Campus community hears progress on equity and inclusion

UB continues to show “impressive progress” in making the campus more inclusive, although the changing political winds in the U.S. have the university community wondering how that might affect UB.

Those were among the takeaways from the Nov. 18 virtual town hall presented by the President’s Advisory Council on Race. It was the third such town hall since President Satish K. Tripathi created the President’s Advisory Council on Race in June 2020 to help the university “dismantle structural barriers to equality.”

“I am pleased to have this occasion to share the progress we are making to achieve our goal of equity, inclusion and social justice,” Tripathi said in his opening statements. “When I convened the President’s Advisory Council on Race four years ago, we set out to address issues of race and culture in order to guide our programs, policies, activities and traditions.”

The president reiterated that structural transformation is not a one-time fix, but rather an enduring commitment to advance UB toward its goal.

“To date, we have made impressive progress in this regard,” he said.

Seval Yildirim, vice provost for inclusive excellence, served as moderator for the forum, while panelists provided updates on the progress made on several fronts, citing numerous supporting examples.

Graham Hammill, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School, referred to this year’s launch of CULTURE — Creating Undergraduate Learning Through Unity, Resources and Equity — to build academic community and a greater sense of belonging among historically underserved and underrepresented students.

Christopher Connor, vice provost for enrollment management, referenced UB’s participation in the “Top 10% Promise,” a pilot program initiated by SUNY.

“It focuses on schools and districts with more limited access to resources,” Connor said. “UB now guarantees admission for top students from local high schools. This initiative reinforces our commitment to supporting talented students within the local community.”

And after concerted efforts by the UB administration, working alongside deans, the hiring of historically underrepresented faculty has been robust in recent years, said Robert Granfield, vice provost for faculty affairs.

“The percentage of historically underrepresented faculty among full-time faculty has increased from 7.7% in 2020 to an estimated 11.4% in 2024,” Granfield said. “Among tenured and tenure-track faculty, the percentage of historically underrepresented faculty has increased from 6.5% in 2020 to an estimated 10.2% in 2024.”

Other panelists providing progress reports included Ann Bisantz, dean of undergraduate education; Laura Hubbard, vice president for finance and administration; Brian Hamluk, vice president for student life; and Beth Del Genio, chief of staff to the president and vice president for government and community relations.

Here's a complete list of the committees with a link to a summary of their progress:

Faculty recruitment, mentoring and retention.

Scholarship, tenure and recognition.

Staff recruitment, mentoring and advancement.

Curriculum and pedagogy.

Student experience and programs: Student Life.

Student experience and programs: Enrollment.

Inclusive space.

Community engagement.

During the Q&A portion of the meeting, Yildirim addressed concerns from members of the campus community about the DEI climate in the U.S. over the next four years, following this month’s presidential election, and how UB might be impacted.

“I just want to say from all of us, if I can speak for the entire panel, we hear you,” Yildirim said. “And I think all of us are thinking how we best prepare for the changes that may come — and that is all around, from recruitment to retention of students, faculty and staff.

“We are thinking about it,” Yildirim said. “If you have any sort of input to provide us, any concerns you have, our doors are always open to receive all of you in our offices to have those critical conversations.”