The Daily Bulletin Archive

Joe Ball, associate director of Campus Services and Facilities, received the 2007 Outstanding Service Award from the New York State Disability Services Council for his support of students, faculty, and staff with disabilities. The award was presented at the council’s annual meeting in Canandaigua, New York, on June 21.

Campus Access Award nominees must be non-disability-services employees, departments, or alumni on a SUNY campus who promote or provide outstanding access to the campus’s disabled community.

Ball, who has worked at Buffalo State for more than 30 years, has developed a reputation for going above and beyond his duties to accommodate the special needs of disabled Buffalo State students, faculty and staff.

“If a student has a problem, such as an automatic door not opening or a walkway not being cleared sufficiently in the winter, Joe has been known to give students his personal cell phone number so he may be reached quickly when needed,” said director of Disability Services Marianne Savino, who nominated Ball for the award. “Some students even give Joe their schedules so he can prioritize plowing on heavier snow days.”

Ball, who noted that the honor would not be possible without the help of his staff, started his career at Buffalo State in 1976 as a university police officer, a position he held until 1981. Starting in 1981, he served as assistant to the director of the Physical Plant before assuming his current position in 1998. Ball also sits on Buffalo State’s ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Committee.