Simpson Makes First Moves

President John B. Simpson is beginning to flex a little presidential muscle.

Since becoming UB's 14th president in January 2004, Simpson has remained largely out of sight, choosing to study the playing field before making his moves.

Such is the case with his reluctance to move forward in the stalled Lee Road construction plan. Simpson said he does not have all of the information he needs to give it his approval just yet.

In the last three weeks, however, Simpson has taken steps to place his stamp on his first semester as president.

Bioinformatics

Simpson has begun to make the first important personnel decisions of his tenure. Senior Vice Provost Bruce Holm has been chosen by Simpson to become the Buffalo Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences' executive director.

Simpson has also helped in restructuring the bioinformatics center, officially increasing the number of faculty from six to nearly 50. The center also will add seven new scientific units to the core bioinformatics program.

"The changes that have been made are to confirm my commitment to biomedical science," said Simpson.

The restructuring is also part of a larger plan for the university to become more closely involved in the greater Buffalo area. Simpson said the center's technology may lead to improvements in Buffalo's economy, but only time will tell.

"We are establishing the conditions that favor the transfer of intellectual property," said Simpson. "Whether or not the discovery will lead to economic advances remains to be seen."

Assessment

Simpson recently instituted a wide-ranging assessment of all departments and schools at UB to help him with the learning process.

"We're assessing where the university is now, what our advantages, opportunities and liabilities are," said Simpson. "We can't go from A to B without knowing where A is."

Interim Provost Robert Genco will head the assessment process.

"The provost, working with the deans and the faculty and staff, has begun the process of assessing our academic enterprise," wrote Simpson in a March 26 memorandum posted on the MyUB Web site. "In concert with this effort, the vice presidents are assessing our current administrative culture and institutional organization, as well as beginning to develop a set of broad institutional objectives and values."

Simpson said the main purpose of the assessment is to shape his "institutional strategy" and help him further develop an "underlying master plan."

While the March 26 memo does not mention the input of students in the assessment process, Simpson said that students will be a vital part of the undertaking.

"Students will be very much involved (in the assessment process)," he pledged.

Genco will be replaced this summer when Simpson chooses from a list of three declared finalists for the permanent provost job, but Simpson said the first stage of the multiple-stage assessment process will be completed while Genco is still in office. The new provost will then take over the rest of the process.

Community Involvement

On March 26, Simpson released a "Memorandum to the University Community" in which he announced the assessment process, began to set forth his vision for an institutional identity, and declared his desire to get involved in societal outreach programs.

Simpson said he wants UB to get involved in the community not just academically, but socially.

"When I say outreach, I mean outreach in terms of faculty and staff volunteerism, outreach in K-12 education, and outreach in the delivery of medical services," said Simpson.

"It is incumbent upon universities in this age to be involved in every aspect of the community," he said.

Though North Campus is several miles from the heart of Buffalo, Simpson said that UB's location does not put it at a disadvantage when it comes to helping the community.

"These decisions were made when I was in junior high school," said Simpson, referring to the choice in the late 1960s to place UB's new campus in Amherst instead of Downtown Buffalo, which many consider a detriment to the development of the city.

"The question shouldn't be, 'What should we have done?'" said Simpson. "The question should be, 'What can we do to ensure that we're not separated from the greater buffalo community.'"

Simpson is also taking steps to deepen his involvement in the UB community.

He has met with SA President-elect Anthony Burgio, whom he called "terrific," and is working towards setting up regular meetings between himself and Burgio to foster a productive relationship for next year.

Simpson said he is confident his leadership style will bring the correct changes, as he feels is the case with his first major presidential decisions.