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Simpson article generates ‘interesting comments’
By MARY COCHRANE
Contributing Editor
When President John B. Simpson published an opinion piece in Inside Higher Education this month about the lack of "educational access" to higher education, he intended to stir up a discussion on the issue.
"I would bet that fully half of people who graduate from high school are not prepared to go to a university or a college when it comes time for admission," he said at yesterday's Faculty Senate Executive Committee meeting. "My point was, when you talk about access, the conversation is not simply how much does it cost, but even if you can afford it, are you ready to take advantage of the kinds of things we offer? That was it, simple."
Simpson noted that the article has "engendered all sorts of interesting comments, only one of which said something to that fundamental point. The rest strayed off into whether I used a statistical measure right or the right sampling data in my report to whether IQ matters to issues of privilege. It was fascinating. I suppose if the aim was to provoke conversation, I succeeded."
Simpson generated another discussion during yesterday's meeting, this one about the work of UB's international education task force, which he formed last year "to look at what we do in international education now, that is as both an importing and exporting institution, and to advise us on future strategic directions we might consider taking."
The group's findings will be published soon, Simpson said, "if for no other reason than that the (recommended) changes are things that we as a faculty need to take on.
"You probably do know that among public universities, the one thing that we are number one at is in the proportion of international students who study at the University at Buffalo. We have a lot more international students than we have out-of-state students right now. That's something we have which, in my way of thinking, is a great strength," Simpson said.
"We also send about 10 percent of our students to some sort of international educational experience that has some substance to it, which is about four times the national average for institutions like ourselves. So we do pretty well at importing and exporting students"
He then posed several questions to the faculty senators: Should UB continue its pursuit of international students? Would increasing the participation of native UB students in study-abroad programs be "a good thing" for the university? And, should UB take on "a systematic effort" to examine the general education requirements with regard to international studies?
In response, Claude Welch, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Political Science, said it has been 20 years since the College of Arts and Sciences last revised its general education curriculum, which offers three core courses: World Civilizations, American Pluralism and Great Discoveries in Science.
Peter A. Nickerson, director of the pathology graduate program in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and a SUNY senator, said he believes UB would be "handcuffed by the state because there are certain requirements" for general education curricula.
"We used to have a general education curriculum that I think was superb, but it changed because we were required to have general education aligned with the State University of New York mandates," he said.
Simpson asked: "Does that mean there is no room or time in general education to do it the way that we as a faculty want to?"
Nickerson replied, "I think that's true. The question is, where is SUNY headed in regard to general education?"
Barbara A. Rittner, associate dean for external affairs and director of the graduate program in the School of Social Work, said that lack of funding is the biggest obstacle to building a better international program at UB.
"It is very difficult to recruit students here because we lack financial resources for students. Last year, I lost at least three students to much more generous research assistance and graduate assistance funds available at other institutions," Rittner said. "It becomes a department-by-department situation. In other words, if I can afford a student, I can recruit them. As a university, I don't think we've created the infrastructure that makes it possible to recruit them."
Joseph Woelfel, professor of communication, remarked that UB is "in a better position to compete internationally than we are domestically.
"My sense is we're more highly regarded in the rest of the world than we are in the United States. It's also the case that over the last eight years or so, there's been an increasing isolation in the West. It's been more difficult for U.S. scholars to participate abroad and to bring foreign scholars to the United States. I know some of our international conferences are no longer scheduled in the United States because it's so difficult to travel here. I think if we slip, we'll lose a wonderful opportunity because we're in a better position than a lot of universities that are more highly ranked than us to compete internationally," he said.
Robert Hoeing, chair of the faculty senate and associate professor of linguistics, said that broadening UB's international studies programs would be "important for our United States students" because "despite our size, we can be a very provincial country."
In other business, Walter F. Simpson, director of UB Green, spoke about the many efforts his office has led to help UB conserve energy and peacefully co-exist with the natural environment.
"We are certainly regarded as a leader" in energy and environmental initiatives, Simpson told the FSEC. "In conservation and green power purchasing, we were early out of the blocks," he said. "And we have a lot of campuses that have sent delegations to us, which honors the kind of reputation we have and the accomplishments we have. But the competition is getting stiffer. If you want to stay in the top echelon, you need to be advancing your program in a very aggressive way right now."
He said UB Green has initiated more and newer ways to go green at UB, working with several university groups, including the university's Environmental Task Force, made up of faculty, staff and students, and a host of "Green Partners," or "various departments on campus that are plugged in to what we are doing."
One area that is advancing at UB is ensuring that new facilities construction, as well as renovation of extant structures, results in "green" buildings on all three campuses, Simpson said.
"The new engineering building is in the design stages right now and for the first time, students want to be part of the design process to make it as green as possible," he noted.
Michael F. Dupre, associate vice president for facilities, also spoke to the FSEC about "It's In Your Reach," a campaign to encourage faculty, staff and students to help clean up the university campuses. "Help wanted" ads have appeared in The Spectrum student newspaper, calling for people to "keep a clean campus and create a welcoming environment for all to enjoy." Other ads speak to the fact that cleaning up is "Within Your Reach."
As part of the program, a cleanup will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to clean up the areas where the Linda Yalem Run will be held on Sunday. Dupre added that his office is looking into offering grants to student clubs for cleanup and campus-enhancement initiatives. He encouraged faculty members to turn off lights in empty classrooms.
Faculty members at the meeting suggested that the university purchase more trash cans to promote cleanup. Welch said that in addition to other "requirements" that he includes on his syllabi for students, such as asking them to turn off their cell phones prior to class, he will add the suggestion that they pick up their own and other litter they see.
In response to one faculty member's complaint that the classroom she teaches in is almost always dirty, Dupre noted that the university is "in transition" in terms of its cleaning staff, turning from hiring outside cleaning contractors to putting cleaning staff back on the UB payroll—which provides the employees with benefits—for increased quality assurance.