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Four receive Plesur Awards
Four adjunct faculty members have received Milton Plesur Excellence in Teaching Awards from the undergraduate Student Association for their commitment to students and the quality of their teaching.
The award is named for Plesur, a professor in the Department of History who died in 1987. He was a beloved teacher, author and scholar of popular culture and the American presidency, whose humor captivated his students.
The recipients of the 2009 Plesur Awards are:
• Nicolette de Csipkay, adjunct instructor, Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences. De Csipkay has been teaching at UB since 1986, when she began working on her Ph.D. in English literature. She taught in Wisconsin for three years before returning to Buffalo in 1997. She has taught English composition as an adjunct since then. A native of Southern California, she earned a B.A. in English from Boise State University and an M.A. in creative writing from the University at Colorado-Boulder.
• Henry J. Durand, senior associate vice provost for undergraduate education and executive director of the Center for Academic Development Services. An adjunct associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, Graduate School of Education, Durand also serves as a research associate for the graduate program of the Center for Urban Studies, School of Architecture and Planning. A specialist in educational sociology, his course offerings include several quantitative research core courses, as well as classes in American pluralism, education and social class, African American students in higher education, and race and ethnic relations. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Denison University, a master’s degree from Xavier University and a doctorate from the University of Cincinnati.
• Elias G. Eldayrie, UB’s chief information officer. Since joining UB in 1987, Eldayrie has served the university in a variety of administrative positions, including assistant vice provost for enrollment management, director of the Office of Financial Aid and director of the Office of Student Accounts, before being named CIO in 2007. In addition to his administrative duties, Eldayrie has taught for 11 years as an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Organization and Human Resources, School of Management. He teaches “Organizational Behavior and Administration” (MGB 301) and “Power and Influence” (MGB 425). He has received numerous awards, including the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Professional Service, a Sallie MAE Education Institute Award, a Student Access Excellence Award and a UB Service Excellence Award. He received a bachelor's degree in computer science and an MBA, both from UB.
• Debora Grossman, adjunct instructor, Department of Marketing, School of Management. Grossman worked for 15 years for GE/RCA’s Consumer Electronics Division, mostly as a product manager running a $150 million division. Family obligations led her to leave industry to teach. She teaches a variety of marketing courses, including “Advertising & Promotion,” (MGM 409) “Product Development” (MGM 406) and an MBA class, “Advertising” (MGM 670). She also teaches four recitation sections for “Intro to Marketing” (MGM 301). She earned a B.S. in marketing from SUNY-Oswego and an MBA in innovations management from Syracuse University.
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