Sukhatme leaving for position in Indianapolis

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Uday P. Sukhatme, who has served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since August 2002, has been named executive vice chancellor and dean of the faculties at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

He will become chief academic officer at the university, an urban research and academic health sciences campus that grants degrees from both Indiana University and Purdue University, in July.

In an email communication sent yesterday to the university community, Satish K. Tripathi, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, thanked Sukhatme for the leadership he has provided CAS and "for his innovative pursuit of our shared vision of excellence."

"I offer my most sincere congratulations and best wishes as Dean Sukhatme embarks on the next exciting challenge in his distinguished career," he added.

The message noted that under Sukhatme's leadership, the CAS faculty has grown substantially, with a 20 percent increase in tenure and tenure-track faculty in three years, an achievement that can not be claimed by any other U.S. college or university. CAS research expenditures have increased from approximately $14 million to $24 million during Sukhatme's tenure as dean.

Tripathi also cited the creation of a series of Signature Centers of Excellence within CAS; Sukhatme's initiation of the popular Cutting Edge Lecture Series and the UB Poetry Contest, both designed to introduce prospective students to the College of Arts and Sciences and to the university; and the integral role that he played in increasing graduate student stipends, making UB competitive with comparable universities.

Tripathi said a national search to identify Sukhatme's successor will be launched immediately and that an interim dean will be appointed soon.

Sukhatme, a physicist, joined UB after serving as interim vice provost for academic programs at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he had been on the faculty for more than 20 years.