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Questions & Answers
Uday Sukhatme is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
The home page of the CAS Web site has a prominent link to a page
devoted to the weather in Buffalo. Why was that done?
I
particularly asked our Department of Geography to make this Web page
since Buffalo and snow are intimately linked words in most people's
minds. I felt that it was very important for everyone to have accurate
facts about the distribution of snowfall in the Buffalo area. I wanted
people to know that there are neighboring regions with widely differing
amounts of snow. It also was important to point out the excellent,
temperate summer weather in the Buffalo area. This also was an
opportunity to showcase the outstanding academic reputation of our
Department of Geography in the area of geographic information systems.
In fact, the snowfall maps on our Web site were produced by two graduate
students in geography. They can be found on the college's Web page at
http://cas.buffalo.edu/
under the heading "Weather or Not?"
Do you find that Buffalo's reputation for snow is a detriment in
recruiting faculty and graduate students? How important a factor is the
weather in the job decision?
It may not be a serious detriment,
but it is certainly a concern for prospective faculty and students.
Buffalo's snowy reputation could affect a job decision, especially if
other alternative, comparable job opportunities are available. I know
that my wife and I were worried about the snow until a number of
knowledgeable people who had previously lived in Buffalo told us that
most of the heavy snowfalls (prominently discussed by the media!) were
localized south of Buffalo. We also were convinced that the whole area
was well equipped to handle the snow, and by data showing that UB rarely
closed down on account of the weather.
You spent many years in Chicago—certainly no lightweight when
it comes to snow and wind. How would you compare the climate of Buffalo
and Chicago?
Chicago was probably somewhat colder and windier
than Buffalo, but it snows much more here. However, in Buffalo, it seems
routine to hire someone to snowplow the driveway, whereas it was not so
easy to find this service in Chicago.
What sales pitch do you personally give to prospective faculty
when they ask about the weather in Buffalo? Do you downplay the snow and
play up the summer weather?
I like to give prospective faculty
the facts and tell them that they have a choice of where to
live—the Amherst area around UB gets a modest amount of snow
averaging about 80 inches a year, comparable to the amounts in many
cities in the United States, whereas there are areas further south with
larger snowfall where they can enjoy winter sports. I emphasize the high
quality of life, the warmth of the people, and then smoothly change the
discussion into a more academic direction! We have a lot to offer from a
research and educational viewpoint, and academic excellence is where our
focus needs to be.
Do you ski or participate in other winter sports?
I don't
participate in winter sports, but I do enjoy watching them on
television!