Fifteen students receive SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence

Fifteen UB students have been named recipients of the 2026 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, the highest honor SUNY bestows upon its students.

The award recognizes outstanding students who also excel in a variety of areas, including leadership, diversity, equity, inclusion and justice, campus involvement, civics and service, research and development, or creative and performing arts.

Each year, selection committees from SUNY campuses consider nominees and recommend finalists to the chancellor’s office. This year’s recipients are invited to attend an awards ceremony on April 27 in Albany.

Here are UB’s recipients of the 2026 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence:

Annika Easaw
Annika Easaw, a University Honors College scholar, graduates with a BA in philosophy, politics and economics, and global gender and sexuality studies, with a minor in social justice. Easaw founded the Abortion Access Initiative, connecting peers with reproductive education and helping pass statewide legislation mandating abortion referrals at public universities. They have led an alternative break trip focused on protecting LGBTQ+ rights, developed a Local Justice course, and mentored students in community service with UB’s Community and Civic Engagement office. They have interned and volunteered with various nonprofits that work toward social justice, including Western New York Women’s Foundation, EducateUS and Advocates for Youth. Their further civic engagement includes working on and managing campaigns for local and state candidates, speaking at advocacy events alongside elected officials, leading lobby meetings and serving on various advocacy boards, ensuring marginalized voices are represented.

Kymani Getfield
Kymani Getfield of Kingston, Jamaica, graduates with a BS in nuclear medicine technology and a minor in biological sciences. Getfield is a University Honors College Scholar and has served in the United States Army National Guard. He has also served as a campus living community assistant, campus health educator and an undergraduate research assistant. In the Clark Laboratory, he contributed to the development of a preclinical animal model of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy-Richardson's Syndrome (PSP-RS), advancing research in neurodegenerative disease. Kymani has also been actively involved in several student organizations, including the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), the Minority Association of Premedical Students (MAPS) and the men’s soccer club.

Amelia Kelly
Amelia Kelly of Alden, N.Y., graduates with a BS in chemical engineering and a minor in biological sciences. She is a University Honors College Scholar. As vice president of UB’s student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, she founded the university’s first ChemE Cube team. She also served as president of the student chapter of Engineering World Health, the outreach chair of Tau Beta Pi, a member of the outreach committee for Women in Science and Engineering, a peer mentor and a teaching assistant. Kelly conducts research in high-pressure computational materials chemistry in the Zurek Lab, where she has investigated aluminum oxide under planetary interior conditions.

Cameron Kiner
Cameron Kiner of Barker, N.Y., graduates with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public health. An Honors College scholar and inductee of Phi Beta Kappa and Delta Omega, Kiner has demonstrated leadership in campus governance. He is a Leadership House graduate, served as a Student Association senator and was president of the Residence Hall Association. He serves on the board of Lock City Sound, a local choir group.

Dylan Kleehammer
Dylan Kleehammer of Spencerport, N.Y., a University Honors College Scholar, graduates with a BA in philosophy and economics. He has served as a lead diversity advocate in UB’s Intercultural and Diversity Center, an ambassador of civic engagement, and a community organizer with the Mississippi State Office of the Southern Poverty Law Center. He was awarded the Empire State Service Corps’ inaugural Leadership in Service Recognition Award. Additionally, he has researched inclusive immigration and democratic revival, and was awarded the UB Excellence in Research, Scholarship & Creativity Award for his research on residential segregation and multidimensional conceptions of self-identity.

Katherine Kremer
Katherine Kremer of Youngstown, N.Y., graduates with a BS in psychology and a BA in music. Kremer is a University Honors College scholar, where she also serves as an honors college ambassador, peer mentor and teaching assistant. She is a Phi Beta Kappa inductee and president of UB’s chapter of Psi Chi. She also participates in UB’s Symphony Orchestra, works in the Office of Admissions, and serves as a College of Arts and Sciences research advocate. Additionally, Kremer conducts research on aggression in early childhood and is completing the Psychology Honors Program.

Abid Manzar
Abid Manzar of Scranton, Pa., graduates with degrees in materials science and engineering and mathematics. A Presidential Scholar, he has maintained a 3.80 GPA while pursuing an accelerated and rigorous academic track. An undergraduate researcher, he worked in the lab of chemistry professor David E. Heppner and at the MD Anderson Cancer Center through the CATALYST program, contributing to projects on protein structure and chemotherapy resistance. Manzar also served as competitive director for UB Esports and president of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) chapter at UB. Driven by cancer in his family, Manzar plans to pursue a career blending biomedical research with clinical practice as an oncologist-scientist.

Aryan Mudgal
Aryan Mudgal of New Delhi, India, graduates with a BS in computer science. Mudgal conducts research on developing early-detection models for feto-maternal hemorrhages to improve infant survival rates in high-risk pregnancies. As a SUNY Student Assembly delegate and student government senator, he managed more than $50,000 in club funds. He advocated for a student grievance portal to close the communication gap between students and administration. Additionally, Mudgal co-founded the nonprofit Clean Campus, mobilizing volunteers across three universities nationwide to remove more than 200 pounds of waste, an initiative featured on Spectrum News.

Abdulfazl Mukumov
Abdulfazl Mukumov of Buffalo graduates with a BS in business administration (financial analysis). Mukumov is an Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) scholar and a Western New York Prosperity Fellow, advancing regional economic growth through collaboration with business leaders and organizations across Western New York. He co-founded the Buffalo Global Shapers Hub, served as vice president of the UB Investment Club and was a participant in an immersive student-led mergers-and-acquisitions initiative managing a $230 million acquisition. An entrepreneur, Mukumov also founded a renovation company that supports local economic development.

Lauren Phung
Lauren Phung of Brooklyn graduates with a BS in geographic information science, a BA in environmental sustainability and a minor in history. Phung is a University Honors Scholar, member of Phi Beta Kappa and Western New York Prosperity Fellow. She was an Honors Colloquium teaching assistant, geography department ambassador, and Student Engagement ambassador. She completed an honors thesis on the geopolitics of deportation and has conducted transportation geography research in Vietnam. Phung plans to contribute to a more equitable and sustainable world through a career in urban planning.

Lillian Radel
Lillian Radel of Buffalo graduates with a double degree in environmental design and environmental studies. As a fourth generation UB student, she looks to the past often to guide her studies and purpose. She is a University Honors College Scholar, a two-time Western New York Prosperity Fellow, Tau Sigma Delta inductee, and a Be the Impact Challenger. Radel was a biology teaching assistant and worked as an ambassador for Student Engagement and the Honors College. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in landscape architecture and work in restoration ecology to create a greener future for all.

Nicholas Reilly
Nicholas Reilly of Voorheesville, N.Y., graduates with a BS in chemical engineering and a minor in mathematics. Reilly, a 2025 Goldwater scholar, is a member of the UB Honors College, as well as Tau Beta Pi. He has served as president of the UB Chemistry Club, secretary of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers student chapter, and community service head for Theta Tau. He has worked with the Watson Lab since his first year at UB, developing nanomaterials that can be applied toward environmental remediation.

Ishfar Shaan
Ishfar Shaan of Clarence, N.Y., graduates with a BS in biomedical sciences and a minor in public health. A Presidential Scholar in the Honors College, he conducted research on novel cancer therapies and authored an abstract presented at the American Association for Cancer Research. He helped establish, and is former president of the Undergraduate Student Club at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and as president of the Bengali SA, led the group to its first International Fiesta win. Shaan has served as a teaching assistant for cell biology, medical assistant and nursing aide, and has volunteered with refugee and asylum-seeking communities while also growing his business.

Emaan Sohail
Emaan Sohail of Rochester graduates with a BS in biomedical sciences. Sohail is a Presidential Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa inductee and serves as president of the Pre-Dental Association and co-founder of the University Honors College Book Club. Sohail has worked in the Office of the President and Alumni Engagement, and as a pediatric dental assistant. She served as an oral biology research assistant, mentor and volunteer at nonprofits, and co-published a paper on public policy through the Honors College on physician-assisted suicide in New York.

Jess Williams
Jess Williams of Hilton, N.Y., graduates with a BA in law and political science. Williams is a University Honors College Scholar. She has minors in community organizing and development, nonprofit leadership and American Sign Language. She is president of Mock Trial, the president and founder of UB’s Friends Committee on National Legislation and treasurer of the American Sign Language Honor Society. She works as an ambassador of civic engagement, Alternative Break team leader and as a resident adviser. Williams serves as the undergraduate director of the Buffalo Human Rights Center and an undergraduate liaison for the Social Work Undergraduate Committee.