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Questions &Answers
Michael E. Ryan is vice provost and dean of undergraduate education.
What are your priorities for the vice provost's office?
President Simpson has clearly articulated our institutional focus as
academic excellence. Excellence must therefore be an integral part of
our tripartite missions of teaching, research and service. High-quality
educational and research programs will attract the most talented and
promising faculty and students. One of the priorities of the vice
provost's office will be to sustain and explore ways to enhance the
excellence of our undergraduate educational programs. We would like to
create a distinctive undergraduate experience and improve the rich
educational opportunities offered to our students. Our educational and
research enterprise also must be supported by high-quality academic
services and systems. Thus, another priority of the vice provost's
office will be to examine possibilities for enhancing the learning
environment and the academic support services that we provide.
UB has always been known more for graduate education than
undergraduate education. What's the most important thing UB can do to
enhance the undergraduate experience and overcome this perception?
One of our great strengths is our faculty. I believe that the most
important thing that we can do to enhance the undergraduate experience
is to provide opportunities for greater interaction between students and
faculty. The perception can be overcome by ensuring that prospective
students and our local community are aware of the outstanding
undergraduate education that UB offers. The Celebration of Academic
Excellence on April 29 will celebrate and recognize several faculty
members for their extraordinary contributions to teaching and research.
This event will include an exhibition and recognition of undergraduate
student projects across all disciplines. Artistic performances by
undergraduate students also will comprise portions of the ceremony.
Charles Ebert, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus, will be
recognized for his 50 years of outstanding service to the university
community. I believe that this forum, and others, for showcasing the
extensive interactions that occur between undergraduate students and
faculty will help in providing a more balanced perception and
appreciation of the role of undergraduate education at UB.
There's a real push in the provost's office to get undergraduates
involved in research. Why is that?
It is noteworthy that only 3
percent of all higher education institutions in the United States are
classified as research universities. As such, UB has a responsibility to
provide undergraduates with the opportunity to engage with faculty in
research and creative work. Inquiry-based learning and the opportunity
to advance knowledge through scholarly activity can provide students
with a distinctive and transformative educational experience. This
exposure may motivate students to continue their education at the
post-baccalaureate level, either here at UB or elsewhere. Although many
of our proactive students are engaged in these activities, I believe
that we can do much more to foster this type of educational
experience.
How do you convince a student interested in the arts and sciences
to come to UB rather than, say, Binghamton?
UB is a public,
comprehensive, research university. This means that our faculty members
are engaged in teaching, or dissemination of knowledge, and research, or
advancement of knowledge. I believe that our undergraduates benefit from
the fact that the faculty bring this scholarship and expertise into the
classroom and into the course content that is taught. Because of our
comprehensive nature, there exists a broad array of degree programs and
courses for students to choose from. This benefits undergraduates in two
ways. First, it is not uncommon for entering freshmen to change their
major. At UB, it is possible for students to find suitable alternatives
that will meet their educational and career objectives without having to
leave the institution. At a smaller institution, these options are much
more limited. Second, students will have elective courses to select as
part of their program and general education requirements. At UB, there
is a wide range of courses to choose from, taught by scholars within
that discipline. Obviously, at a smaller institution such as Binghamton,
the choices are more limited. Finally, as a comprehensive public
institution offering high-quality programs, we are an exceptional value
because of our state-subsidized tuition.
You were intimately involved in undergraduate education for nearly
10 years as associate dean for student services in the School of
Engineering and Applied Sciences. How has the approach to undergraduate
education at UB changed in the past decade?
Technology has had a
major impact on undergraduate education. The delivery of instruction,
classroom demonstrations, access to information and communication
between students and faculty have dramatically changed. Technology also
has enabled academic units to collect information with regard to the
academic performance of students during the semester. This has provided
an opportunity for academic advising units to intervene or provide
support to students that may be having difficulty, while there is still
an opportunity to affect outcomes. I believe that there has been a shift
in focus from what is being taught to what is being learned.
Appropriately, we have become more holistically focused on the student
and student outcomes.
What's the biggest difference between being a faculty member and
an administrator?
As an administrator there is inherently a much
greater time commitment related to administrative and managerial
responsibilities. Your constituents entrust and expect you to do the
right thing and to do things right. Although administration provides a
demanding and novel set of challenges, I have found the experience to be
very rewarding.
Do you still teach?
I am not teaching this particular
semester, but I will certainly continue to teach in the future. Teaching
is one of the major rewards of being a faculty member. Teaching and the
interaction with students are the fun things that derive from working in
a university.
What question do you wish I had asked, and how would you have
answered it?
The question I would like to respond to is, What
exciting project are you working on at present? Provost Tripathi
recently asked Dennis Black, vice president for student affairs, and I
to work together on a significant project to develop a vision for the
undergraduate educational experience at UB. We have begun to articulate
some guiding educational principles and will develop recommendations for
achieving this vision by working with representatives across the
university community. We are both very excited about being engaged on
this important task.