University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

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By SUE WUETCHER

Published: November 4, 2010

A recognition of the value of public scholarship as part of the university’s research enterprise. A willingness to collaborate and build coalitions, both internally and externally. An understanding of the importance of fundraising and the power of alumni. A commitment to the progress made through UB 2020.

Those are just some of the attributes members of the UB community would like UB’s new president to possess.  Faculty, staff and students shared their ideas with members of UB’s Presidential Search Committee at three “listening sessions” hosted by the committee to solicit input to help it in its task of identifying a successor to President John B. Simpson.

The committee in particular was interested in feedback from the UB community that would help it develop a “position profile”—a statement describing the university that is designed to give candidates a sense of the scope of UB and its aspirations, challenges and opportunities, according to committee member and listening session moderator A. Scott Weber, professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering and vice provost and dean for undergraduate education.

“We know from prior (leadership) searches that candidates really scrutinize that, really review it,” he said of the position profile.

Weber urged members of the UB community to use the search committee’s website to offer comments to the committee, as well as to nominate possible candidates.

Weber opened each listening session—held Oct. 26 in the UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences on the Downtown Campus, Nov. 1 in the Screening Room in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus and Nov. 3 in Harriman Hall on the South Campus—with a brief overview of the search process. He then opened the floor to comments and questions.

Several participants at the sessions talked about the importance of UB’s new president understanding the value of public scholarship—often called applied research or policy scholarship—to the mission of the university.

Kathryn Foster, director of the UB Regional Institute, noted that public scholarship often is viewed as a kind of “second-class form of research.”  She said she would like to see UB recruit a president who has “the inclination, the character, the smarts and the vision to recognize public scholarship as an important and leverageable asset of this public university.”

“I think UB ignores to its peril the fact that that is a leverageable asset,” said Foster, whose unit informs policymaking and civic debate in the Buffalo Niagara region through research and community outreach. “It’s an asset that’s mutually beneficial to its constituents,” which, she said, include the state Legislature, SUNY, the local community, corporations, foundations and a number of governments. “We haven’t perhaps taken advantage of that in the way that we could.”

Laura Mangan, coordinator of the Civic Engagement and Public Policy Strategic Strength, concurred with Foster.

“We’re looking for somebody (to be UB president) who realizes the value of research that’s taken out of the ivory tower,” Mangan said, calling SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher “a great example of someone who conducts community-based research” and someone who would be a “good role model” for the new UB president in regards to the importance of public scholarship in a university setting.

The ability to collaborate and build coalitions is high on the list of presidential attributes for Amy Schmit, director of special projects at the Center of Excellence, and Arlene Kaukus, director of the Office of Career Services.

The new president should be “someone who can work across disciplines, across schools, as well as across the boundaries of the university,” said Schmit. “For both the person who comes in (as president), as well as their leadership team, from my perspective, (the job involves) continuous coalition building.”

It’s critically important that the incoming president be “deeply committed to collaborations, on all levels, both internal as well as external,” said Kaukus. With deep cuts in the state budget, UB doesn’t have enough resources “to do everything we need to do, especially if we try to do it alone” she noted, “but when we work together, we can achieve a lot. I think the spirit of collaboration and that skill is critical.”

Kaukus also stressed that the new president must be “actively engaged in cultivating the power of the alumni population,” which, she said, is something that has not traditionally been done at the university.

“This is a huge area of opportunity, not only for potential donors, but from a career-services standpoint. The alumni population is our single best opportunity to create opportunities for our students,” she said. “If don’t have those relationships, it closes opportunities for our students.”

Nancy Battaglia, associate director for alumni relations, agreed there is great opportunity in developing the alumni base, which she called “a very underutilized piece of our puzzle.”

Considering the number of alumni worldwide and in New York state, “We have not flexed the muscle that we can flex when we work as a group,” she said.

Battaglia also said she would like UB’s new president to have “a broad perspective.”

“We need someone who understands the business of academia—from development to research to libraries to students—the whole nine yards,” she said. The new president should be “somewhat flexible and reachable because Buffalo is very different community—we’re not as high-falutin’ as some,” she said, and UB’s new leader must be able “to communicate with all types of people.” He or she also should “respect sports and athletics, as well as academia, because that’s who we are as a town.”

Deborah McKinzie, associate vice president for development for the College of Arts and Sciences, said she hopes the new president has a “sincere and strong interest in raising money for this university” and sees that “as a major part of their job.”

Many prospective donors, particularly those who “give the big money this university needs,” “will expect to meet the president, will expect to have a relationship with the president, will expect to have their phone calls returned by the president,” she said.

“There are people who simply will not give if they’re not asked by the president,” she added. “It makes a world of difference in the kinds of relationships we can develop. We team up. It’s very hard to close it without that leadership.”

Barbara Hole, associate vice president for development, also stressed fundraising as a critical component of any president’s job, particularly in tough economic times.

“If the leadership is passionate about it and engaged and has the experience (in fundraising), we will be well served” she said.

UB 2020 was on the minds of several listening session attendees.

Anne Meyer, research associate professor in the Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, urged the next president to “take another look at UB 2020.”

“UB 2020 has become different things to different people,” Meyer said. “We need to re-energize it, refresh the vision.”

Meyer noted that while UB 2020 is about “bricks and mortar” and new construction, it’s also about the strategic strengths. As resources diminish, “I see the strategic strengths, frankly, returning to a typical academic balkanization of areas” instead of the original UB 2020 vision of interdisciplinary research, she said.

“We can’t do that if we’re going to become a world-class university.”

Elizabeth Siderakis, director of corporate sponsorship programs in University Development, pointed out that there’s a perception in the community that with Simpson leaving UB, “we’re going to lose our vision, or start all over again and be back to where we were.”

“We don’t want to be starting over again,” she said, noting it’s important for a new president “to keep that momentum going.”

Cayden Mak, an MFA candidate in media study and the only student to speak at the listening sessions, told search committee members he was speaking on behalf of a coalition of student groups called Defend Our Education. The coalition’s message to the search committee:  “We really want somebody who is going be in touch with the academic community.”

The coalition, Mak said, is concerned that the approach to privatize public universities has not been successful, as evidenced by what has been happening with the University of California system.

He noted that there have been voices, his own included, that have been critical of UB 2020.

“It’s important that we have a president who is engaged in thinking about progressive alternatives to not only fundraising, but to supporting staff and students, but also about what the university should look like,” he said.

“A lot of my friends and colleagues think there’s been a bit of a failure in this idea that we can create these partnerships with private corporations, that we can break away from state funding and state oversight that I think are really irresponsible, especially considering we are a public university” whose mission is educate and serve the people of New York state, he said.

“I think really important to find a president who shares those values, who’s going be in touch with that community—not just here at the university, but in the broader context of the SUNY system and in the broader context of the city of Buffalo.”

Janiece Jankowski, circulation manager, Arts and Sciences Libraries, and chair of the Professional Staff Senate, suggested a willingness to be inclusive as an attribute for the new president.“We need someone who will include all members of the university—professionals, trades, clericals—to support the academic mission,” she said, pointing out that UB’s budget problems have hit hard a lot of the representative areas other than faculty. “You have to keep in mind that in order to keep academic excellence, you need to keep everything in place that supports the faculty,” she said.

Tirzah Evege-Thompson, assistant chief financial officer, School of Dental Medicine, said UB needs a new president who is “smart enough to know he needs a smarter team than himself around him. “He needs to have a really smart group of people around him so he can be the face and represent the school,” she said.

Jean Dickson, associate librarian, Arts and Sciences Libraries, lobbied for a president “who really understands that if this campus has a heart, that heart of the campus is the libraries.”

“Without strong support for our libraries, that destroys some of the cohesion of the university,” Dickson said, pointing out that the libraries are one of the few UB assets that members of the community who are not affiliated with the university can use.

“It’s very important to have a strong library not only for faculty, staff and students, but for the community as well,” she said.