Love for UB inspires bequest

Technology.  Basketball.  Judith Adams-Volpe’s interests in more than books might put to rest the stereotype of the bookish librarian. She is director of university and external relations for UB’s Arts & Sciences Libraries. 

Technology is Volpe’s professional and scholarly focus.  As a librarian, she’s applied technology to create better and more accessible library services for users.  As a scholar, she’s interested in the impact of technology on society and culture.  Her 1990 book The American Amusement Park Industry a History of Technology and Thrills (Twayne, New York), for instance, examines the use of technology in amusement parks, tracing technological changes from the Coney Island era to today.

A former collegiate basketball player, Volpe began taking in UB games shortly after she arrived in 1989. Volpe calls her interest in UB sports “one of the greatest joys of being here. I am so impressed by the level of excellence that UB’s student athletes have to achieve. More than 50 percent are scholar-athletes with GPAs over 3.0.”

Volpe’s strong civic sense and sense of community at UB have prompted her to make bequests to the school’s libraries and athletics program.  She says that UB has offered her professional opportunities she never expected, such as major grant projects with other SUNY institutions and seats on the SUNY-wide and UB faculty senates.  Volpe’s gifts will support student access to information in libraries and student athletic careers.  She has also funded a student athletic leadership award, which she hopes will bring prestige to deserving athletes.