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Simpson optimistic despite changes in Albany
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer
Despite last week’s resignation of former New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer, President John B. Simpson told the Faculty Senate Executive Committee yesterday that “there’s no reason to be less optimistic” about UB’s chances of earning strong state support for its ongoing plans to grow in size and stature.
The goals set forth in the UB 2020 strategic plan were put into place before the former governor came into office, he said, also noting that they were never dependent on who occupies the chief leadership position in Albany.
“It’s always a loss when somebody who is so positive about what you’re trying to do disappears,” he said. “Having said that, I don’t see that this changes anything about what we’re doing ourselves, which is a tremendous amount. We control a lot of what we do ourselves in our university.”
There are several reasons to be optimistic in the face of change, said Simpson, including the continued role in state politics of Lloyd Constantine, as well as the reputation of Governor David Patterson, who was sworn into office as governor on Monday, as being “much more effective” when it comes to working with state legislators than his predecessor.
“I see no reason to think that David Patterson isn’t every bit as supportive of what we’re doing here at the University at Buffalo…as was Eliot Spitzer,” added Simpson.
In other business, Bill Baumer, chair of the Faculty Senate Grading Committee and professor in the Department of Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences, presented a proposal to shorten the “drop/add” period during which students are able to enroll or remove themselves from courses from two weeks to seven days for “adds” and six for drops.
“We have a significant number of programs in the arts that are very, very anxious to have this happen—that find that students changing their courses in the second week are disastrous on multiple counts,” he said.
Permitting students to drop or add courses as late as two weeks into the semester not only disrupts classes by requiring faculty to back up in their lessons to accommodate late-comers, explained Baumer, but also provides a false sense of interest in certain courses, potentially prompting a department to “break the bank” in order to create additional class sections for which there later turn out to be no actual demand.
Among the senators in favor of the proposal was Peter Bradford, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, who said it addresses the problem of “course shopping,” in which students sign up for classes in which they’re unlikely to remain enrolled in order to keep their options open or for classes that they plan to drop if a more popular course or instructor becomes available.
Speaking against the proposal was Barbara Rittner, associate dean for external affairs and director of the graduate program in the School of Social Work, who objected that the one-week limit on drop/adds would apply to graduate as well as undergraduate students, despite the fact most graduate classes meet only once a week.
“This presumes that everybody is an undergraduate and that they have two to three experiences in a course in a week as opposed to one experience in the course,” she said. “The one-size-fits-all [model] is still a complaint…The impact will be on the graduate program and the professional schools and a differential rate—just because of the nature of the way our courses are mounted.”
In response, Baumer pointed out that drop/adds are allowed in the second week under the proposal with the permission of a faculty member. Ritter countered that she believes such an arrangement puts too much pressure on the registrar’s office to process such requests.
Also presenting at Wednesday’s meeting was Carol Smith Petro, associate vice president and program manager at WBFO 88.7 FM, the National Public Radio affiliate operated by UB.
Petro provided a run-down of grants and awards recently received by WBFO, as well as an update on ongoing programming upgrades in terms of programming, outreach to younger audience members and technology, including the creation of a high-definition music channel, WBFO XPoNential, as well as plans to erect a stronger broadcast antenna that will increase the station’s listener base by approximately 50,000.
“We consider ourselves as a point or forum for dialogue and conversation,” she added, noting this includes not only special programming such as “Meet the Author,” but also “UB Edition” and “U-Beat,” which “reflect UB’s achievements and role of its faculty and students.”