UB celebrates six faculty members at Mentoring Awards Breakfast

UB honored six faculty members at the University Club on March 12 during the 2025 UB Mentoring Awards Breakfast, an event that recognizes faculty for their support and development of students through their mentoring activities.

The reception was hosted by Graham Hammill, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School, and Ann Bisantz, dean of undergraduate education.

The awards and the winners:

Meyerson Mentoring Award
The President Emeritus and Mrs. Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring honors faculty members who provide the guidance and support needed to help undergraduate students develop the skills necessary for research, creativity, critical thinking and innovation. The award was established in spring 2011 through a generous gift by the late President Emeritus Martin Meyerson, who served as UB’s 10th president, and his wife, Margy Ellen. The award recipients are chosen by a selection committee comprised of past award recipients and undergraduate student representatives. It’s considered UB’s highest honor for undergraduate mentoring.

Recipients for 2025:

• Joan Baizer, professor, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Supporters of Baizer’s nomination cited her many years of generous time and thought to provide excellent exposure of many undergraduates to basic research in neuroscience.

“Dr. Baizer is a truly inspiring professor and mentor both in the lecture hall and the lab,” a senior neuroscience student wrote in their nomination letter. “Dr. Baizer has inspired me to broaden my horizons and has sparked a deep interest in neurology and neuroscience that I would have never gained had I not met her.”

• Omer Gokcumen, professor, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences. Gokcumen’s nominators noted how he follows the same path as Meyerson in creating collaborations with students while supporting their futures.

“Dr. Gokcumen’s patience in working with both graduate and undergraduate students simultaneously, while providing each of us with the attention and support needed to be successful, is truly commendable,” a former student wrote about Gokcumen, who was also a recipient of UB’s Distinguished Postdoc Mentor Award in 2019.

• Kenneth Joseph, associate professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Joseph’s nominators noted his history of demonstrating outstanding passion, dedication and extraordinary achievements in all facets of undergraduate mentoring activities.

“Dr. Joseph demonstrated an unwavering commitment to my development as a researcher and my future aspirations of pursuing a PhD,” a former student wrote. “Despite my lack of formal research experience, Dr. Joseph believed in my potential and immediately provided me with opportunities to engage in meaningful research.”

Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award
The Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award is presented by the Graduate School to recognize UB faculty for their support and development of graduate students through their mentoring activities. Established in 2012, the award is given annually to members of the graduate faculty who have demonstrated truly outstanding and sustained support and development of graduate students from course completion through research and subsequent career placement.

Recipients are:

• John Panepinto, professor and senior associate dean for biomedical education, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Panepinto’s nominators praised his ability to mentor the whole student and tailor his mentorship style to the needs and career goals of each individual.

“Dr. Panepinto is a fearless leader and a compassionate mentor,” a former student wrote. “His tireless advocacy for diversity, equity and inclusion in mentoring is evident through his active championing of individuals from underrepresented backgrounds and his leadership in initiatives aimed at promoting a more inclusive academic community.”

• Barry Smith, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Julian Park Chair, Department of Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences. Smith’s nominators cited how his collaborative research approach provides students with the ability to contribute to the development of the field in real time: publishing and presenting live projects and hosting funded projects of their own.

“[Smith’s] mentees are, across the board, deeply appreciative of his personal guidance, his generosity, and his professional support,” a former student wrote in their nomination letter. “He is a model mentor, one whom many of us strive to emulate as we now offer our own mentorship. Many of us, without exaggeration, owe our career success to him.”

Distinguished Postdoc Mentor Award
The Distinguished Postdoc Mentor Award is presented to faculty members who excel in the mentoring of postdoctoral scholars and serve as advocates, advisers and positive role models during direct training and, most often, in the following years. The award was established by the Office of Postdoctoral Scholars in 2009.

Chelsie Armbruster, associate professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is the recipient of this year’s award. Armbruster’s nominators noted that she always makes time and resources available for those who need them.

“Her care and enthusiasm for my science and myself as a person cannot be understated,” one of Armbruster’s postdoctoral scholars wrote. “Without Dr. Armbruster’s enthusiasm and support, I would not have been able to submit a first-author publication within my first year in a new field.”