Alumni, Faculty Honored at Annual Awards

By Cathy Wilde

BUFFALO -- Nearly 400 people attended the 63nd Annual School of Management Awards Banquet in October, honoring Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year Michael W. Cropp, M.D., president and CEO of Independent Health.

In addition, achievement awards were presented to Mary Collins Sanborn, CEL ’98, president and CEO of Collins Advisors LLC, for entrepreneurship; James P. Lederer ’82, MBA ’96, executive vice president of Qualcomm Inc., for industry leadership in mobile technology; Erin K. O’Brien, MBA ’00, director of business relationship management at HealthNow New York, for service to the school; Keith M. Stolzenburg ’81, MBA ’87, audit partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, for service to the Western New York community; and Arun K. Jain, Samuel P. Capen Professor of Marketing Research in the UB School of Management, for alumni engagement.

Cropp was selected as Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year by a vote of past honorees and the board of directors of the alumni association, who cited his collaborative leadership and community-minded approach to improving the health of people in Western New York.

In addition to his medical education and training, Cropp earned an Executive MBA from the UB School of Management in 2003.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.