Dr. Vince Buonaccorsi could whistle two notes at the same time. He grew massive award-winning pumpkins, played pranks on his colleagues, and doted on his family. He inspired a generation of Juniata student researchers to explore the natural world and peel back its mysteries. The beloved Dr. B had an immense and infectious curiosity that permeated his classrooms and sloshed into the halls of the von Liebig Center for Science. His patient, persistent guiding hand pushed his students to see the possibilities in overwhelming complexity and showed them how to turn those possibilities into new knowledge. Trained as a biologist but with the soul of a philosopher, Dr. B worked tirelessly to help all Juniata students have a rich, liberal arts research experience. And when those students succeeded he celebrated their successes like a proud parent. In Dr. B's 21 years at Juniata, he worked closely with students through mentored research which led to over 50 student co-authors on close to 50 peer-reviewed publications with over 1,000 citations. In that same time, he also helped raise $1,612,685.75 in grant money to support research and programs at Juniata.
In his memory, friends and family are coming together to establish the Buonaccorsi Memorial Research Endowment. This fund will provide research opportunities for Juniata students and faculty. The fund is intended to aid a student and/or faculty member pursuing scholarly research in any field by naming a Buonaccorsi Scholar annually.
If you would like more information on making a multi-year pledge or are a Juniata employee and wish to utilize payroll deduction, please contact Greta Hall, Director of Annual Giving, at 814-641-3115, or hallg@juniata.edu.