The Independent Student Publication of the University at Buffalo WEEKEND EDITION v March 4, 2011 Vol. 60 No. 60 v ubspectrum.com
Courtesy of Pedro Simoes
UB community agencies look at barriers and solutions to stability for mothers and children in a workshop being held on Friday.
Women and Homelessness Seminar FLOYD SWEETStaff Writer The UB 2020 Civic Engagement and Public Policy Initiative will be sponsoring the Buffalo Poverty Research Workshop II: Women and Homelessness on Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. at the St. Stanislaus Church Social Center.
Distinguished Professors clockwise starting above: Robert Baier, James Campbell, Paul Knight, Teresa Quattrin, and Stanley Schwartz.
Five Announced as Distinguished Professors MATTHEW MANFROStaff Writer This past month, five professors have been appointed as UB Distinguished Professors for the 2011 school year. Appointments are effective on Sept. 1. The five faculty members – within the fields of dentistry, medicine, and social sciences – (above) are Robert Baier, James Campbell, Paul Knight, Teresa Quattrin, and Stanley Schwartz. The UB Distinguished Professor designation recognizes professors that have taught for at least five years within the university, while achieving national or international prominence as leaders in their respective fields. Robert Baier is an executive director of the Nation Science Foundation cooperative research center in Biosurfaces, and is the director of the Biomaterials Graduate Program. “I am very pleased to receive this recognition especially since our group in Buffalo was among the founders of the new field of Biomaterials Research, developing ‘parts for people,’” Baier said.
dential election outcomes has led to his recognition as one of the leading researchers on the topic within the entire country. Additionally, Campbell was recently elected as president of Pi Sigma Alpha, a national honor society of political science. Paul Knight is a professor within the department of anesthesiology, and Stanley Schwartz is a professor within the departments of medicine, pediatrics and microbiology in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Knight has published 115 papers in peer review journals in anesthesiology, with his research focusing on the relationship between anesthetics and viral infection. Schwartz, also a prolific researcher, has become a leading authority on the relationship between drug abuse and AIDS. Schwartz has received numerous awards for his research including a UB Sustained Academic Achievement Award as well as the Stockton Kimball Award.
Baier’s tireless work toward the development of biomaterials and surface sciences along with over 100 research trials has had an important effect on the practice of medicine and dentistry. Baier has received numerous national and international distinctions and awards serving on a variety of editorial boards and university committees. He has also devoted his time to mentoring individual undergraduate students through his independent studies courses.
Teresa Quattrin is a professor and chair of the department of pediatrics in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
“Since I worked my way through engineering school on a six-year co-op program and then spent 18 years in government and industry research before joining UB full time, I emphasize to students what actually happens in practical circumstances,” Baier said. “This practical knowledge puts our students way ahead of the competition for the best jobs, and serves the public by eliminating the mistakes made by my generation of technologists.”
Quattrin’s extensive research has led to her reputation as an expert in childhood diabetes and obesity, leading to her election to the Society of Pediatric Research in 2003.
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“I have always believed that a good teacher has to diligently prepare him or herself to interact with students and elicit their feedback to better his or her teaching style,” Quattrin said. “It is also important for a good teacher to ask the students what ‘they want to get out’ of a lecture or shadowing or teaching at the bedside. Also equally important is to keep up with changes in the way students enjoy being taught.” g
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Presentations at the event will include a keynote address by Maureen Hayes, senior research associate at the National Center for Family Homelessness. “Homelessness is not as visible in Buffalo as in some larger cities, but it is just as severe,” said Sam Magavern, a clinical professor in UB’s School of Law and co-director of the Partnership for the Public Good. “Over 2,000 people are homeless in our region on a given night, many of them women and children.” This workshop will give faculty and students a unique chance to hear about the most recent research and to meet with community groups and agencies that are on the front lines in the struggle to end homelessness, according to Magavern. “In Buffalo, women are the dominant face of poverty. Two out of three families living in poverty in our commu-
Suzanne Tomkins, a clinical professor and director of the Women, Children, and Social Justice Clinic at UB’s School of Law, will be presenting on the experience of working with clinical students on behalf of residents at Carolyn’s House. Carolyn’s House, which is located in the City of Niagara Falls, has 19 apartments and can support the housing needs of women with multiple children. The goal of Carolyn’s House, a program of the YWCA of Niagara, is to provide the resources necessary to empower women and children to move from homelessness to independence and dignity, according to Kathleen A. Granchelli, CEO of the YWCA Niagara. “The women and children who come to Carolyn’s House from all over Western New York are homeless for a variety of reasons, which may include domestic violence, substance abuse, and poverty,” Granchelli said. “However, the one common thread is certainly poverty.” Over half of the women and children in homeless shelters are there as the direct result of abuse suffered as a child, an adult, or both, according to Tomkins. “It has been an enormously enriching experience to learn from these incredibly resourceful survivors,” Tomkins said. The on-site support systems at Carolyn’s House attempt to combat poverty and dependence, and are also a study in community collaboration. The model of Carolyn’s Houses, com-
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bining economic development strategies in a supported housing environment, is the subject of Granchelli’s discussion at the workshop. One of these programs includes a culinary institute for women and their children, sponsored by the John R. Oishei Foundation. Women who complete the culinary coursework can be hired by the Catering Crew, a full-service catering company located at Carolyn’s House, or at the Airport Café at the Niagara Falls Airport. The workshop, which will be held at 389 Peckham St. in Buffalo, is sponsored in partnership with the Homeless Alliance of Western New York, National Center for Family Homelessness, Partnership for the Public Good, and Western New York Service Learning Coalition. The workshop is co-sponsored by the UB Gender Institute and the WNY Women’s Fund. For more information, contact Megan Connelly at 716-852-4191 ext. 110. Additional presentations include Ellen Grant, former Erie County Commissioner of Mental Heath; Lauren Breen, director of the Community Development Clinic; Teresa Miller, associate professor at UB’s School of Law; Monique Watts, director of development at WNY Women’s Fund; Kevin Blair, Ph.D., professor of sociology at Niagara University; William O’Connell, HUD Region II Community Planning and Development director and former executive director of the Homeless Alliance of WNY; Karen Carman, director of the Matt Urban HOPE Center; Jessica Walker, director of the Community Health Worker Network of Buffalo; and Kenneth Gaston, substanceabuse counselor of GROUP Ministries Inc. g
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UB 2020 Progress AMANDA JONASInvestigative Reporter
“It is a great honor to be recognized as being a leader in my field with the title of UB Distinguished Professor,” Quattrin said. “It is a privilege few have to built an entire career at one institution and being able to develop my career at UB, and being recognized by UB for my accomplishment, speaks to the philosophy of this institution.”
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James Campbell is a professor and chair within the department of political science in the College of Arts and Sciences. Campbell began teaching at UB in 1998 after holding teaching positions at the University of Georgia and LSU. His research program in testing theories of congressional and presi-
Local presenters will address specific issues related to women, poverty, and homelessness. The forum will focus on research conducted in Western New York by the National Center on Homelessness, according to Suzanne Tomkins, a presenter at the event and clinical professor and director of the Women, Children, and Social Justice Clinic at UB’s School of Law.
nity are women-headed households,” said Monique Watts, director of development and marketing for the WNY Women’s Fund. “With Western New York having some of the highest poverty rates in the nation and a steadily decreasing population, this issue is very pressing.”
The University at Buffalo is one step closer to making UB 2020 a reality. On Wednesday, a bill sponsored by Republican North Buffalo State Senator Mark Grisanti, entitled the “UB 2020 Flexibility and Economic Growth Act,” passed through the New York State Senate and was sent on to the Assembly. The bill, co-sponsored by four local senators – George Maziarz, Patrick Gallivan, Michael Ranzenhofer and Timothy Kennedy – still needs to be passed by the Assembly and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo before it is enacted into law.
Today In UB History: March 4, 1974
‘Survivor’ Tells Plight Of Women In Prison Full Story Online
NEWS Presidential Search Update PAGE 2
On this day in UB history, Sharon Krebs, an ex-convict who spent 18 months in Bedford Hills State Penitentiary, visited UB to tell law students about her time in prison and her criticism of the American penal system.
ARTS THE Boy and His Machine PAGE 5
If passed, the bill would allow UB to establish a rational tuition increase policy starting in the 2011-2012 academic year. The revenue raised from the rate increases, which would be limited to a $375 increase for undergrads and a 15 percent increase for graduate students, would go toward funding UB 2020 initiatives. Families who make less than $60,000 a year would be subsidized by additional financial aid programs to defray the effects of the tuition increase. In addition to allowing UB flexibility in determining tuition rates, the bill allows for future expansion on UB’s three campuses by altering state law and allowing the university to raise additional funding through the use of campus-related nonprofit organizations. Local leaders like Grisanti support UB 2020 because the plan not only pledges to revitalize the UB campuses, but promises to spur economic growth throughout Western New York by pumping money back into the local economy and creating thousands of jobs in construction and in the educational industries. g
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