About the Position

The University at Buffalo (UB), a premier, research-intensive public university, invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for the position of vice provost for inclusive excellence (VPIX). UB's longstanding dedication to social justice, ongoing inclusive excellence initiatives and ambitious goals for the future, coupled with established structures to support inclusive excellence that run through all units and departments, make this an exciting opportunity for a collaborative, innovative, and action-oriented leader.

A member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a 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. UB enrolls more than 32,000 students (approximately two-thirds undergraduate and one-third graduate and professional students); has a distinguished faculty of over 1,500 full-time members; and is home to more than 120 research centers and institutes.

The VPIX is UB’s chief diversity officer and is positioned well to have influence and enact change. The VPIX reports jointly to the president and to the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and serves as a member of the president’s and provost’s cabinets. The VPIX provides leadership to the Office of Inclusive Excellence and collaborates with campus partners who are committed to and engaged in inclusive excellence work, including a robust network of unit diversity officers. Enhancing campus diversity and promoting a university-wide culture of equity and inclusion are critical to UB’s goal of becoming one of the Top 25 public institutions in the nation. Within this context, the VPIX will lead and enable UB’s efforts to further develop a culture of equity and inclusion across all units of the university. The VPIX will be responsible for assessing current initiatives and shaping a unified, comprehensive strategy for inclusive excellence that is aligned with UB's mission and university-wide efforts to continue to cultivate innovation in the inclusive excellence space.

The university seeks a leader with demonstrated success and effectiveness in developing, facilitating, and promoting policies and programs that remove barriers to access and advancement. Candidates will bring a demonstrated expertise, commitment and experience regarding inclusive excellence related issues, policies and programs; a proven ability to develop and implement a visionary diversity, equity and inclusion strategic plan; and ability to design innovative, signature programs. A practice of collaboration, a willingness to be visible, accessible and connected with the campus community and ability to effectively represent the university's commitment to various constituents will be essential for success. It will be important for the VPIX to be forward-thinking, strategic and action-oriented.

To submit a nomination or express personal interest in this position, please see Procedure for Candidacy at the end of this document.

Recognizing that a diverse, equitable and inclusive community is an essential foundation for achieving excellence and success, the University at Buffalo has long been committed to fostering diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility on campus. Founded in 1846, UB’s integration into the SUNY system in 1962 coincided with a period of deep social and academic engagement on campus with local and national civil rights struggles. That period witnessed the development of a commitment to addressing social issues and engagement with communities locally and globally that remains a hallmark of UB’s culture.

UB was a pioneer in the establishment of race and gender studies programs in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Today, researchers, departments and schools across UB boast strengths in diversity and inclusion-related research and education, such as our national leadership in critical race, critical class and feminist legal theory in the School of Law; universal design in the School of Architecture and Planning; women’s health in the School of Public Health and Health Professions; Africana and American studies, Asian studies, Jewish thought, disability studies, and global gender and sexuality studies in the College of Arts and Sciences; and race and equity in schools and society in the Graduate School of Education, to name just a few. In 2020, the College of Arts and Sciences, in collaboration with the VPIX, received a $3.2 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to launch the interdisciplinary Department of Indigenous Studies, which builds on UB’s longstanding legacy as a key location for Haudenosaunee and Indigenous studies.

In 2014, UB founded the Office of Inclusive Excellence (OIX). Led by the vice provost for inclusive excellence, UB’s chief diversity officer, the office is responsible for facilitating UB’s diversity and inclusion strategies and for supporting UB’s efforts to provide an inclusive campus culture. A pioneer within SUNY in launching an office focused on equity and inclusion and in creating a cabinet-level, chief diversity officer position, UB was a model for the entire system when SUNY launched its multi-prong effort in 2015 to address diversity and assure inclusive excellence system-wide. In 2019, UB created a university-wide network of 16 unit diversity officers (UDOs), who represent each of UB’s schools and several administrative offices and who work with the VPIX. The UDOs are a national model for coordinating efforts and sharing resources across a large university, which recognizes the needs of the individual colleges and units while, at the same time, providing a mechanism for collaboration for university-wide impact.

A key goal of UB’s Top 25 institutional ambition is to further enhance faculty and student diversity through focused enrollment and hiring strategies and the implementation of best practices that further integrate inclusiveness into all aspects of the university. UB is committed to doubling the number of faculty from historically underrepresented backgrounds between 2020 and 2025. In support of this effort, several individual schools have launched or grown faculty pipeline programs. University-wide, in 2020-21, UB launched the Distinguished Visiting Scholars program, among the largest and most comprehensive program of its kind, which brings a cohort of highly accomplished scholars and artists whose work elucidates social inequality and advances social justice for the university and Buffalo community. In fall 2021, OIX launched the Visiting Future Faculty (VITAL) program, which brings late-stage PhD scholars from historically underrepresented groups to UB to present work and engage with community. As a result of these efforts, the percentage of historically underrepresented faculty among new tenured and tenure-track hires has increased from 8% in 2017 to around 36% in 2022.

In 2020, President Satish K. Tripathi formed the President's Advisory Council on Race (PACOR) to ensure equity in UB's policies, programs, activities and traditions. To date, more than 150 faculty, students and staff have been involved in efforts to address critical issues relevant to curriculum; pedagogy; faculty and staff hiring, retention and advancement; enrollment; the campus experience; and community engagement. Implementation of the PACOR recommendations is a top priority for the university and the VPIX is critical to that effort.

While UB takes great pride in our accomplishments to date in equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice, we are eager to further develop our leadership and programs in these areas.

More information about UB's social justice initiatives can be found here.

Reporting jointly to the president and to the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, the VPIX serves as UB’s chief diversity officer and a member of the president’s and the provost’s cabinets. As a vice provost, the VPIX plays a key role in partnering with the university’s academic and academic support units to further UB’s goals around inclusive excellence. The vice provost leads the Office of Inclusive Excellence (OIX), which is responsible for leading, enabling and monitoring UB’s efforts to institutionalize the culture of equity and inclusion university-wide to build campus diversity, enhance teaching and scholarship, increase cultural understanding, and foster a welcoming campus environment.

The VPIX works with the president, provost, other senior leaders, and network of UDOs to further develop a culture of equity and inclusion, integrate inclusive excellence into all aspects of university operations, and create strategies and facilitate processes that empower faculty, staff and students to achieve their full potential, unburdened by barriers to advancement based on stereotypes and bias. The VPIX leads the OIX in facilitating and supporting strategic initiatives and programs and events that enhance the culture and campus environment at UB and support strategic university goals and priorities.

Principle duties and responsibilities of the VPIX include but are not limited to the following:

• Building on UB’s strengths and efforts in equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging;
• Shaping and implementing a unified, comprehensive inclusive excellence strategy in collaboration with other senior leaders (president, provost, vice presidents, deans, vice provosts) and UDOs. It is important that this strategy considers diversity broadly, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, learning and physical abilities, mental health, socioeconomic diversity, and ideological perspectives, highlights the intersectionality of this work and fosters a multidimensional lens for inclusive excellence through which the university can approach this work.
• Working with other senior leaders and UDOs to ensure that inclusive excellence-related objectives are incorporated into strategic plans and operations of the university;
• Working with the UDOs, the Intercultural and Diversity Center; other administrative offices such as the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; campus-wide committees such as the President's Advisory Council on Race Implementation Committee, Faculty Senate Equity and Diversity Committee and Professional Staff Senate Inclusion and Diversity Committee; affinity groups for faculty and staff such as LGBTQ Faculty and Staff Association and Minority Faculty and Staff Association to offer effective programming, continue momentum and operationalize inclusive excellence work on a larger scale.
• Providing thought leadership and guidance to other senior leaders and the campus community regarding timely issues of concern;
• Guiding the implementation of the President’s Advisory Council on Race recommendations;
• Identifying barriers and gaps in UB policies and practices, and advancing best practices required to sustain and enhance a welcoming climate and culture of inclusive excellence throughout the university;
• Providing advice and training resources to reduce barriers to diversity in faculty and staff searches and to encourage recruitment and retention from underrepresented groups;
• Supporting academic units in strengthening pipelines for diverse graduate and professional students;
• Supporting and promoting inclusive pedagogy and research;
• Working with the Offices of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Institutional Analysis and Human Resources to report data on UB’s progress toward inclusive excellence, and ensure that these data are public and transparent to the extent possible;
• Providing leadership and communicating UB’s commitment to inclusive excellence across the university and SUNY, and nationally as a senior leader for inclusive excellence.

The University at Buffalo seeks to recruit a visionary and transformative leader for the position of VPIX. The successful candidate will be a senior faculty member or administrator with significant university experience as well as the following:

• Subject Matter Expertise: Demonstrated expertise, commitment and experience regarding inclusive excellence related issues, policies and programs; proven ability to develop and implement a visionary, unifying diversity, equity and inclusion strategic plan; expertise in emerging trends and practices; ability to create innovative, signature programs; ability to implement best practices; possesses a broad definition of diversity, equity and inclusion; brings a passion to this work.
• Institutional Understanding: Embraces institutional aspirations; understands and respects the challenges, aspirations and opportunities that exist within each unit and demonstrates real sensitivity to the multiple points of view and workplace cultures that exist; ability to talk with deans and faculty and respect the academic enterprise; skill in navigating a highly decentralized, public university; an understanding of the connection between initiatives in this space and university goals and aspirations.
• Leadership and Management Experience: A track record in facilitating and navigating culture growth and change; effectiveness managing others with a cooperative leadership style; skill in developing creative, dynamic approaches to build consensus and motivate colleagues; ability to moderate important and difficult conversations; comfortable working with a wide variety of university constituents, including other senior leaders, faculty, staff and students
• Dedication to Collaboration: Successful experience facilitating collaborative processes with academic and administrative colleagues at all levels; ability to initiate and launch projects involving individuals who are not direct reports; a builder and convenor who identifies strengths and expertise that can be brought together
• Effective Communicator: Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills; comfort and effectiveness in representing the university's commitment to inclusive excellence to multiple constituencies; represents the university as a senior leader; a good listener; always diplomatic and measured assertiveness
• Qualities: Forward-thinking, strategic and action oriented; willingness to be visible, accessible and connected with the campus community; resilient; discretion and good judgment; ability to build trust; demonstrates follow through; resourceful; transparent

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 more than 32,000 students (approximately two-thirds undergraduate and one-third graduate and professional students), and offers more than 500 degree programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional, and doctoral levels across its 12 decanal units. A diverse and inclusive scholarly community, 19% of UB students are from underrepresented minority backgrounds and approximately 16% are first-generation students. In fall 2022, nearly 35% of UB undergraduates qualified for the federal Pell Grant program.  

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 total enrollment at UB. The university enjoys a strong presence abroad, maintaining affiliation agreements with 100 universities in Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa. UB’s more than 280,000 alumni live in 150 countries worldwide.

UB has a distinguished faculty of over 1,500 full-time members. UB is home to more than 120 research centers and institutes; its current annual research expenditures, including those in affiliated institutions, exceed $425 million. The University Libraries hold more than four 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 just outside the city in Amherst, a busting, inner-ring suburb, is the university’s main undergraduate campus and home to the university’s primary athletics and cultural facilities. Three miles to the south, on the northern edge of the City of Buffalo in a historic urban neighborhood, is the university’s 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 $810 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 9,000 full-time equivalent employees makes it one of the region’s largest employers. UB is also a leader and an active partner with the more than 20 public and private colleges and universities in the Buffalo-Niagara region.

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.

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. He 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. In 2020, Dr. Tripathi formed the President’s Advisory Council on Race to explore how UB can become more equitable in our policies, programs, activities and traditions.

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.

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. In 2020, Dr. Weber set an ambitious goal of doubling the number of historically underrepresented faculty at the university by 2025.

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.

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 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.

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 1.2 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 region 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 Albright-Knox 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 significant 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’s drive from Buffalo.

Rich in natural resources and beauty, Buffalo-Niagara 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 greatest cities. The Buffalo-Niagara International Airport offers direct flights to more than 20 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 a strong, sustainable knowledge economy and thriving entrepreneurial culture that are driving 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.

The University at Buffalo has retained WittKieffer, a national executive search firm, to assist in the recruitment of their next vice provost for inclusive excellence.

All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in this profile.

Review of nominations and applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by July 25, 2023.

It is anticipated that the vice provost will begin service in fall 2023.

Application materials should be submitted using WittKieffer’s candidate portal.

Nominations and inquiries can be directed to:

Shelley Arakawa, J.D. and Charlene Aguilar, Ed.M.

UB_VPIX@wittkieffer.com

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.