Mike McKay, WBFO news producer/reporter, won two New York State Associated Press first-place awards. His piece, "Death Penalty Juror," won in the best interview category and "Living with Blindness" won in the best feature category. Reed Rankin won the Public Radio News Director, Inc. Award for his commentary on voice mail. Other awards received by WBFO were a Certificate of Merit Excalibur Award from the Buffalo/Niagara chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for the station's Producer's Circle brochure and a Service Excellence Award from University Services, second place in the Large Scale Projects category, for the station's transmitter replacement project.

Several staff members from the Office of Publications received awards for creative excellence from the Professional Communicators of Western New York and the Art Directors/Communicators of Buffalo. They are Ann Whitcher and Scott Fricker, Silver Award in Creative Use of Paper category for the invitation to University Development's tailgate party; Ann Whitcher, Debra Bennett and Alan Kegler, Bronze Award in the Collateral Print Material Category for humanities recruitment brochure; Ann Whitcher and Becky Farnham, Bronze Award in the Collateral Print Material Category for the spring/summer 1998 issue of UB Today; Krysia Kij, David Riley and Lynda Harmel, Bronze Award in the Collateral Print Material Category for the Department of Classics brochure. In addition, Scott Fricker with John Della Contrada of the School of Management, received a SUNY/CUAD Citation in the Alumni Magazine category for Buffalo Business, the UB School of Management alumni magazine, and Lucy Carson and David Riley won a first-place award in the Single Ad Under 33 inches Produced In-House category in the 1999 Buffalo News Creative Advertising Awards competition for the football ticket ad, "Some Things Speak Louder Than Words."

John Bis, associate dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, has been named to a six-member committee that will review proposals to privatize Niagara Falls International airport and recommend whether any should be accepted.

Cynthia M. Shore, assistant dean and director of the Career Resource Center in the School of Management, has been elected president of MBA Career Services Council (MBA CSC). The council is a global association of graduate-management, career-services professionals whose members include representatives from 100 business schools. The group is responsible for the development and promotion of standards to be used by business schools when reporting employment data of their MBA graduates. It provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and information unique to MBA career-services professionals, promotes collaboration among business schools and provides professional development opportunities for its members.

To submit items about new UB employees, those leaving, or those who have been promoted, send by email to Transitions at the following address: wuetcher@buffalo.edu.