettes and encouraging a classmate to clean her apartment.

An article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on memorials, scholarships, murals and memorial parks that are being set up in the communities where they grew up to remember soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan quotes Tom Frantz, associate professor of counseling, school and educational psychology, who says such community sentiment is not unusual and has increased over the years, particularly because in a small community, everybody feels connected to the person who has died.