The University at Buffalo (UB) invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for the position of dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). A member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), the flagship and the largest and most comprehensive public research university in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, UB is an internationally renowned center for academic excellence. The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most diverse academic unit on campus, delivering the majority of UB’s undergraduate credit hours and graduating approximately one-third of UB’s doctoral students per year. CAS boasts world-class faculty, outstanding students, and a rich history of excellence and innovation in the arts and humanities, natural sciences and mathematics, and social sciences.
The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences is a member of the university’s senior leadership team, working with the university’s president, provost, other deans and senior leaders to advance the university’s mission of excellence and impact in research, teaching, and engagement. As the chief academic and administrative officer of the college, the dean reports to the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and is responsible for providing overall leadership of the college to promote academic excellence, foster an inclusive environment, and advance its national and international prominence in research, education, and engagement activities.
UB seeks an accomplished scholar, educator, visionary leader, and creative problem solver with a strong commitment to liberal arts education and research and the ability to advocate across the arts, humanities, sciences, mathematics, and social sciences. The ideal candidate will be an individual of integrity, an intellectual driver, a champion for student learning and achievement, an advocate for a diverse faculty and student body, a facilitator of interdisciplinary work within the college and across the university, an energetic and engaged partner in building and enhancing relationships with the college’s many constituents and the larger community, and a skilled administrator.
The dean should have substantial experience in a distinguished academic or comparable setting and the ability to formulate and articulate a shared vision across disciplines for the college, persuade a wide range of audiences of its value, and engage stakeholders in its implementation. The dean will have significant academic credentials, including a record of distinguished research, scholarly and/or creative accomplishment and excellence in teaching and service appropriate to an appointment at the rank of full professor in the arts, humanities, sciences, mathematics or social sciences at a research university.
In addition, candidates should demonstrate significant capacity for and a clear vision for progress in the following areas:
Applications and nominations should be submitted as indicated at the end of this profile.
The successful dean will be prepared to address the following opportunities and challenges that are central to the college’s future success:
The dean must have an understanding of and respect for the diversity of disciplines within the college, including an awareness of how benchmarks, challenges and opportunities vary across the arts and sciences.
As the largest academic unit and heart of the liberal arts on campus, the College of Arts and Sciences is a key contributor to UB’s Top 25 aspiration. The dean will work to advance the college’s and its departments’ national reputation and strength in alignment with UB’s institutional goals. This includes fostering a culture of excellence related to academic productivity and promoting and facilitating increased levels of external funding that will extend the portfolio and impact of faculty research, creative and engagement activities. In addition, the dean will enhance the impact of faculty contributions by encouraging faculty to seek prestigious grants, fellowships, awards and honors, and developing strategies to support and increase national and international recognition. The dean will actively pursue new internal and external partnerships in support of CAS scholarship and activities, and work with faculty to identify additional opportunities. At the same time, the dean will continue to build out and improve college infrastructure and strategically invest relevant resources to promote faculty productivity and success.
The dean is responsible for the recruitment, appointment, promotion and tenure of an outstanding, diverse and productive faculty in the college. The dean will seek creative ways to maximize college, university and SUNY resources to recruit and retain faculty and support faculty activities and development. This includes resources through UB’s Advancing Top 25: Faculty Hiring initiative to grow our faculty base and amplify our impact on the world.
As an academic and administrative leader, the dean must provide creative, collaborative and inspiring leadership in the ongoing support and development of all faculty members in their roles of teaching, research, and service. The dean will invest in promising new faculty, enable the promotion and advancement of faculty, ensure the integrity and clarity of tenure and promotion processes, and provide incentives and encouragement to retain distinguished scholars.
The dean provides leadership to the college’s varied educational programs, maintaining the high caliber of those programs while exploring opportunities for curricular change and innovation. The dean will work with faculty to develop processes to continually evaluate programs to ensure they instill students with the knowledge and skills necessary for future success.
The dean will have a broad understanding of the liberal arts and of the distinctive issues currently faced by the arts and humanities, social sciences, mathematics, and natural sciences at public research universities. This leader must be creative, flexible, innovative, and willing to meet these challenges with new ideas and optimism. This includes finding ways to increase and leverage resources to consistently optimize enrollment growth, grow in high demand areas, and work with faculty to develop programs and experiences that represent unique and distinctive areas of excellence within and beyond UB’s general education program.
The dean will lead initiatives to develop new, innovative and distinctive academic programs, as appropriate. This includes increasing experiential learning, interprofessional, and international opportunities; developing interdisciplinary programs with other units on campus; and launching innovative programs that may expand beyond existing academic structures.
The dean will ensure that CAS offers academic support programs that enhance student retention and success while at UB and beyond. In addition, the Dean will ensure that the college promotes career planning and helps prepare students for the next generation of opportunities.
While the dean’s central responsibility is the success of CAS, the dean is also a leader within the university community. UB is committed to using its strengths and comprehensiveness to address the world’s grand challenges through transdisciplinary research and education, detailed below. CAS faculty members are integral partners and leaders in a variety of innovative campus-wide and multi-school research, education, and engagement initiatives. We seek a dean who will continue to support UB’s interdisciplinary research and educational programs, promote faculty participation in them, and develop new opportunities for future partnerships.
The dean must have a vision for, as well as a record of success in, recruiting, supporting, mentoring and retaining faculty, staff and students from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives and ensuring the sustainability of these efforts. Diversity, inclusion, and respect are core values of the UB and CAS communities. UB is committed to harnessing its educational, research and engagement energies to combat racism, dismantle structural barriers to equity, and make UB a more inclusive place to live, learn and work. One of the university’s top priorities is to improve the hiring and retention of faculty members from diverse sociocultural backgrounds, with a goal to at least double the number of faculty from underrepresented backgrounds at UB by 2025. CAS has been a campus leader in enhancing faculty diversity and building an inclusive and equitable environment within the college. The dean will continue to build on these efforts.
Now more than ever, universities must engage alumni and friends as strategic partners. Alumni represent one of the college’s greatest resources, impacting its efforts in recruitment, community engagement, research, career services and placement, and philanthropy. Partnerships are vital to enriching the student experience and ensuring impact of the college’s programs now and into the future. With over 122,000 alumni located around the world, the college is committed to staying connected to this powerful network. CAS alumni and friends serve on the Dean’s Advisory Council, a leadership group dedicated to providing external perspectives, industry knowledge, advocacy, student experiential learning opportunities, diversity and inclusion awareness, and financial support for the college’s programs and strategic priorities.
In cooperation with the university development and alumni groups, the dean will champion alumni engagement for CAS and will be an energetic, enthusiastic and convincing advocate with alumni and other donors to explore mutual interests, needs and opportunities, and thus broaden and deepen the college’s fundraising efforts.
Embedded in a large public research university with a strong commitment to the liberal arts, UB’s College of Arts and Sciences continuously works to provide outstanding opportunities for education, scholarship, research, creative work, and engagement. Established in 1913, CAS has a mission to be a leader in research, scholarship, and creative activities in the arts and humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences; to provide excellent programs of undergraduate and graduate education in the liberal arts and sciences; and to engage the larger community through scholarly activities.
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is the largest and most diverse academic unit at the University at Buffalo, with 30 departments, 16 academic programs, and 23 centers and institutes. CAS provides cultural exhibitions, performances, and educational programs for UB and the Western New York community through its numerous cultural institutions. In total, the college employs 931 faculty and 348 dedicated staff. CAS’s 450 tenured and tenure-track faculty members are nationally and internationally recognized for their outstanding teaching and research.
The academic heart of the university, the college delivers approximately 20,000 graduate credit hours and 330,000 undergraduate credit hours each year. College instruction represents nearly 60% of all undergraduate credit hours at UB and accounts for more than 8,500 undergraduate majors and graduate students. 85% of CAS classes have fewer than 50 students, and 73% have fewer than 30. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio in CAS is 8:1. CAS annually awards the highest number of doctoral degrees at the university.
Students are attracted to UB and the college because of the vibrant intellectual environment, distinguished faculty, and the wide variety of opportunities we offer. CAS takes pride in and is recognized for its high-quality, integrative and interdisciplinary degree programs that prepare students for fulfilling careers. The college is committed to providing experiential learning opportunities for students that help them become active global citizens focused on problem-solving, creative innovation and collaborative civic engagement.
In recent years, CAS’s strategic focus has been on enhancing the strength and reputation in the college through building disciplinary excellence, providing students with innovative and research-grounded educational experiences, improving student success metrics and outcomes, promoting inclusive excellence, and deepening engagement in the community.
Faculty in UB’s College of Arts and Sciences are among the most accomplished and dedicated in their fields. CAS employs 931 faculty members, including 648 full-time faculty (192 full, 162 associate, 96 assistant, and 198 clinical, research and visiting faculty). In fall 2023, women make up 47% of the college’s faculty, while 10% are from underrepresented backgrounds and 7% are international.
The college faculty currently has more than 20 professors who have been promoted to the UB and the SUNY Distinguished Ranks – the highest academic rank in the state university system. In addition, 33 faculty members have been appointed to endowed chairs or named professorships, and five are SUNY Empire Innovation Professors. 26 CAS faculty members have received the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Awards. CAS faculty occupy leadership roles in numerous professional organizations and serve in editorial positions for scholarly journals in their fields. They are nationally and internationally known for their outstanding teaching and research, scholarship and creative activities.
Members of the CAS faculty have received numerous awards that recognize the strength and impact of their research, scholarship, creative work, education, and engagement. Among many other national and international awards, in the last three years, CAS faculty have received a GRAMMY Award, Fulbright Scholar Awards, NSF CAREER Awards, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2024 Lifetime Mentor Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Award, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Award for Early Career Contributions in Research, American Chemical Society (ACS), Rising Star in Measurement Science, Society of Experimental Social Psychology Scientific Impact Award, American Association for the History of Medicine William H. Welch Medal, International Glaciological Society Richardson Medal, Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society Morris Janowitz Career Achievement Award, American Sociological Association Section on Children and Youth Distinguished Career Service Award, and the Best Very Short Documentary Award from the Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival.
In addition, CAS faculty members have been named fellows of a wide variety of associations, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, AAAS, American Mathematical Society, American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, ACS, American Physical Society, American Association of Geographers, Linguistics Society of America, American Antiquarian Society, and Geological Society of America.
For more examples of the CAS faculty’s myriad accomplishments and recognitions, see the college’s faculty achievements and awards news page.
CAS faculty are creative and innovative. As leading scholars in their fields, CAS faculty members publish their findings in respected academic journals in their disciplines and are frequently recognized for their expertise and quoted in news outlets throughout the world. In 2023 alone, CAS faculty published 26 books and over 740 journal articles. In 2023, CAS faculty generated $37.4 million in total research expenditures, a 53% increase in the past five years alone. See the research news page to learn more about impactful research carried out by CAS faculty.
CAS faculty’s scholarly and research contributions and innovations have earned them prestigious support from a wide variety of organizations. In the last three years alone, for example, they have received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Guggenheim Foundation, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, National Humanities Center, American Council of Learned Societies, Institute for Advanced Study, Getty Research Institute, MacDowell Colony, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the University of Oxford. CAS faculty research has been supported by grants from the NSF, National Institutes of Health, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, NASA, Andy Warhol Foundation, Graham Foundation, and Wenner-Gren Foundation, among others.
CAS hosts 16 research centers, institutes and clinics that address a wide variety of societally relevant topics, including:
The University at Buffalo’s long-range strategic vision to be recognized among the Top 25 public research universities in the nation is focused on continually pursuing academic and research excellence, and expanding the university’s engagement and impact locally, nationally and globally. A key UB effort has been to promote and support collaborative, cross-disciplinary research dedicated to addressing the most critical issues, ideas and challenges of our time. CAS faculty members are integral leaders, partners and participants in a variety of innovative campus-wide and multi-school initiatives, for example:
UB’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development and its constituent units and programs guide and support faculty research, technology transfer and entrepreneurial activities.
The academic heart of UB, the College of Arts and Sciences offers students a liberal arts education within a major research university. In Fall 2023, the college enrolled 8,628 students, including 6,267 students in Buffalo (7,272 undergraduate majors, 475 master’s and 823 doctoral students) and 1,006 undergraduate majors at the Singapore Institute of Management (see below). Women make up 59% of CAS students, while 22% of CAS students are from underrepresented backgrounds, and 21% are international. In 2023, CAS conferred 2,482 bachelor’s degrees, 306 master’s degrees, 11 professional degrees, and 107 PhDs. Among undergraduates, CAS has a student retention rate of 80%, a four-year graduation rate of 63% and a six-year graduation rate of 74%.
CAS comprises 30 departments focusing on areas of study in the arts and humanities, natural sciences and mathematics, and social sciences. Through these departments and 16 interdisciplinary degree granting programs, CAS offers a total of 200 degree programs. These include a wide variety of programs at the undergraduate, master’s, professional and doctorate levels, as well as advanced certificates, micro-credentials and continuing education programs. CAS offers one fully online program (MS Criminology).
Currently, the largest programs by degree level in order of enrollment size are:
Undergraduate | Master’s | PhD |
Psychology BA | Communicative Disorders & Sciences MA | Chemistry |
Biological Sciences BA | Biological Sciences MA | Physics |
Communication BA | Econometric & Quantitative Economics MS | English |
Biological Sciences BS | Fine Art MFA | Mathematics |
Economics BA | Economics MA | Biological Sciences |
CAS collaborates in offering unique transdisciplinary educational opportunities, including through the Department of Materials Design and Engineering, a partnership with UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, as well as through the Computational and Data-Enabled Science program, which is focused on facilitating innovative research and education in computational science and big data. CAS also features unique interdisciplinary departments focused on key issues, including Africana and American Studies, Environment and Sustainability, Indigenous Studies, and Global Gender and Sexuality Studies. In addition, CAS offers combined degree programs with other schools, including an accelerated BA/JD, BA or BS/PharmD, BA/MSW, and a BA/EdM through the UB Teach program.
Internationally, the College of Arts and Sciences offers bachelor’s degrees in Communication, Economics, Geographic Information Science, International Trade, Psychology, and Sociology in Singapore in collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM). UB and CAS also offer students a broad range of study abroad opportunities.
The CAS faculty are dedicated to their educational mission and the mentoring of students. Recently, through support from faculty and UB’s Office of Fellowships and Scholarships, CAS students have earned a wide variety of awards and honors. These include Marshall, Fulbright, Goldwater, David L. Boren, Critical Language, and Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) scholarships and American Association for the Advancement of Science Congressional Science, Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, Charles B. Rangel, Ford Foundation, Humanity in Action, Mellon/ACLS, and Princeton in Asia fellowships. CAS students establish themselves as emerging leaders within the university and the many communities we serve.
As the locus for a liberal arts education at UB, CAS is critical to the delivery of UB’s nationally recognized, innovative and student-focused general education program, the UB Curriculum. The UB Curriculum is a universal program for all undergraduates, including transfer students, that provides a common student experience and therefore serves as a core educational framework for all UB students. An integrative program that promotes holistic learning, the UB Curriculum provides students with a liberal arts foundation and thematically linked courses and experiences that promote personalized intellectual discovery across disciplines and inspire students to engage in reflective discussion. It is designed to develop in students the traits needed to thrive in our complex and global society, including an international perspective, appreciation for human and cultural diversity, and desire to be life-long learners.
To best prepare students for successful careers, UB is dedicated to providing all students the opportunity to participate in experiential learning activities. CAS and UB provide a wide range of life-changing, hands-on experiences that are focused on problem-solving, creative innovation, collaborative civic engagement, and developing students as global citizens. These programs promote the development of self-confidence and critical thinking skills required to navigate an ever-evolving job market. Many CAS students participate in performance, research, or laboratory work with faculty members, in study abroad, internship programs, and entrepreneurial programs. CAS students are also active in our communities, tutoring in Buffalo’s Public Schools and immigrant communities, sharing Indigenous culture through Haudenosaunee social dances and culture demonstrations, creating social innovation with area nonprofits, serving as translators for the School of Law’s Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic, and building a sustainable honeybee population at UB, to provide just a few examples. These kinds of opportunities will continue to evolve and increase in CAS and across the university.
The College of Arts and Sciences encourages faculty, staff and students to make a difference in our regional and global communities through teaching, research, and service programs, recognizing the importance of integrated engagement to UB’s mission. Faculty scholarship impacts lives around the globe, while locally the college’s activities touch its neighbors across Western New York, from the Buffalo Public Schools to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center to local galleries and studios.
CAS houses cultural institutions that have established themselves as important entities supporting the arts and humanities in the region, promoting research and intellectual exchange across many disciplines. These institutions include:
College of Arts and Sciences faculty and students are especially active in Buffalo-area K-12 schools. For example, in partnership with other Buffalo educational institutions and organizations, the UB-led Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Partnership (ISEP) seeks to improve STEM education in Buffalo Public Schools by providing teacher training and hands-on education to students. The Department of Geology and Department of Environment and Sustainability’s EarthEd Institute, Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) STEM Outreach Program, and the Department of Chemistry’s national Crystal Growing Competition for K-12 students also promote early STEM education. Through Bridging Communities through Dance, faculty and students from the Department of Theatre and Dance bring dance education to area schools, and in partnership with the non-profit Buffalo String Works, music faculty and students provide music instruction for refugee, immigrant and historically marginalized youths. The Department of Indigenous Studies’ K-12 Committee is a resource for local schools with questions related to cultural sensitivities.
CAS faculty and students are also involved in regional economic development and in the development of technologies that change the world. The Institute for Lasers, Photonics, and Biophotonics; Department of Materials Design and Innovation; Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics; Department of Philosophy applied ontology focus; Center for Trade, Environment and Development; and Social Impact Fellows program are important partners in understanding, supporting and contributing to economic and technology development.
Faculty, staff and students in the Psychology and Communicative Disorders and Sciences departments provide clinical care, training and research opportunities through the Psychological Services Center and Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Clinic, respectively.
These are just a few examples of the many ways that college faculty, staff and students are engaging the community to enrich the lives of people in Western New York and beyond, solve real-world problems and find solutions to complex issues.
Impactful research, scholarly distinction, transformative student experiences, and far-reaching service to local, state, national, and international communities define UB’s mission as one of the nation’s leading public research universities. UB was founded in 1846 as a private medical college located in downtown Buffalo and joined the SUNY network in 1962. SUNY is the largest state university system in the United States, and UB is a flagship campus and the largest and most comprehensive public research university within the system. In 1989, UB was among the first public universities in the Northeast to be admitted into the AAU. Over the years, UB’s scope and mission have expanded significantly as it has grown into a world-renowned research university that is the thriving heart of the regional community, a national leader in public higher education, and a global hub for excellence in research and education.
UB enrolls nearly 32,000 students (approximately two-thirds undergraduate and one-third graduate and professional students) and offers more than 650 degree programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional, and doctoral levels across its 12 decanal units. UB is a global community of scholars, ranking among the nation’s top 30 universities for the enrollment of international students in the Open Doors census for two decades. International students currently represent 20% of the total enrollment at UB. The university enjoys a strong presence abroad, maintaining affiliation agreements with over 100 universities in Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa. UB’s more than 293,000 alumni live in 150 countries worldwide.
UB has a distinguished faculty of over 1,600 full-time members. UB is currently undertaking its largest faculty-hiring initiative in recent history, Advancing Top 25: UB Faculty Hiring, with plans to recruit upward of 200 full-time faculty over the next two years.
UB is home to more than 160 research centers and institutes; its current annual research expenditures, including those in affiliated institutions, exceed $470 million. The University Libraries hold more than three million volumes and provide access to an exceptionally wide array of digital information resources.
UB’s academic programs and facilities are located on three distinct campuses in the Buffalo metropolitan area. UB’s North Campus, located in the suburb of Amherst, is the university’s main undergraduate campus and home to the College of Arts and Sciences and the university’s primary athletics and cultural facilities. Three miles to the south, on the northern edge of the City of Buffalo, is the university’s historic South Campus, home to many of the university’s professional schools. The focal point of UB’s third, downtown campus center is the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, on which UB’s state-of-the-art Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is located in proximity to the university’s health and life science partners.
Recognizing the key role that a vibrant 21st-century physical campus environment plays in enhancing education, research, and learning, UB is realizing a long-range Master Plan for enhancing its North, South, and Downtown campus spaces and connecting them more effectively to their surrounding communities.
With an annual operating revenue of $866 million, UB and its affiliated entities generate an estimated economic impact of $2.1 billion annually in New York State. The university’s total workforce of over 10,000 full-time equivalent employees makes it one of the region’s largest employers. UB is also a leader and an active partner with more than a dozen public and private colleges and universities in the Buffalo-Niagara region.
UB recently closed its largest fundraising campaign in university history and the largest in the history of the SUNY system. Through the Boldly Buffalo campaign, donors invested more than $1.1 billion in support of student success, faculty research, campus enhancement, and expanding UB’s impact on our local and global communities. The College of Arts and Sciences met and exceeded its $82 million Boldly Buffalo campaign goal, with commitments of over $96 million to support students, faculty, experiential learning opportunities, and art and cultural offerings, among other causes.
Internationally recognized as an accomplished researcher and transformative higher education leader, Satish K. Tripathi was appointed the 15th president of the University at Buffalo on April 18, 2011.
The first international-born president in UB’s history, Dr. Tripathi served as UB’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs from 2004-2011, was one of the principal creators of UB’s long-range strategic plan, which led the university to achieve significant growth in research and scholarly activity, improved the caliber and diversity of students, transformed the university’s living-learning environment and greatly expanded its international presence. Building on these impactful achievements, today Dr. Tripathi is focused on positioning UB among the top 25 public research universities in the nation. UB’s Top 25 Ambition is dedicated to achieving greater societal impact by enhancing the university’s scholarly productivity and growing its research portfolio; providing students with innovative, research-grounded educational experiences; building upon UB’s university-wide culture of equity and inclusion; and deepening the university’s engagement in the region by strengthening partnerships, with the goal of contributing to positive health outcomes and economic vitality.
Prior to coming to UB, Dr. Tripathi served as dean of the Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California-Riverside, where he led that school’s rise from an unranked program to a position in the upper half of the U.S. News and World Report Best Engineering Graduate School rankings. Previously, he was a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, where his 19-year tenure as a faculty member included serving as chair from 1988-1995. Dr. Tripathi graduated at the top of his class from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in India and holds a doctorate in computer science from the University of Toronto along with three master's degrees—one in computer science from the University of Toronto and two in statistics from the University of Alberta and BHU. A fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he holds honorary degrees from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, and Brock University in Ontario, Canada. In 2009, he was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award by Banaras Hindu University.
An active leader in the national higher education community, Dr. Tripathi serves on the College Football Playoff Board of Managers and Internet2 Board of Trustees and has served on the board of directors for the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Additionally, he has served as chair of the Mid American Conference Council of Presidents as well as on the board of the NCAA Division I and NCAA Board of Governors. Among his numerous community leadership roles, Dr. Tripathi serves on the boards of directors of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and Great Lakes Health System of WNY. In 2011, Dr. Tripathi was appointed the inaugural co-chair of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, a position he held until 2017.
As Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, A. Scott Weber serves as the university’s chief academic officer, responsible for leading the development and implementation of the university’s academic vision. Dr. Weber provides leadership across the academic enterprise including research, scholarship and creative activities; undergraduate, graduate, professional and international education; faculty development; diversity and inclusion initiatives; and university libraries.
A member of UB’s faculty since 1983, Dr. Weber is an innovative scholar and teacher and former chair of UB’s Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering. During his time as chair, the department rose significantly in national rankings.
Dr. Weber has held progressively responsible administrative roles at UB, including senior vice provost for academic affairs, where he provided leadership for graduate and undergraduate education, centralized enrollment services, student-support services and transformative extracurricular programs. He led efforts to ensure that students have an outstanding educational experience with opportunities to engage in truly distinctive research, creative and public service activities that are hallmarks of a top-tier university education. He was instrumental in the creation of the UB Curriculum and the nationally recognized Finish in 4 program. In addition, Dr. Weber served as vice president for student life, where he focused on providing UB’s students with exceptional programs and services that offer opportunities to build communities, encourage discovery, promote wellness, and allow students to grow and prosper.
Dr. Weber’s research focuses on biodegradation of chemicals in water and soil and the reclamation of environmentally impacted sites known as brownfields. He earned bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in civil engineering from Virginia Tech and a PhD in civil engineering from the University of California, Davis.
The State University of New York is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive state university system, consisting of 64 campuses including major research universities, health science centers, comprehensive and technical colleges, and community colleges, all committed to providing a broad range of outstanding academic programs for students within New York and from around the world. It enrolls more than 363,000 students annually, employs more than 83,000 faculty and staff, and connects more than three million alumni around the world.
UB acknowledges that our campuses operate on land that is the traditional territory of the Seneca Nation, a member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the region remains the home of the Haudenosaunee people. Further, we responsibly acknowledge the continuing impact of settler colonialism on the Haudenosaunee and their territories.
Our scholarly community values Indigenous cultures, histories, traditions, knowledge systems, and political entities and deeply appreciates the important role of Indigenous people in the history, the present and the future of our region, this country and the world.
As a world-renowned research university, UB’s intellectual capital and innovation are playing a vital role in Buffalo’s resurgence as a thriving city that is a magnet for talented professionals, artists, entrepreneurs, and innovators who recognize the tremendous energy and momentum gathering here. Home to one of the nation’s fastest-growing populations of college graduates, the Buffalo-Niagara region, with 1.1 million residents, is the state’s second-largest major metropolitan area, exceeded only by New York City. The region includes a diverse blend of communities, each with its own distinct personality, yet commonly characterized by a distinctly neighborly way of life, an unpretentious nature and spirited loyalty among residents. Buffalo’s own strong sense of community, easy lifestyle, and affordability regularly place it in top ten lists from a variety of national publications for its overall quality of life.
Buffalo offers an impressive array of cultural and recreational opportunities uncommon for a city of its size. Buffalo’s rich cultural resources reflect its distinguished history and commitment to sustaining the arts, including the Grammy Award-winning Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; the world-class collection of modern painting and sculpture at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum; an extensive array of historic architectural treasures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, H.H. Richardson, Louis Sullivan, and Eero and Eliel Saarinen; an expansive park system (including Delaware Park), considered to be the very best work of designer Frederick Law Olmsted; and a variety of summer festivals. The city is home to the state’s largest concentration of theaters outside of New York City. From the Michigan Street Baptist Church to the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, to the Colored Musicians Club and Jazz Museum, the Buffalo Niagara region has a rich African-American heritage to explore. Buffalo is a family friendly, livable and affordable city, with Niagara Falls, one of the major tourist attractions of the world, a short drive away. Buffalo is close to two wine-growing regions—Niagara Escarpment and the Finger Lakes region—and it was named one of the Top 10 Food Cities by National Geographic. In addition, the Adirondack Mountains are a half-day drive from Buffalo.
Rich in natural resources and beauty, the Buffalo-Niagara area is a four-season region that offers the best for seasonal sports enthusiasts. University at Buffalo fans enjoy a full complement of NCAA Division I sports with the UB Bulls, as well as the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, Triple-A baseball’s Buffalo Bisons, and the National Lacrosse League’s Buffalo Bandits.
Less than a two-hour drive from Buffalo across the United States-Canada border is Toronto, the cultural, entertainment, and financial capital of Canada. Buffalo is also ideally located for easy access to many of America’s major cities. The Buffalo-Niagara International Airport offers direct flights to more than 25 cities, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington, DC, all only an hour’s flight away.
UB has played a central role in the creation of the strong, sustainable knowledge economy and thriving entrepreneurial culture that drive Buffalo’s revitalization. Exemplified and driven by the centrally located Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo is experiencing a period of tremendous progress and momentum as well as unprecedented regional investments in the industries of the future and in the assets that ensure a satisfying quality of life for all its citizens.
UB and the College of Arts and Sciences are vital participants in Buffalo’s economic resurgence and the professional, cultural and education communities, and the dean will be a visible representative of the college and university. Within the local business community, UB has well-established ties with major partners and is also making a mark in the areas of health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and renewable energy. The dean will encourage and support faculty, student, and staff research, education, and engagement activities that make an impact in Buffalo and around the world.
Additional information about UB’s College of Arts and Sciences can be found at https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/ or at the search website: https://www.buffalo.edu/leadership-searches/current-searches/college-of-arts-and-sciences-dean-2024.html.
Interested individuals should provide an electronic version of their curriculum vitae (Microsoft Word or PDF is strongly preferred). A letter describing interest in, and qualifications for, the position is recommended, but not required. All inquiries, nominations and applications should be sent electronically via Russell Reynolds at UB.CAS@russellreynolds.com.
To ensure full consideration, materials should be received as soon as possible but preferably no later than November 4. Review of nominations and applications for the position will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. To assure sensitivity toward the positions presently held by nominees and applicants, the search will be conducted in strict confidence until finalists participate in campus visits. References will not be contacted without the prior knowledge and approval of the candidates.
Compensation for this position is highly competitive. It is anticipated that the dean will begin service by the start of the 2025-26 academic year.
The University at Buffalo is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic university community committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. Potential applicants who share this goal, including veterans and individuals with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.