UB Faculty Experts

EXPERT CONTACT : Elayne Rapping, PhD Professor of American Studies University at Buffalo erapping@gmail.com

“Sesame Street,” the PBS staple that has entertained millions of children for the past four decades, brought more than letters and numbers to television each morning. It was the first children’s television show to use different races and cultures to teach America’s children, according to Rapping, a widely quoted pop-culture expert.

EXPERT CONTACT : Steven L Dubovsky, M.D. Professor and Chair Department of Psychiatry University at Buffalo 716-898-5940 Dubovsky@Buffalo.edu

"It is pointless, and even harmful to search for the motivations of mass killers," says Dubovsky, who also is president-elect of ProtectNY, an academic consortium that studies the prevention and management of disasters. "They kill because they can.They don't kill because of political or religious beliefs, or because they feel hurt or disenfranchised, and they certainly do not kill because they are mentally ill.  There are no psychiatric causes of mass murder. There are no social causes of mass murder. The causes are deviant individuals who do not feel bound by human empathy or any other attachment to the human race.

"Experience with similar tragedies and with the massive intervention following the World Trade Center attacks have taught us how people react to civilian trauma and how to help the survivors," says Dubovsky, who studied the psychological impact of the Columbine murders. We know that a single debriefing does not prevent later problems and in some cases makes things worse. On the other hand, established structured therapies can treat acute distress and prevent chronic problems such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

 "The more we can draw on and lean on friends and  loved ones, and the more we can increase our sense of control over what comes next, the better we will weather the storm."

Faizan Haq, a University at Buffalo lecturer, who teaches courses in Islamic cultural history, can discuss the possibility of a backlash in response to the mass shootings at Fort Hood in Texas.

EXPERT CONTACT : Timothy F. Murphy, MD Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Microbiology School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Senior Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research University at Buffalo 716-881-8010 Murphyt@buffalo.edu

"People should feel comfortable being immunized against H1N1," states UB’s Timothy F. Murphy, specialist in infectious disease and vaccine development, "because it has been developed and tested carefully.  Flu vaccines have included an H1N1 component since the late 1970s. It would have been included in this year’s flu shot, but the timing was off: This year’s seasonal flu vaccine was already in development when the current H1N1 strain was identified. The vaccine is prepared in exactly the same way as seasonal flu vaccine and has been tested as vigorously in the same number of people.

EXPERT CONTACT :  Jerry M. Newman, PhD SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Chair, Department of Organization and Human Resources University at Buffalo School of Management 716-316-0770

“You can't fool Mother Nature or her sister ‘free market economy,’” says Newman, co-author of “Compensation,” the leading book in the field. “People leave jobs in hoards when the dollars are considerably below market level.”

EXPERT CONTACT :  Kenneth Kim, PhD Associate Professor of Finance and Managerial Economics University at Buffalo School of Management 414-708-5526

 “The Obama administration’s plan to cut CEO pay is a horrible idea,” says Kim. “It’s shortsighted because eventually we’ll have suboptimal people running our largest and most important firms.” Kim contends that these executives deserve their pay. “They created billions of dollars of wealth for this country." 

According to Kim, one of the main reasons our country is so wealthy compared to others is because of our free market system. He maintains that controlling pay is not the right regulation. “It might limit risk taking,” he says, “but it will also mitigate growth.”

EXPERT CONTACT : Robin Lally, PhD Research Assistant Professor University at Buffalo School of Nursing 716-829-2137 rmlally@buffalo.edu

Lally can discuss how women make choices about breast cancer treatment.  Her latest research shows that when women feel empowered to make choices about treatment options they feel more optimistic about their chances for survival. 

EXPERT CONTACT : Ruqaiijah A. Yearby Associate Professor of Law University at Buffalo Law School 716-645-3683  312-401-5503

Tort law reform -- legislation aimed to reduce medical malpractice lawsuits -- will not cut medical costs and improve health care unless the government addresses the rise of medical errors victimizing a variety of patients, University at Buffalo Law School Professor Ruqaiijah Yearby says.

It is a fatal flaw that the cuttent health care debate has centered on cost and access without addresssing the problem of quality," Yearby says. "Tort reform will not cut costs until medical errors are addressed, which will substantially reduce medical malpractice suits." 

EXPERT CONTACT : Suzanne Miller Chair, Department of Learning and Instruction UB Graduate School of Education 716-645-4071 smiller@buffalo.edu

It will take more than a longer school year to address the problems of the American education crisis, says UB's Suzanne Miller, a national expert in learning and instruction and a former secondary school English teacher. Miller says just spending more time in class and cutting down summer vacation -- a recent proposal made by President Obama -- won't help bridge the achievement gap between American students and others used to more rigorous curriculums.

EXPERT CONTACT : Tom Ulbrich Executive Director Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership UB School of Management (716) 885-5715

Ulbrich can discuss how the financial situation is affecting small businesses locally. UB’s Center for Entrepreneurial leadership each year helps dozens of local small businesses grow and refine their business plan.