Pikas inducted into Veterans Honor Society

Bohdan Pikas, professor of marketing, was inducted as an honorary inductee into the SALUTE honor society, Niagara University chapter, at a ceremony held April 29.

SALUTE is a society of veterans who have excelled in their academic career and maintained the highest standards as students, faculty or staff.

Pikas enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1961, where he rapidly rose through the ranks to achieve the rank of E-5. He served in many capacities, most notably as cavalry scout. His military service after discharge continued with service in the Second Company Governor's Horse Guard of the Connecticut militia. Concurrently, he achieved an undergraduate degree, a graduate degree and joined the business faculty of Niagara University in 1968.

Currently, he is a life member of the Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion Post 1346 of Grand Island, where he serves as the service officer and scholarship chairman. As scholarship chairman, his duties include choosing worthy high school students to receive a monetary scholarship. Preference is given to children of military affiliated families.

As service officer, his duties are to provide any and all manner of assistance to current and returning veterans. For example, his work involves assisting veterans with the application process for Veterans Administration disability benefits, providing information, referrals and resources on education, death benefits and many other topics. For his work on behalf of the community and its veterans, Pikas was chosen as Legionnaire of the Year in 2013.

Pikas is on the board of directors of the Buffalo Institute for Medical Research affiliated with the Buffalo VA hospital. Buffalo Institute for Medical Research board members finance and control the conduct of medical research done by scientists in the VA research facility connected to the VA hospital in Buffalo.

The types of medical research done in the facility include, but are not limited to, traumatic brain injuries, eye retinal detachments, macular eye degeneration and lung diseases. These types of research are very much in tune with the types of injuries experienced by past and current veterans.

Niagara University professor Bo Pikas was recently inducted into SALUTE, the Veterans honor society. Pikas is a member of the American Legion Post 1346, Grand Island. Pictured, he was inducted by Karl Hinterberger, assistant coordinator of Veteran Services, Niagara University.