UB’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) dean search committee named Jeffrey Grabill CAS dean on March 13. He will officially assume the role Aug. 1, replacing Robin Schulze, who served as dean for eight years.
CAS is UB’s largest college and academic unit, overseeing 30 departments and 16 academic programs that span from the humanities to the natural sciences.
“The college is exceptional in its depth and breadth, and it is an honor to join as a colleague and partner in the important work we will do together,” Grabill said.
Grabill, in an hour-long public forum on Feb. 11, presented his experiences as deputy chancellor at the University of Leeds and goals as an aspiring dean prioritizing collaborations across CAS departments and improving undergraduate engagement in experiential learning.
Additionally, incorporating Empire AI — a consortium of public and private institutions working on artificial intelligence development — into the CAS curriculum is one of the main items on Grabill’s agenda.
“The investments of Empire AI in the state and at the university provide far more than computing power,” Grabill said in a statement emailed to The Spectrum. “They are an opportunity for academics and students across the arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences to explore possibilities and engage the challenges of the moment.”
Amy Aracena is the senior opinion editor and can be reached at amy.aracena@ubspectrum.com
Amy Aracena is the senior opinions editor at The Spectrum. She enjoys reading slow-burn romance novels and drinking iced chai lattes whenever she can.
She can be found at @amyaracenaa on Instagram and @aaracena on TikTok.
Photo: EgorovaSvetlana / Wikimedia Commons
