Generation Magazine

10 questions for the man who traded banter with Stewart and Colbert and lived to tell about it

He’s easily the most energetic and approachable member of UB’s administration, which makes sense since he’s the vice president for Student Affairs. You might know him best as the guy who asks the questions at the Distinguished Speaker Series. Here’s a closer look at the man with the mic.

You’ve been up on stage with a lot of famous people. Who has been your favorite speaker so far?

Dennis Black: Probably two. Conan O’Brien who took the time afterwards to take the backstage crew, people you never see but whose work we all depend on, he took them to Duff’s for chicken wings and beer after the event. George Herbert Walker Bush, president 41, enjoyed talking to people so much on a one-on-one basis he almost didn’t make it to the stage because he was just having conversations with people. He probably didn’t get a chance to do that very often.

Can you recall any big mishaps during the series?

DB: Oh yeah. Katie Couric’s plane got delayed and she landed two minutes before her speech was about to start. Bill Cosby, the weather was terrible, so he rented a car and drove eight hours to get here to deliver his speech. He got out of his car in a sweatshirt and someone said “we have a dressing room over here, Mr. Cosby, if you’d like to change.” Mr. Cosby is a comedian but wasn’t feeling very funny and he said “this is what you get.”

With UB 2020, the university is going through a lot of change. What does the future hold for UB?

DB: It sounds like a TV commercial – bigger, better and bolder. Bigger, to do more of what we’re trying to do. Better, to do it better. Bolder, to not do things like we did in the ’40s, ’50s. ’60s or ’70s, but to do them like they should be done in the future.

Last semester, UB saw some pretty crazy things. There was a kid living in the woods for a while. Did you do anything crazy when you were in college?

DB: Hmmm… did I do anything crazy when I was in college? The answer to the question is yes… *silence*

I guess we’ll leave it at that… When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

DB: I thought that I was either going to be a newspaper editor or a television news producer. I thought I was going to be in the news, media, information side of the world. As a kid, I was odd. I read three newspapers a day and watched the evening news. As an adult, my kids thing I’m odd because I still read three papers that are still printed on actual paper a day and TiVo the evening news.

If you could trade places with someone for one day, who would it be?

DB: I think I’d like to be a kindergarten teacher for a day. I think I’d like to work with little people before they’re molded by us, when they’re just themselves. They’re their own personalities. They ask questions not because they’re trying to make a point, but because they want to learn.

What sort of music do you like?

DB: I’ve got an odd iPod – a little bit of everything on it. So there’s probably James Taylor, there’s a lot of Broadway material that’s on there. And then my kids come home for their vacations and they take over my Nano and for the next month or two I’m trying to figure out what it is that they put on there but it’s all good.

We have three more, very brief questions for you. How much more snow are we going to get this winter?

DB: Oh. It has not yet begun to snow.

Where are the best wings in Buffalo?

DB: Best wings in Buffalo? I’d be a Duff’s guy.

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

DB: I’m sorry? I don’t understand the question.

That’s the best answer you could possibly have given. Thanks.

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