In recognition of exceptional faculty merit, the State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees designates leading State University faculty members as Distinguished Professors. The SUNY Distinguished Professor is the highest academic rank in the SUNY system. 

The designation—a rank above full professor—denotes exceptional contribution in an academic field through publications, national and international research presentations, research findings and the training of students. It has three co-equal designations: distinguished professor, distinguished service professor and distinguished teaching professor.

The SUNY Distinguished Professorship is conferred upon faculty having achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished reputation within the individual’s chosen field through significant contributions to the research and scholarship, or through artistic performance or achievement in the fine and performing arts.

• Isaac Ehrlich (2006) - Professor of Finance and Managerial Economics

The SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professorship is conferred upon instructional faculty for outstanding teaching competence at the graduate, undergraduate, or professional levels.  Teaching mastery is to be consistently demonstrated over multiple years at the institution where the Distinguished Teaching Professorship is bestowed.

• Ronald J. Huefner (1993)
• Jerry M. Newman (1999)

The SUNY Distinguished Service Professorship is conferred upon instructional faculty having achieved a distinguished reputation for service not only to the campus and the University, but also to the community, the State of New York or even the nation, by sustained effort in the application of intellectual skills drawing from the candidate’s scholarly research interests to issues of public concern.  It is bestowed on faculty in any of the disciplines or fields of study.

• H. Raghav Rao (2007) - Professor of Management Science and Systems

The Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching honors those who consistently have demonstrated superb teaching at the undergraduate, graduate or professional level.

• Charles D. Lindsey (2012)
• Kenneth A. Kim (2008)
• Lewis Mandell (2007)
• Natalie C. Simpson (2002)
• Arlene M. Hibschweiler (1998)
• Frank J. Krzystofiak (1988)
• Philip R. Perry (1987)
• Jerry M. Newman (1982)
• Ronald J. Huefner (1977)

The Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities recognizes the work of those who engage actively in scholarly and creative pursuit beyond their teaching responsibilities.

• H. Raghav Rao (2007) 

The UB Distinguished Professor—not to be confused with the SUNY Distinguished Professor designation, a rank above that of full professor awarded by the SUNY trustees—designation by the Office of the Provost to recognize full professors who have achieved true distinction and are leaders in their fields.

• Nallan Suresh (2008) - Professor of Operations Management and Strategy
• Isaac Ehrlich (2002) - Melvin H. Baker Professor of American Enterprise
• Stanley Zionts (2002) - Alumni Professor of Decision Support Systems

The Exceptional Scholar Award for Sustained Achievement was created by the University at Buffalo in 2002 to honor outstanding professional achievement that has been focused on a particular body of work over a number of years. This award was created to recognize an unprecedented accomplishment in a senior scholar's career, distinguishing a body of work of enduring importance that has gone beyond the norm in a particular field of study.

• Paul Tesluk (2014) - Donald S. Carmichael Professor of Organizational Behavior
• Debabrata (Debu) Talukdar (2012) - Professor of Marketing
• G. Lawrence Sanders (2007) - Professor of Management Science and Systems
• Kee Chung (2006) - Professor of Finance and Managerial Economics
• Ramaswamy Ramesh (2005) - Professor of Management Science and Systems
• Winston T. Lin (2004) - Professor of Operations Management and Strategy
• Nallan Suresh (2003) - Professor of Operations Management and Strategy

Introduced in 2002, the University at Buffalo's Exceptional Scholar Award for Young Investigators celebrates a recent superior achievement of a scholar in his/her field of study. Such an achievement will have distinguished the recipient as an up-and-coming scholar, as well as earned the individual acclaim for his/her work, which could be a published work or other scholastic or artistic endeavor

• Sanjukta Das Smith (2012) - Assistant Professor of Management Science and Systems
• Charles Lindsey (2011) - Assistant Professor of Marketing
• Darren Treadway (2008) - Associate Professor of Organization and Human Resources
• Tony Tong (2007) - Assistant Professor of Operations Management and Strategy
• Debabrata (Debu) Talukdar (2002) - Assistant Professor of Marketing

Established to honor exceptional educational pedagogy, UB's Award for Teaching Innovation was created in 2003 to recognize faculty who have contributed significantly to engaging students with new methods and approaches to teaching. The award is given to faculty members whose innovative teaching methods have a demonstrable effect on enhancing student learning-outcomes.

• Joseph Salamone (2009) - Associate Professor of Organization and Human Resouces (retired)