UB Believers. UB. University at Buffalo. The State University of New York.

Dear UB Believer,

This is your August UB Believers update.

  • Breaking ground
  • UB 2020 in national news
  • Boosting local business
  • Segways for Main Street

NEED TO KNOW

UB and Kaleida break ground on $291 million project

The effort to transform Buffalo into a world-class health care destination and expand UB's Downtown Campus took a major step forward on Aug. 3 as Kaleida Health and UB broke ground for a new 10-story global vascular institute and research building.

The $291 million combined facility will be located next to Buffalo General Hospital at Goodrich and Ellicott streets. It is scheduled for completion in late 2011.

At the groundbreaking, UB president John B. Simpson said, "As a true public-private partnership, this project owes much to the leadership of our Western New York legislative delegation. This project would not have been possible without the delegation's efforts to secure the transfer of previously approved capital construction funds to the Buffalo 2020 Development Corporation, which will allow us to move forward with our partnership with Kaleida Health."

Believers played a key role in advocating for action in the legislature that made the project possible. Read more.

A two-minute video shows close-up views of the new UB-Kaleida building and highlights of the groundbreaking ceremony. Watch video.

BACKGROUNDER

A national view of UB 2020

The Aug. 3 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education—the pre-eminent national newspaper of higher education—contains a major feature story on UB, Buffalo and UB 2020. We recommend this thoughtful, comprehensive outsider's look at UB's role as an economic engine in the region and what the Chronicle calls its "bold, and chancy, vision of growth." Read the article.

NEWS FROM UB

UB has direct economic impact - Part I

UB's Center for Industrial Effectiveness gets credit from Kenneth Snyder, president of Hebeler Corp., a custom metal fabricator with manufacturing plants in Tonawanda and Canada, for helping the company go from the "10 worst vendors" list of one of its clients, GE Energy, to receiving a GE Supplier Excellence Award in Compliance. "If UB hadn't been there, I don't know how we would have done it," said Snyder. Read more.

UB has direct economic impact - Part II

Buffalo business owner Lenny L. Johnson, who with a partner and $7,500 built a two-man residential plumbing business into a multimillion-dollar construction management enterprise, has been named Region II Minority Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Johnson is a graduate of two UB Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership programs and is currently enrolled in a third.

Johnson credits the UB programs with getting him to refocus on his business plans. "When my partner and I started, we didn't know business. I was a plumber." Read more.

A great place to work

For the second year in a row, UB was recognized by The Chronicle of Higher Education in its annual "Great Colleges to Work For" survey. Among large institutions, including Cornell, Michigan and Duke, UB drew high marks for best practices and policies in eight recognition categories. Read more.

UB and Buffalo team up for safety in University Heights

Starting Aug. 27, the Buffalo Police Department and University Police will run joint patrols along Main Street in Buffalo on Thursday through Saturday nights. Officers from the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority also will join the patrols. This was one of several new safety initiatives announced July 30 by Buffalo mayor Byron W. Brown and UB president John B. Simpson. UB has purchased Segway Personal Transporters and bicycles for use by Buffalo and UB police officers on patrol. Read more. Watch video.

Creating the future. Ours. Theirs. Yours.