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Simpson tells PSS he values teamwork above hierarchies
By DONNA BUDNIEWSKI
Reporter Assistant Editor
President John B. Simpson, meeting for the first time on March 25 with members of the Professional Staff Senate, described his management style as one in which teamwork is valued above rigid hierarchies and reporting relationships.
Calling himself an "accidental manager" who has never taken a business course, Simpson said he enjoys administrative work as much—if not more—than the work of being a scientist. In his work as an administrator, he said he uses a set of values that also should characterize the way UB functions as an institution.
"I've picked up a few notions that have served me well and I want to set an example of what I want the institution to have as values," he said.
When university staff and faculty function as collective participants in the operation of the university, it produces the greatest good, Simpson said, as opposed to staff and faculty working within entrenched hierarchies and reporting relationships that also exist in such organizations as the military and other government entities.
"I look at all of you as not just responsible for your positions, but also as institutional citizens in addition to everything else you do. Everybody contributes to the success of the enterprise, and should be listened to by the president on down to the lowest manager," he said.
"Decision making should be left at the lowest possible level of management. I'm not going to be in the business of telling you how to run your enterprises—don't micromanage your individual enterprises," he explained, adding that employees should be given the responsibility to do their jobs, with clearly defined expectations, and then be held accountable.
Simpson then turned to the issue of merit pay, asking senators if merit has been a factor in their opportunities for promotions and salary increases.
"Are you recognized in the system for how well you do your job?" Simpson asked. The answer was a collective and resounding "no" from most members of the group. "That's pretty clear," he responded.
Patricia Shelley, associate director of the Institute for Research and Education on Women and Gender, urged Simpson to define his concept of merit, adding that outstanding differences still exist in the salaries of full professors based on gender—men still make more than women at UB, she contended.
The issue of merit, if it's appropriated fairly and justly, should be available beyond any personal characteristic and should be based on how well faculty and staff perform in their jobs, Simpson said.
After three months on the job, Simpson said he's concluded that developing a master plan that clearly articulates academic principles as part of a strong and unified vision of what the university should be—which, he noted, doesn't yet exist at UB—is a major priority. The creation of academic, capital construction, resource allocation and marketing and government-relations plans for the university are a key component of any overall institutional master plan, he said.
The university needs to determine where it is going and what it wants to achieve, he said. "UB has all the pieces in place. It's my job to figure out what those pieces are and put them together in interesting and exciting ways to make UB a truly great university."
He said his goal as president is to set the tone for academic excellence and achievement from which all else flows. He noted that he's been meeting with deans, provosts and vice presidents to hammer out the details of an overall institutional plan for the future that supports the academic vision of the university.