On Friday, President Satish Tripathi delivered his state of the university address at the Center for the Arts.
In his speech, Tripathi highlighted his vision of UB 2020 and the expansion of the university. He explained what goals have already been achieved and what still needs to be done on the pathway to a bigger, more academically successful university.
In order to achieve this vision, Tripathi emphasized the importance of growth - growth in faculty across all disciplines, growth in educational environment, growth in infrastructure and, most importantly, growing together as a community.
"He talked about thinking of UB as a whole," said Paras Prasad, a distinguished professor in chemistry, electrical engineering, medicine and physics. "I think that is a very important point and we can really distinguish ourselves in the nation by being aggressive and combining our strengths in different academic units to advance to new levels [of success]."
Tripathi also spoke about UB's budget and current financial state and said it's on the right track to improvement.
"After four years that brought approximately $80 million in cuts, the budget is in a good place and we are beginning to build again," Tripathi said. "Because of our hard work, we aren't just patching up. We are in the position to accelerate our progress."
Tripathi stressed the importance faculty has on the overall development of the institution. He said a larger and more prominent faculty would have a drastic effect on students academically.
The president set a five-year goal to increase the faculty by 250 people in various fields of study.
He also plans to increase the number of endowed positions, which is already in effect. The administration created two endowment funds focused on the arts, humanities and social sciences. These funds will support up to five new endowed faculty chairs and over $1 million in scholarships in those fields.
Tripathi believes this is the key to helping UB attract more distinguished faculty members, which will in turn attract higher caliber students.
He plans to improve the educational environment at UB by continuing to improve research prowess, which will attract more ambitious students.
UB has the "opportunity and obligation to lead on an even greater scale [in research,]" he said.
Strengthening the Academies is essential, according to Tripathi. The Entrepreneurship Academy was launched this fall and the Sustainability Academy is scheduled to open next fall. He said in addition to the University Honors College, discovery seminars and center for undergraduate research and creative activity, these academies contribute to fostering a new environment.
Tripathi touched on the university's plans to make education more affordable for students.
"Affordability remains an important issue we must address as part of our commitment to expanding opportunities for educational excellence," Tripathi said.
Bruce Pitman, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, believed Tripathi should have stressed student finances more than he did.
"He glossed over it quickly, but the university has made a commitment to help students from the financial aid side," Pitman said. "We need to keep the institution affordable for students. I think that is a useful message to ensure."
Tripathi discussed improvements to UB that already show his vision of UB 2020 in effect, like the opening of Greiner Residence Hall, Davis Hall, Kapoor Hall and the Solar Strand.
The UB community's support and shared vision for the future made these accomplishments possible, according to Tripathi.
"This is how I see the path in front of us - our biggest opportunity is to think in new ways," Tripathi said. "At UB, we excel at thinking and partnering across disciplines. Now we need to go a step beyond that and we need to think holistically as one university about our priorities and our impact. We need to focus on what unites us under common purpose and we need to consider what makes us truly distinctive nationally and globally."
Daniel Ovadia, a senior in the School of Management and the student representative for the University Council, believed Tripathi's speech was a good summary of what is happening but didn't offer any new information.
"None of the information that is provided at this type of speech is generally new, but I thought it did a good job of capturing a lot of the major things that are going on, so I guess it was very relevant," Ovadia said.
Peter Grassi, a senior political science major and the director of Student Affairs, disagreed with Ovadia. He found the speech inspiring and informative.
"I didn't know that improvements were being done not only on North Campus but South Campus and downtown," Grassi said. "I wasn't aware of the magnitude of gross in the Undergraduate Academies. I had no idea that the administration is being so thorough in their efforts to improve the school and doing it in such a diverse way."
Ovadia believed the student turnout was underwhelming and hopes more students will take advantage of events like this in the future. He is happy the university provides outlets, like the president's address, for students to get information.
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