Vice President for Research and Economic Development

Dear University Community:

This afternoon, the State University of New York Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Dr. Alexander N. Cartwright, the University at Buffalo’s Vice President for Research and Economic Development, as the next Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of the State University of New York system.

While I am delighted to see Alex receive this well-deserved recognition, it is no easy task to bid farewell to such a deeply valued university citizen and integral member of our senior leadership team.  As Vice President for Research and Economic Development, he has lifted the entire UB research enterprise to new heights of excellence while building valuable linkages with the university’s partners in science, business, government, and industry, as well as across the global scholarly community.  Since 2000, he has served our university with great distinction in numerous leadership roles, including those of Director of the UB Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics; Acting Executive Director of the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences; Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives; and Chair of the Electrical and Biomedical Engineering departments.

The good news for UB is that Alex will remain an integral part of our university family, as UB will remain his home campus as a faculty member in our departments of Electrical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering.  The good news for our broader SUNY family is that Alex’s expertise, vision, and energy will be extended across the SUNY system as a whole. As one of the world’s leading scholars in the areas of nanostructured optoelectronic devices and chemical and biological sensing, and as a mentor to so many of UB undergraduate and graduate students, he is a vital member of our School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and we are very fortunate to continue to benefit from his academic leadership.

I know I am joined by all of Alex’s colleagues and friends throughout the university and community in expressing my deep appreciation for all that he has achieved and contributed over the past several years toward advancing our university’s research enterprise and academic mission.  And on a personal level, I am profoundly grateful for his friendship, wise counsel, and inspiring influence over the past several years.

In the next few weeks, we will be sharing more details regarding plans for the interim leadership of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development unit. In the meantime, please join me in wishing Alex and his family much continued success, and every happiness, as they prepare for this exciting new opportunity.                                              

Sincerely,