Obituary

Seymour Axelrod, 70, emeritus professor of psychiatry and psychology
A memorial service was held on June 14 in the Center for Inquiry for Seymour Axelrod, 70, a psychologist who was professor emeritus in the departments of Psychiatry and Psychology. Axelrod, a faculty member for 34 years who retired in 1996, died May 21 after a long illness. Funeral services were held on May 22 in Delaware Park Memorial Chapel.

Axelrod came to UB in 1964 from Duke University, where he had been an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology. He taught research tools and methods for psychiatry residents and lectured on such topics as research opportunities, learning theory and behavior modification, as well as supervising theses of graduate and doctoral students.

Known as a patient teacher and a skillful science writer, Axelrod was an avid reader, especially of dictionaries. For the past nine years, he was active in Mendele, an international Yiddish-interest online discussion group.

Born in New York City, Axelrod graduated cum laude in 1951 from Washington Square College, New York University. He received his doctorate in psychology in 1958 from New York University's Graduate School of Arts and Science, where he was a University Scholar.

He served in the Army Air Force from 1945-46.

At UB, Axelrod was active in the Faculty Senate, serving the organization as secretary from 1986-88, during which time he also chaired the Elections Committee. He had been a member of a number of committees in the Department of Psychiatry, chairing the Committee on Appointments, Promotions, Tenure and Privileges. He was president of the Faculty Council in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences from 1994-95 and was co-chair of its task force on faculty development. Axelrod also had been a member of the Institutional Review Board in the School of Health Related Professions.

The author or co-author of more than 50 scientific papers, Axelrod was the recipient of numerous grants from the National Institute for Mental Health, the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute for Neurological Diseases and Blindness for research in such areas as tactile and auditory functions in blind children and neurological studies of perceptual functions.

He is survived by his wife, Janice; a son, Ethan Jacob of Buffalo, and three daughters, Bryn Loizeaux of Westchester, Lieza Zionts of Buffalo and Shoshanna Friedman of Provence, France.

W. Howard Mann, 87, law school professor emeritus
A memorial service was held in Missoula, Mont., for W. Howard Mann, who served as a professor of constitutional law in the UB law school from 1967-85 and was a former law clerk in the U.S. Supreme Court. Mann, 87, died June 4 in his home in Missoula. He retired from UB 13 years ago, moving to Montana in 1993.

Mann, who earned national recognition as an outstanding constitutional law scholar, was known for his encouragement of excellence and for his high standards in the field of law.

R. Nils Olsen, Jr., who will become dean of the UB School of Law on Aug. 1, noted in The Buffalo News that Mann "was a respected member of the UB law faculty. He dedicated his professional life from his Supreme Court clerkship...to his many years at UB to the intellectual study of law. His many colleagues will miss him and send condolences to his family."

A graduate of Monmouth (Ill.) College, Mann did graduate work at the University of Iowa. He received a juris doctorate magna cum laude from the University of Iowa College of Law.

Mann served in the U.S. Navy from 1941-43, retiring as a lieutenant commander.

He was law clerk for Justice Harold H. Burton of the Supreme Court in 1945-46. Before coming to UB in 1967, he taught constitutional law at Indiana University School of Law. He was a visiting Fulbright Research Professor to the Supreme Court of India in 1965-66.

Mann was a member of the Order of the Coif and the American Academy of Sciences.

Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Mary Ellen; two daughters, Karen Allen of Missoula and Susan of Kamloops, B.C.; a son, Eric, of Woodland Hills, Calif.; a brother, J. Keith of Stanford, Calif., and five grandchildren