Donor Spotlight

Professor Robert MacDonald, UB Alumnus, leaves significant gift to support collections related to the Iberian Peninsula

Dr. Robert A. MacDonald, who passed away in 2006, donated a portion of his estate to the University at Buffalo Libraries to support the acquisition of research materials related to Spain and Portugal. He graduated magna cum laude from the University at Buffalo in 1948 with a degree in Romance Languages. His subsequent Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Spanish were earned at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. MacDonald joined the faculty of the University of Richmond in 1955, was a former chairman of the Modern Foreign Languages Department, and taught there until his retirement in 1995. The Professor Robert MacDonald Endowment has been established to support, in perpetuity, the acquisition of books as well as materials in other formats, such as digital resources, relating to Spain and Portugal. H. Austin Booth, Director of Collections for the UB Libraries, expresses appreciation for “Professor MacDonald’s significant contribution to the lasting legacy of the University Libraries research collections. His gift will allow us to enhance our Iberian-related materials.”

Dr. MacDonald’s sister, Joyce Spear, tells us that her brother’s generosity to the University at Buffalo and its Libraries developed from his gratitude for the “University scholarship which allowed him to pursue an academic career. …He valued the knowledge, advice, and support of faculty and libraries. Many friendships with classmates were maintained throughout his life.”

Medieval Spanish law was the focus of Dr. MacDonald’s intense scholarship and research. His books relate to the codification of laws initiated by the 11th century Spanish king, Alfonso el Sabio. Two of his books are:

• Especulo: texto juridico atribuido al rey de Castilla don Alfonso X, el Sabio. Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1990.
• Libro de las tahurerias: a special code of law, concerning gambling, drawn up by Maestro Roldan at the command of Alfonso X of Castile. Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1995.

He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies, and Cultural Laureate of Virginia in Linguistics. Through his leadership in the Foreign Language Association of Virginia, he was influential in establishing a more unified approach to the study of foreign languages in the state, and was the first recipient of the Association’s Distinguished Service Award.

Born in Salamanca, NY, Professor MacDonald served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and in Army Military Intelligence stationed in Stuttgart, Germany. He became and avid traveler, with many research trips to the Iberian Peninsula and also to Sweden and Scotland to chart his family genealogy. His modest lifestyle in Richmond, Virginia included his love of opera, constant gatherings with friends, family, and guests, and he was a devoted Virginia sports fan. His pet cats, Juana Alvarez Gato and Tiger Thomas, were constant companions.

Moti Lal Rustgi Papers and Endowment

The professional papers of Moti Lal Rustgi, full Professor of Physics, were donated to the University Archives in 2003. Recently, Professor Rustgi's sons, Dr. Anil K. Rustgi, M.D., and Dr. Vinod K. Rustgi, M.D., generously established an endowment to support the processing, organization, and preservation of their father's papers and those of other physicists at the University at Buffalo. Professor Rustgi's area of research interest included nuclear and atomic physics, and medical physics. His expertise in photodisintegration theory focused on the nucleus of the element deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen that has twice the mass of ordinary hydrogen atoms. One of his grants, awarded by NASA in the mid 1980s, investigated ways radiation in space affects synthetic materials that could be used in space structures.

Mail Art

The UB Poetry Collection recently received a significant collection of mail art from "BARON," a mail artist who resides in Cleveland, Ohio. Like many mail artists, BARON prefers to be known simply by his moniker, and he donated his vast collection to the Poetry Collection because of its growing reputation for collecting, preserving, and curating mail art and other ephemera representative of popular and underground culture. Mail art, also termed "Network Art" or "Correspondence Art," circumvents established art conventions and embraces the U.S. Postal Service as its communication medium. Mail artists utilize such techniques and conventions as rubber stamps, collage, visual and concrete poetry, "artistamps," handmade papers and copy art. The UB Poetry Collection and the Educational Technology Center are presently developing a digital collection of mail art representative of our holdings, which will be offered via the UB digit platform.

Kerry Grant donates his collection of Pan-American Exposition print memorabilia

Dr. Kerry S. Grant, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Affairs, recently donated his unique collection of Pan-American memorabilia to the University Archives. Following the publication of his book, The Rainbow City: Celebrating Light, Color, and Architecture at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, 1901 , and the city-wide centennial celebrations throughout 2001, Dr. Grant wanted to keep the collection at the University where it can become an "expression of the University's association and engagement with the City of Buffalo." The collection documents the importance of "color" at the Exposition and includes many guidebooks, view books, books of photographs, maps and postcards, as well as magazines and newspapers. The Libraries look forward to using digital technologies to make selected unique or fragile items in the collection widely available.