News
Leadership searches nearing conclusions
Several key university leadership searches are entering the home stretch, President Satish K. Tripathi told members of the UB Council at Monday’s meeting.
Finalists have been selected in the searches for the vice president for development and alumni relations (VPDAR) and the vice president for finance and administration (VPFA), Tripathi reported.
Two VPDAR finalists visited campus last week and one VPFA finalist visited last month, with two others scheduled to visit this week, he said. All finalists for both positions have “significant experience at AAU institutions,” he stressed.
Appointments for both positions are expected soon, Tripathi said.
In the search for a new provost, off-campus candidate interviews are expected to be completed by the end of January, with finalists visiting campus in late February or early March, he said, adding that he expected a new provost to be on board by July.
In other business, outgoing Interim Provost Harvey Stenger Jr. updated council members about the “3 E” funding process.
Named after Tripathi’s three areas of focus—excellence, efficiency and engagement—the funds are designed for projects that further the university’s goals of rising in the ranks of AAU institutions. The funding comes from the $300 annual tuition increase outlined in the NYSUNY 2020 legislation. Stenger noted that three-quarters of the more than $19 million UB gained this year through the tuition increase is being returned back to the units in proportion to the revenue they bring in, while the remaining one-quarter—about $5 million—has been set aside for the 3 E fund.
He said that the Provost’s Office received 101 proposals requesting more than $35 million. Those proposals ranged from plans to improve the recruiting process for a diverse student body to enrollment management to a new program in biomedical entrepreneurship.
A panel consisting of three representatives from the Faculty Senate, three from the Professional Staff Senate and three former administrators—George Lee, Bruce Johnstone and John Thomas—have been reviewing the proposals.
“This is an exciting way to give people an idea that we’re moving forward, we’re not just doing the same thing every year, and we hope we can start funding these beginning the first of the year,” said Stenger, who is leaving UB to take on the presidency of Binghamton University on Jan. 2.
Also at Monday’s meeting, Dennis Black, vice president for university life and services, reported that in the wake of the sex abuse incidents at Penn State and Syracuse, UB would be developing a new policy specifically aimed at ensuring the welfare of minors on campus.
Black said that when elementary, middle and high school students come to UB for events or to participate in campus programs, they’re coming to a “very open environment”—unlike their home schools, where security is extremely tight. This, he said, “places an additional burden and responsibility on us.”
“When young people come to us, we need to be doing some things differently,” he said, including asking more questions, collecting more information and having and promoting standards for how the university interacts with minors and how it reports and responds to incidents.
Black pointed out that in addition to its institutional commitment, UB already is obligated under a number of legal requirements “to do the right thing” regarding possible incidents of wrongdoing. Among them are the federal Clery Act involving crime reporting; federal Title IX legislation ensuring that programs, services and activities are open to all and that individuals are protected from sexual harassment; and state legislation requiring such individuals as workers at the UB Child Care Center to automatically report suspicions of wrongdoing.
The university also has taken steps to make sure all members of the university community are aware of their responsibilities, he said, including a campuswide email from Tripathi, updated materials on appropriate websites and specific conversations with those who work in units likely to come into contact with students, including Athletics, University Police and Residence Halls and Apartments.
Black said that drafting a specific child protection policy will help the university keep better track of who is on campus and for what purpose, provide standards for supervision of young people and adopt new reporting standards.
He noted that in New York City and other large metropolitan areas, promotions for the general public regarding the reporting of possible incidents of terrorism include the watchword “see it, say it.”
“Here on campus with regard to potential allegations of wrongdoing involving students, I think our watchword is going to be ‘see it, say it, twice,’” he said, adding that will ensure that all incidents are reported to at least two different areas so that reports do not get lost in one particular office and that there are multiple channels to keep track of what’s going on and to respond.
Black said he hopes the new child protection policy can be adopted in early 2012.
Reader Comments