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Simpson addresses Faculty Senate
By DONNA BUDNIEWSKI
Reporter Assistant
Editor
President John B. Simpson addressed the full Faculty Senate for the first time during the group's monthly meeting on Tuesday, joking about his "indoctrination" by snow and ice, and the perpetual "scraping" of his car, noting that in California, all one needs before leaving the house this time of year is a light jacket.
Yet, he stressed, "I would not move to a place where I didn't want to live."
Simpson said the quality of life of a region is determined largely by interactions with the people in the area, and his interactions thus far have been characterized by graciousness and hospitality, and have been "entirely welcoming to a newcomer."
He invited questions and comments from faculty members and provided an overview of his goals as president—admittedly based on his brief tenure at UB. During the exchange, Simpson underscored his support of teaching excellence as integral to the academic life of all faculty members. In fact, he said his first task as president is to set a tone for academic excellence in which faculty members play the primary role in that effort.
"I think very much it is the case that the faculty play the central role in determining the quality of the university, its aspirations, its achievements and its overall face that is seen by its constituents and the rest of the academic world," said Simpson, adding that it was his job to foster, aid and support faculty in that mission. "If the institution's going to move ahead, it's going to be largely through the work and quality of what the faculty does, first and foremost, above everything," he said.
He told senators that he only wanted faculty members at UB who are excellent teachers committed to that work, both at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and that the quality of teaching should still weigh heavily in tenure decisions. Research, teaching and public service are important and, to some degree, essential in terms of faculty being successful, said Simpson. But, he added, excellence in teaching is critical.
"I do not want a person on the faculty here who's not accomplished as a teacher. I do not want an individual on the faculty here who is not accomplished as a scholar," he said. "You have to be, if you're a member of this faculty, a dedicated and successful teacher. I think that somebody should not be given tenure at a university like this unless they have clearly demonstrated that they are both a scholar and a teacher."
On the recent arrest of Gerald M. Goldhaber, associate professor of communication, on drug charges in the Cayman Islands, Simpson said that aside from press reports on alleged drug use by Goldhaber and two UB students, the university has yet to receive legitimate documentation proving the allegations.
He noted that, in general, clear policies and procedures exist with respect to students and faculty that would govern whether or not the university will discipline the professor and students involved. "I and others will decide whether or not there are issues to be pursued through the appropriate student and faculty processes. At this point, we're not there yet," Simpson said.
Gaspar Farkas, associate professor of exercise and nutrition sciences in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, asked Simpson about his plans regarding the future of the search for a dean for the school, which Simpson recently suspended.
Simpson said critical planning and funding issues motivated the suspension of the search, although he expressed faith in the value of the school and its importance to the university. "I think with respect to hiring a dean, I looked at it this way: I would have been unsatisfied and, frankly, not attracted (to apply for the position as a candidate) given the kind of understandings and plans the institution had in place for moving the school ahead. In order to hire the very best dean and ensure the future of the school, I wanted to put the search in hiatus-not call it off-until the institution, frankly, got its act together," explained Simpson.
While the president introduced himself "first and foremost" as a faculty member and fellow colleague, he spoke about the necessity of running the university as efficiently as possible and for less money, which, he explained, is simply the way to do business, regardless of whether or not UB is receiving stable state support.
He expressed interest in moving to a "paperless" campus and said he's reviewing other areas of the campus that need attention.
Asserting the role and responsibility of a public institution as being grounded in the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge, Simpson noted that public institutions are facing increasing calls to expand their role in the communities in which they reside. It's very common, he said, to become engaged in conversations initiated by others regarding what UB can contribute to Buffalo and the surrounding area. Public service, he noted, would take a larger role in the activities of the university.
Simpson also responded to a question about a media report suggesting that UB hadn't performed as well as peer institutions in garnering sponsored research funding. "It's hard to argue with the data," he said, adding that while funding ought to be substantially higher, the report is "all history" and the university needs to focus on the future and ways to make UB more supportive and conducive to conducting sponsored research.
He also said that federally funded research isn't the only thing important to the university.
Richard Salvi, director of the Center For Hearing and Deafness and professor of communicative disorders and sciences, told Simpson that faculty have to deal with "pretty old-fashioned and outdated systems for managing grants" that are inefficient and inaccurate. Salvi said that many researchers aren't impressed with the system in place, which he characterized as "pencil and paper."
He also said that the university's buildings and grounds "don't look very good," especially in comparison to Buffalo State College's grounds, which appear clean and well cared for. "We really don't present ourselves very well," Salvi said.
The president said he would take to heart both issues, find out to what extent the problems exist and try to fix them.
Simpson praised UB faculty and affirmed his desire to work at a public research university. "I want to work in a research university—one that has distinguished faculty who are known for their scholarship and contributions to their field and to the world at large," he said.
He recalled that as a graduate student he attended a lecture at the Society of Neurosciences given by Nobel Prize-winning neurophysiologist Sir John Eccles, who at the time was a faculty member at UB and director of the university's Center for Study of Neurobiology. Eccles received the Nobel Prize before coming to UB.
"I have long known of the quality and distinction of the faculty at the University at Buffalo," Simpson acknowledged.