Advancing UB’s Academic and Research Mission During COVID-19

Dear University Community:

UB and universities across the nation are experiencing an unprecedented disruption to campus operations and budgets as a result of COVID-19. As President Tripathi outlined in his communication to the campus earlier today, while UB adapts to these uncertainties and challenges, we are committed to delivering the very best educational and research programs possible while protecting the health and safety of the university community. At the same time, we must prepare for expected budgetary changes resulting from reduced tax revenue and increased expenses incurred by New York State during this crisis.

To those ends, we have created a framework of university-wide committees to develop plans for a variety of short and long-term scenarios as we prepare for the strong possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to affect all aspects of our university. Composed of faculty, staff, students and senior administrators, these committees span research and academic continuity at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels; student experience and wellness; faculty and staff concerns; campus operations; and strategic financial management. Detailed information regarding the planning structure, committee charges and memberships is available here.

In these challenging and uncertain times, campus wide engagement, planning and prudent stewardship of our resources are critical to ensure that we continue to advance our research, education and engagement mission and rise among the ranks of the top public research universities in the nation. Thank you for your continuing efforts to help our university move forward in these uncertain times. Working together, I know that we can meet the challenges we face and emerge stronger than ever.

Sincerely,

A. Scott Weber                                                                                      Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs