Academic Leadership

Q: How do you see your role in the College as fitting with the plans to move UB into the top 25 public research universities?

A: I will do whatever I can to enhance retention, which is a critical value for our university. The Blue Ribbon Commission has provided us with important data on retention broken down by course and discipline. The critical next step is to plan the most appropriate next steps in order to enhance retention while maintaining the high academic standards that make UB such a great place to get an education.

In graduate education, we talk about “attrition”, which reflects the very same problem. The Blue Ribbon commission focused only on undergraduate education, though as per the analyses of the PhD Excellence Initiative committees, keeping graduate students on track is also a critical issue, and plays an indirect role in UB’s ranking given that strong, directed graduate students contribute to our research mission.

Diversity in the student body is likewise a critical area for improvement. This past year has seen a particularly strong realization of the continuing problems of systemic racism, though these issues have been with us for centuries. Also, any discussion of diversity must go hand-in-hand with consideration of equity and inclusion for students from diverse backgrounds.  

Q:  What are some of the opportunities you see for the College in pushing forward our research and academic mission?

A: I find myself thinking about one of the features that really sets UB apart: experiential learning. In my soul-searching moments as a faculty member, I have often considered why a student should attend a large school with large classes as an undergraduate, as opposed to a small college. One of the most compelling answers I come up with is the fact that UB offers students an opportunity to take an active role in ongoing research that will be published and make an impact. I think we already do a good job at this, but I think we could do even more by including more students, giving them even deeper experience and broadening the range of disciplines for which this activity is standard. In my role, I look forward to exploring how I may help enhance experiential learning for students and to realize greater benefits for students and faculty alike.

Q: What are you looking forward to learning and accomplishing in your role?

A: The first thing I am looking forward to is learning more about academic programs in the College. When I became chair of Psychology, I didn’t anticipate how much I would enjoy getting to know chairs of other departments and learning more about how other departments operate. The College is a cornucopia of intellectual diversity, and it’s fascinating to learn about how these different areas of study conduct research and teach. I am also constantly impressed by the genuine kindness and generosity of people at UB. The faculty and staff here are great people to work with. As a chair I enjoyed getting to know my colleagues better and I really enjoyed working with the phenomenal staff in my department. I also look forward to working with the excellent team in the College.

Q: What do you see as the priority areas within this domain?

A: Falling back on my earlier theme, I really see retention and the enhancement of diversity as incredibly critical and the two ways in which I can have the strongest impact in this position.

Q: How will academic affairs help to promote new opportunities for students?

A: I plan to work with the directors of undergraduate programs and College administrators to enhance opportunities for experiential learning; student success and retention; opportunities for continuing education and graduate study that embrace a broad range of career choices; and to promote practices in graduate training that likewise enhance student success here and after graduation.

Q: In your position, how will you operate to maintain student needs as the highest level of importance?

A: First, keep track of relevant data concerning rates of student success and what factors seem to benefit student success. Second, I hope to remain in active communication with faculty and staff who are closely involved in undergraduate programs at the level of departments and programs.

Q: Is there anything else you think is important for readers to know?

A: This is an entirely new experience for me. I look forward to and expect a great amount of learning on the job. I am grateful for the tremendous support and faith shown by the Dean and others in the College that I am up to the job, and humbled by the opportunity. One thing I learned as chair is the critical importance of university staff who have skills and institutional knowledge far beyond what I could offer on my own.

Q: How do you see your role in the College as fitting with the plans to move UB into the top 25 public research universities?

A: As a flagship in New York State, UB is a premier public research university. Our deep and cross-disciplinary scholarly work, research and creative activities are at the center of our ambitions into the Top 25 in ranking and to make a lasting impact on the local and global community. My primary roles are in building a world-class infrastructure for research and creative activities, supporting a culture of open conversations to tackle challenging problems of importance to the society and working with faculty members and department leadership in pursuing national and international recognition for our world-class researchers.

Q: What are some of the opportunities you see for the College in pushing forward our research and academic mission?

A: The College is a leader on campus when it comes to attracting exceptionally talented faculty members with diverse and complementary research and creative backgrounds. UB community is in the midst of an unprecedented opportunity to recruit world-renowned researchers in these areas: democracy and society; human health; sustainability; and transformational technology. These carefully identified research areas straddle across several departments in the College and the depth and breadth of research and creative activities are vital to UB’s mission and our Top-25 ambitions.

Q: What are you looking forward to learning and accomplishing in your role?

A: I view this as a privilege and rare opportunity to serve the College’s research community. I look forward to learning more about the excellent scholarship and diverse research and creative activities that are carried out by our students, staff and faculty members. This is a great opportunity to interact and work closely with world’s leading academicians with expertise in arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics. I would like to create a model research support system for the researchers in the College that works towards reducing the burden of research administration on the researchers, thereby creating additional opportunities to engage in scholarship. The College’s pioneering efforts and successes in establishing administrative support systems are valuable in achieving this.

Q: How will you help to continue to build a culture of research collaboration across sectors and among departments, programs and institutes?

A: Associate deans play a crucial role in fostering research collaborations within the university. I strongly believe that a positive research culture is important in establishing successful research collaborations. Leaders will lead by example, boost morale of the participants and provide a support system that takes the burden of managing large collaborations away from the researchers. Timely and open communication is vital in establishing collaborations across sectors and departments and schools. I will strive to provide networking opportunities and to make sure that researchers have the necessary information, facilities, equipment and support to tackle pressing problems in the society. It is also important to recognize and reward significant collaborative efforts.

Q: How do you see your role in the College as fitting with the plans to move UB into the top 25 public research universities?

A: I want to help faculty so they can expend their time on their scholarship and teaching, the areas that will help us out in that regard.

Q: What are you looking forward to learning and accomplishing in your role?

A: I enjoy learning about other sectors, majors, and expertise. For example, meeting with chairs like the music chair who is a world-famous pianist.  

Q: What do you see as the priority areas within this domain?

A: Recruiting the best students and putting choices in front of them plain to see with respect to courses and majors in the college.

Q: How will you help to build a culture of collaboration across sectors and among departments, programs and institutes?

A: Mutual understanding and open communication – problems and challenges are best addressed in a collegial relationship.  

Q: How will experiential learning be further incorporated as an integral part of the sector’s priorities?

A: It is essential to a first-rate education – showing students the application of their learning. Also, illustrating how many majors can take you down vocational paths you could not envision unless out in the field.

Q: In your position, how will you operate to maintain student needs as the highest level of importance?

A: Students are why we have tall buildings, large football stadiums, fancy gaming labs! Students are why we are all here. I always prioritize their vantage point.  

Q: Is there anything else you think is important for readers to know?

A: I earned three degrees from UB!  

Q: How do you see your role in the College as fitting with the plans to move UB into the top 25 public research universities?  

A: I intend to push for the recruitment of exceptional scholars to diversify our faculty membership, to advance new research and funding opportunities and to increase the recognition of our outstanding faculty colleagues. I am also focused on improving student success, increasing the retention of our first-year students and promoting new programs to meet student demand for rewarding careers.  

Q: What are some of the opportunities you see for the College in pushing forward our research and academic mission?

A: Interest in the Social Sciences is growing. While communication, economics, and health and human services remain popular majors, programs such as criminology, environmental studies, international trade and political science have experienced sharp increases in the number of undergraduate majors. I should like to think that these students are interested in solving some of society’s most pressing issues including poverty, inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, peace, justice, and strong institutions, decent work and economic growth, and climate action, among many other topics. New degree programs such as computational linguistics, global affairs, philosophy, politics and economics will further expand the cross-disciplinary opportunities for our students and faculty colleagues.

To be successful Social Scientists, students need a toolkit comprised of theoretical knowledge, competency in qualitative, quantitative, and interdisciplinary research methods and skill in using modern technology. The increased student interest focused on society’s greatest challenges surely will drive academic and scholarly innovation within the College. 

Q: What are you looking forward to learning and accomplishing in your role?

A: I should be a facilitator, working to help every department chair, every faculty and staff member, and every student achieve the professional and life-long learning success that we all desire. This means that I should listen to and think strategically with our colleagues, searching for innovative ideas, connections and solutions to broaden our impact within CAS and UB. By doing this, I then can be an advocate for the social sciences by clearly articulating a compelling vision as to why our disciplines matter now more than ever.

Q: How will you help to build a culture of collaboration across sectors and among departments, programs and institutes?

A: The current pandemic has provided abundant evidence that we need a more efficient approach to meeting our university obligations, so that we can devote more time and energy to strategic planning, scholarly endeavors and education. Reorganizing the College into sectors and creating administrative teams are important steps in fostering a culture of collaboration and efficiency. These deliberate actions should encourage research and programmatic innovation within and across disciplines and sectors.

Q: How will experiential learning be further incorporated as an integral part of the sector’s priorities?

A: Both students and employers recognize that experiential learning is a keystone activity for a successful career—it provides the hands-on knowledge and networking connections critical to jump start a student’s transition into the workplace. Degree programs such as environmental studies and health and human services have a long and successful history in placing students into meaningful internship positions. The College has recently expanded these experiential learning opportunities in the Social Sciences and is seeking ways to secure the funds necessary to support these endeavors.