News
Ryan to oversee reaccreditation
Michael E. Ryan is stepping down as vice provost and dean of undergraduate education to oversee UB’s Middle States reaccreditation process, Provost Satish K. Tripathi has announced.
Ryan, who serves as an external reviewer for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, will transition into his new position as director of university accreditation and assessment by June 1.
An internal search will be conducted for his successor as vice provost.
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is the unit of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools that accredits degree-granting colleges and universities in the Middle States region. Accreditation is crucial, UB administrators say, because it provides an affirmation that institutions are meeting basic academic standards, and therefore are eligible for federal funds.
UB’s decennial accreditation expires in 2013-14, and the university is starting to gear up to begin the lengthy process of reaffirming accreditation. That process, a major institutional undertaking that takes two to three years, includes an extensive self-study report in which the university outlines its institutional goals and the progress it’s made in reaching these goals. The report, which involves the work of a Steering Committee and numerous subcommittees composed of faculty, staff and students, specifically addresses the university's institutional resources, institutional planning process, administrative and leadership effectiveness, admissions process, student support services, educational programming and assessment of student learning.
After UB submits its self-study report, a team of external reviewers will visit campus and meet with senior administrators, deans, faculty, staff, students and alumni to gather information and perspectives on how well UB is meeting its institutional goals.
Ryan is exceptionally qualified to lead this reaccreditation effort, Tripathi said.
“As an external reviewer for Middle States, Professor Ryan has a unique perspective on the reaccreditation process,” Tripathi noted. “He knows the process well, and the key areas that Middle States focuses on in terms of institutional review: specifically institutional assessment and student learning assessment and outcomes.”
Moreover, “his understanding of the entire university enterprise and the undergraduate experience, as well as his first-hand knowledge of faculty research and creative activities, make him ideally suited to lead this critically important institutional endeavor,” Tripathi said.
A professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Ryan has been a member of the UB faculty since 1976. He has served as vice provost and dean of undergraduate education since 2005. Prior to that appointment, he was associate dean for student services in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and director of the Business-Industry Affiliates Program in the New York State Center for Hazardous Waste Management at UB.
His research and teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels have been in the areas of polymer science and engineering, plastics processing, rheology and non-Newtonian fluid mechanics.
Ryan holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from McGill University.
Reader Comments
Mary Cassata says:
Dear Mike:
Congratulations on the outstanding work you have done in regard to Undergraduate Education here at UB. It was so gratifying for me to have served on the search committee which unanimously nominated you to the position you are now vacating but it is even more to the University's credit to have appointed you to oversee the Middle States Accreditation process. We all know we will be in good hands to have you at the helm in the crucially important work that lies ahead. My best wishes and of course, my full support go with you.
Cordially,
Mary
Posted by Mary Cassata, Assoc Prof, Dept. of Comunication/Librarian, 03/15/10