Guests from the community were welcomed to UB's Center for the Arts with champagne and blue feather scarves this past Saturday night as part of the second annual Scholarship Gala.
The formal "blue tie" event raised $190,000 (after event expenses) for scholarship money - about $89,000 more than the amount received last year through online silent and live auctions.
According to UB President John B. Simpson, a portion of the money raised will go to the Buffalo Public Schools' scholarship program in order to invite Buffalo natives to stay in the area and attend UB.
Suzanne Chamberlain, event coordinator and senior director for Development Services, explained that the Gala raises funds for scholarships and awareness in the community.
"The purpose is two-fold: one to raise money for the scholarships...and the other is to raise awareness among the community and business leaders that scholarships are an important thing," she said.
Simpson was impressed with the Gala's turnout and honed in on the sense of community that emanated throughout the CFA.
"It turned out much, much better than I might have expected, and much better than the organizers thought it would," Simpson said in a speech after the auction. "What this really shows is the interest that the community has. This is a remarkable turnout - you can feel the spirit in the room and the support we got for simply raising money for scholarships."
Winners of the silent auction received a variety of items donated by community members and local companies including a weekend getaway to Jamaica, a CD jukebox and a large variety of paintings.
Richard Lynch, a member of the Board of Directors for UB, will be taking a trip to Aruba thanks to his wife.
After enjoying a dinner of pan-fried crab cakes, roasted beef tenderloin, and halibut, with red and white wine, as well as vegetarian strudel, the crowd was entertained by a live auction hosted by professional auctioneer Cash Cunningham.
Cunningham's skilled and fast-paced auctioning allowed many items to sell over their retail value.
A prime parking space on campus, valued at $100 sold for $600. A visit to New York City, including four tickets to attend Late Night with Conan O'Brien, tickets to the New York Ballet with a behind-the-scenes tour, a dinner out on the town and a one hour tour of Grand Central Station valued at $1,950 sold for $2,200.
For Aleksandra Petrova, a freshman business administration major and volunteer at the event, the Gala was a good chance to meet the people who contribute to sponsoring student scholarships, including her own.
"(These) people basically pay for the scholarships, so you get to know the people who are donating for your scholarship," Petrova said.
Those who attended the Gala were presented with an exhibit showcasing student projects, accented by the sounds of live a capella performances by UB's Royal Pitches and Buffalo Chips.
"The different colleges in the University, or schools, have their various exhibits about their school as sort of a display to all the guests here to show what else is happening around UB so they're showing their various areas of expertise," said Katie Menkee, assistant production manager for the Center for the Arts.
In the future, Simpson is confident that the Gala can grow but also wants to maintain its status as a community event.
"I think we could grow it a lot more. This one turned out being about twice the size of last year in terms of money raised but with the same number of people," Simpson said. "I think there's a lot of potential if we wanted to grow, but also I want this to be a special party for the community, as well."
To Simpson, this sense of camaraderie between the University and the community is important and is facilitated by events like the Scholarship Gala.
"To me, the most remarkable thing is the spirit and the support."
