It's no secret that the list of University at Buffalo alumni is impressive.
Wolf Blitzer, CNN reporter and journalist, graduated with the class of 1970. Barry Glick, co-founder of MapQuest, received his B.A. and Ph.D. from the university. Millard Drexler, CEO of J. Crew Group, Inc., walked the UB halls. The career of James Starks, the Green Bay running back who earned a ring in Super Bowl XLV, kicked off when he was a UB Bull.
On Friday, April 8, the UB Alumni Association hosted its annual Alumni Achievement Awards to honor distinguished alumni and their accomplishments.
"It's a great opportunity for the award winners to be recognized by their alma mater – their institution – that they've done a great job and they've accomplished wonderful things throughout their career," said Jay Friedman, associate vice president of alumni relations. "It does a lot for the alumni population when they see their colleagues [and other students] going on and accomplishing great things."
Each spring, the association uses these awards to "recognize individuals who bring distinction to themselves and to UB through their outstanding professional and personal achievement, loyal service to UB, and exemplary service to their communities," according to the association's website. Thirteen awards are presented to alumni, as well as to university volunteers.
Awardees are nominated by the college they have graduated from via an online ballot that is available year-round on the Alumni Association's website. The nominees are then referred to an association committee that makes the final selection.
This year, John Kapoor, Ph.D., received the association's highest honor, the Samuel P. Capen Award. Kapoor, a native of Amritsar, India, graduated from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1972 and earned his doctorate in medicinal chemistry from UB. He credits the university with giving him the education he dreamed of while growing up in India.
"I come from a very modest family back in India, and the only way I could come to this country for higher education [was] if I received financial assistance, which was very rare at that time," Kapoor said. "I was fortunate to get [financial assistance] from UB and if it wasn't for that, God knows what would have happened."
Kapoor is a leading force in the pharmaceutical industry and a strong advocate for UB. He has funded research, a state-of-the-art instrumentation core, and a number of graduate fellowships. Most recently, Kapoor gifted $5 million for the construction of a building that will house the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on South Campus. The building will be named after him to honor his unmatched generosity.
John Alm received the Distinguished Alumni Award, the association's second-highest award which is given in "recognition of exceptional career accomplishments, community or university service, or research and scholarly activity," according to the association.
Alm graduated from the School of Management in 1973. As a certified public accountant, he has been employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, and he served as senior vice president and chief financial officer at Coca Cola Bottling Group. In 2000, Alm and his wife, Carolyn, founded the Paintock Canyon Program to help underprivileged children achieve their dreams.
Satish K. Tripathi, officer in charge, and Larry Zielinski, president of the Alumni Association, presented the aforementioned awards and 10 additional achievement awards.
"The University at Buffalo is very, very fortunate to have such a tremendous group of alumni who are committed to bettering their communities and dedicated to further enhancing UB's excellence and national reputation," Tripathi said. "I am confident in saying that our entire UB community is extremely grateful for everything our alumni do to help us achieve the fullness of our mission."
Friedman is pleased with the sense of community the event fosters.
"[The awards are] a great opportunity to bring these people back to the campus, because it's the first time they've been back in a number of years," Friedman said. "It's an opportunity for other alums and students and many people who we invite to this program to get a chance to interact with these people and network, and an opportunity for us to showcase student talent to the alums and the people of the community."
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
