The University at Buffalo (UB) invites inquiries, nominations and applications for the position of vice president and chief information officer (VPCIO). A member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a flagship and the largest and most comprehensive public research university in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, UB is an internationally renowned center for academic excellence. UB is seeking a strategic, forward-thinking leader for the position of VPCIO. Reporting to the president in a cabinet-level appointment, the VPCIO will establish and implement, in partnership with the Provost, vice presidents for research, finance and administration and communication, and academic deans, a clear vision for positioning UB at the forefront of 21st century information technology and computing in higher education.
The vice president and chief information officer is responsible for the delivery of a robust and innovative information technology infrastructure to advance the university’s research and educational mission. Providing critical oversight of information technology, computing services, and administrative information systems across the university, the VPCIO will serve as the university’s principal technology leader. In this role, the VPCIO will be responsible for UB’s overall technology environment, including support for the research and teaching activities of faculty and students and oversight of all applications and infrastructure related to administration and academics, information security and telecommunications.
In addition to serving as a member of the president’s cabinet, the VPCIO will be actively engaged with all academic and administrative units of the university, and will lead UB’s Information Technology unit, which coordinates and provides the delivery of technology services across the university. The VPCIO will be responsible for aligning information technology efforts with institutional priorities and goals.
The UBIT division comprises a total staff of ~200, with an annual operating budget of approximately $30 million. UBIT is responsible for supporting the teaching, research and administration of the university through the effective deployment of information technology. While offering centralized services, UBIT also works in close collaboration with school and central administration leadership, enterprise system owners and technology staff working in decentralized general and academic user support organizations embedded in the University Library and the institution’s 12 schools and colleges.
In all aspects of its mission, UBIT is highly collaborative. UBIT continuously gives careful consideration of the impacts on UB’s students, faculty and staff. UBIT is strategically pursuing a digital transformation through major initiatives such as the enterprise-wide CRM program, the robust Wi-Fi6 wireless network, and exploring AI in operations, instruction and faculty/student effectiveness.
In January 2024, NYS Governor Kathy Hochul announced that UB will be the home of Empire AI—a consortium of leading NYS public and private research universities that will harness the potential of a $400M investment in AI and data science. As a longstanding national and international leader in AI and data science, UB will be the premier resource center for AI research and innovation. With this investment, Empire AI will position New York State at the forefront of responsible AI and will spur game-changing research, attract significant federal funding and expand 21st century business and industry, cultivating sustained economic prosperity in Buffalo, Western New York and across the state.
UBIT is already leveraging AI in the following areas: endpoint detection and response, wireless data analytics and ML/AI, message spam and phishing controls, and extending/improving the UB Chatbot. Additionally, UBIT is working with the Vice President for Research and Economic Development and other faculty experts on additional potential uses of AI at UB.
CIO Administrative Operations (CIOAO)
CIO Administrative Operations (10.5 FTEs) combines all the business and administrative support functions for CIT into one unit. The staff of CIOAO perform transactional activities and administrative tasks so that technical staff can focus on their required duties.
Enterprise Application Services (EAS)
Enterprise Application Services (53 FTEs) provides design, implementation and production support services for enterprise applications and for campus data access and business intelligence systems. EAS has offices in Academic Center and Red Jacket, located in the Ellicott Complex, on UB’s North Campus.
Enterprise Infrastructure Services (EIS)
Enterprise Infrastructure Services (43 FTEs) supports the underlying files systems, the computing engines and data communication gear that are the infrastructure or backbone for much of UB's computing functionality.
Information Security Office (ISO)
Established in 2006, the Information Security Office (6 FTEs) is responsible for the overall direction of information security functions related to the University at Buffalo, including: IT risk management, security policies and security awareness.
IT Communication and Engagement (ITCE)
IT Communication and Engagement (5 FTEs) is charged with informing the campus community about enterprise IT services through the UBIT website, social media, video and advertising campaigns, and partnerships with other campus communicators.
IT Customer Service (ITCS)
IT Customer Service (42.8 FTEs) encompasses classroom video conferencing, course capture, UBIT Help Center, UB Tech Squad, ITCS Field Services and Public Sites.
Network and Communication Services (NCS)
The key services of Network and Communication Services (27.8 FTEs) are Network Engineering, Voice/Data Installation and Repair, and Network Applications and Operations.
Strategic Portfolio Management
The Strategic Portfolio Management Office (5 FTEs) is responsible for helping to ensure that UB’s finite Information Technology resources are optimally focused on meeting the strategic goals of the University and assists in key operational programs.
The enterprise organization is responsible for building and supporting the foundational IT services and infrastructure for the university, including the university network, student information systems (HUB), UB Learns, MyUB and university financial systems.
Research, Scholarship and Economic Development
Building on the foundation of our faculty excellence through investing in high-impact research across the disciplines; Deepening our impact and outreach in the regional community by strengthening programs and partnerships that contribute to the social, cultural and economic vitality of Western New York; Aligning our health science schools with key partners to improve health care outcomes and advance clinical research locally and globally.
Modern and Reliable Technology Infrastructure
Improving academic support infrastructures to create a state-of-the-art educational and research environment.
Institutional Resource Management
Promoting continuous improvement through informed decision making in the allocation of financial, physical and human resources towards the accomplishment of the university’s goals for learning, research, outreach and engagement.
Business Intelligence and Data Management
Enabling the university to make more real-time decisions in regard to constituency engagement, student retention and program development; Provide processes and infrastructure for the purposes of managing various types of university information and data.
Curricular Innovation and Student Success
Enriching the overall educational experience while raising the academic profile of our undergraduate, graduate and professional students; Strengthening our significant international presence and preparing our students to lead in a global society.
Digital Communications
Moving the university further into the top ranks of academically exceptional research institutions by bringing the UB brand to life in collaboration with the Vice President for University Communications, projecting it as a top tier university worthy of attracting the brightest minds in higher education. This is accomplished by: Deepening relationships to UB; Illustrating the UB experience and the UB brand; Providing quick access to information and services.
UBIT’s portfolio is managed through an established governance model based on collaborative shared decision-making. The Data Governance Council is composed of campus leaders who meet regularly and oversee the university data decisions and related IT project prioritization.
There are several other key committees that feed information into the shared IT governance model. These committees include the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Council (ISPAC), the Data Stewardship Committee, the Enrollment and Academic IT Support Committee, the Faculty Senate IT Committee (FCITC) and IT Leadership group attended monthly by central and distributed IT directors.
The Faculty Senate IT Committee served a very valuable role during the past academic year providing input and guidance on the transition to the new LMS (Brightspace), continued input into end user security policies, and oversight of the bi-annual faculty IT survey.
The successful candidate will be a person with strategic vision for the university’s IT enterprise.
The successful candidate will be a person with successful senior-level management experience in a complex, progressive IT environment.
Qualified candidates will have demonstrated success at managing and leading change in a complex, collaborative organization. The ability to recruit, retain, and develop the highest caliber technology professionals in an environment that embraces diversity and inclusion is expected.
Though the VPCIO may not come directly from a higher education environment, qualified candidates will possess an understanding of, and appreciation for, the complexities of a university academic environment, the roles and relationships of faculty, staff, and students, and the diverse needs for technical support in a comprehensive research university.
Candidates must be proven leaders demonstrating significant experience managing complex organizations, including accountability for strategic planning, consensus building, organizational leadership, and technical performance.
Equally significant qualifications include strong emotional intelligence, excellent oral and written communication skills, and exceptional interpersonal relationship and team-building skills.
Candidates will also have significant technical competence, having progressed through roles of increasing responsibility managing technology organizations.
Providing transparent and cost-efficient operational leadership is critical for this person to be successful, as is the ability to use technology to translate client/institutional needs into workable business solutions.
UB seeks a technology leader of the highest caliber, which should be reflected in the appropriate combination of education and experience.
Impactful research, scholarly distinction, transformative student experiences, and far-reaching service to local, state, national, and international communities define UB’s mission as one of the nation’s leading public research universities. UB was founded in 1846 as a private medical college located in downtown Buffalo and joined the SUNY network in 1962. SUNY is the largest state university system in the United States, and UB is a flagship campus and the largest and most comprehensive public research university within the system. In 1989, UB was among the first public universities in the Northeast to be admitted into the AAU. Over the years, UB’s scope and mission have expanded significantly as it has grown into a world-renowned research university that is the thriving heart of the regional community, a national leader in public higher education, and a global hub for excellence in research and education.
UB enrolls nearly 32,000 students (approximately two-thirds undergraduate and one-third graduate and professional students), and offers more than 500 degree programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional, and doctoral levels across its 12 decanal units. UB is a global community of scholars, ranking among the nation’s top 30 universities for the enrollment of international students in the Open Doors census for two decades. International students currently represent 20% of total enrollment at UB. The university enjoys a strong presence abroad, maintaining affiliation agreements with 95 universities in Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa. UB’s more than 290,000 alumni live in 150 countries worldwide.
UB has a distinguished faculty of over 1,500 full-time members. UB is currently undertaking its largest faculty-hiring initiative in recent history, Advancing Top 25: UB Faculty Hiring, with plans to recruit upward of 200 full-time faculty over the next two years.
UB is home to more than 120 research centers and institutes; its current annual research expenditures, including those in affiliated institutions, exceed $425 million. The University Libraries hold more than three million volumes and provide access to an exceptionally wide array of digital information resources.
UB’s academic programs and facilities are located on three distinct campuses in the Buffalo metropolitan area. UB’s North Campus, located in the suburb of Amherst, is the university’s main undergraduate campus and home to the School of Law and the university’s primary athletics and cultural facilities. Three miles to the south, on the northern edge of the City of Buffalo, is the university’s historic South Campus, home to many of the university’s professional schools. The focal point of UB’s third, downtown campus center is the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, on which UB’s state-of-the-art Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is located in proximity to the university’s health and life science partners.
Recognizing the key role that a vibrant 21st-century physical campus environment plays in enhancing education, research, and learning, UB is realizing a long-range Master Plan for enhancing its North, South, and Downtown campus spaces and connecting them more effectively to their surrounding communities.
With an annual operating revenue of $935 million, UB and its affiliated entities generate an estimated economic impact of $1.8 billion annually in New York State. The university’s total workforce of over 9,000 full-time equivalent employees makes it one of the region’s largest employers. UB is also a leader and an active partner with the more than 20 public and private colleges and universities in the Buffalo-Niagara region.
IUB President Satish K. Tripathi is internationally recognized as an accomplished researcher and transformative higher education leader.
Dr. Tripathi previously served as UB’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and was one of the principal creators of UB’s long-range strategic plan, which led the university to achieve significant growth in research and scholarly activity, improved the caliber and diversity of students, transformed the university’s living-learning environment and greatly expanded its international presence. Building on these impactful achievements, today Dr. Tripathi is focused on positioning UB among the top 25 public research universities in the nation. UB’s Top 25 Ambition is dedicated to achieving greater societal impact by enhancing the university’s scholarly productivity and growing its research portfolio; providing students with innovative, research-grounded educational experiences; building upon UB’s university-wide culture of equity and inclusion; and deepening the university’s engagement in the region by strengthening partnerships, with the goal of contributing to positive health outcomes and economic vitality.
Prior to coming to UB, Dr. Tripathi served as dean of the Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California-Riverside, where he led that school’s rise from an unranked program to a position in the upper half of the U.S. News and World Report Best Engineering Graduate School rankings. Previously, he was a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, where his 19-year tenure as a faculty member included serving as chair from 1988-1995. Dr. Tripathi graduated at the top of his class from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in India and holds a doctorate in computer science from the University of Toronto along with three master's degrees—one in computer science from the University of Toronto and two in statistics from the University of Alberta and BHU. A fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he holds honorary degrees from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, and Brock University in Ontario, Canada. In 2009, he was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award by Banaras Hindu University.
An active leader in the national higher education community, Dr. Tripathi serves on the College Football Playoff Board of Managers and Internet2 Board of Trustees and has served on the board of directors for the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Additionally, he has served as chair of the Mid American Conference Council of Presidents as well as on the board of the NCAA Division I and NCAA Board of Governors. Among his numerous community leadership roles, Dr. Tripathi serves on the boards of directors of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and Great Lakes Health System of WNY. In 2011, Dr. Tripathi was appointed the inaugural co-chair of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, a position he held until 2017.
As Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, A. Scott Weber serves as the university’s chief academic officer, responsible for leading the development and implementation of the university’s academic vision. Dr. Weber provides leadership across the academic enterprise including research, scholarship and creative activities; undergraduate, graduate, professional and international education; faculty development; diversity and inclusion initiatives; and university libraries.
A member of UB’s faculty since 1983, Dr. Weber is an innovative scholar and teacher and former chair of UB’s Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering. During his time as chair, the department rose significantly in national rankings.
Dr. Weber has held progressively responsible administrative roles at UB, including senior vice provost for academic affairs, where he provided leadership for graduate and undergraduate education, centralized enrollment services, student-support services and transformative extracurricular programs. He led efforts to ensure that students have an outstanding educational experience with opportunities to engage in truly distinctive research, creative and public service activities that are hallmarks of a top-tier university education. He was instrumental in the creation of the UB Curriculum and the nationally recognized Finish in 4 program. In addition, Dr. Weber served as vice president for student life, where he focused on providing UB’s students with exceptional programs and services that offer opportunities to build communities, encourage discovery, promote wellness, and allow students to grow and prosper.
Dr. Weber’s research focuses on biodegradation of chemicals in water and soil and the reclamation of environmentally impacted sites known as brownfields. He earned bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in civil engineering from Virginia Tech and a PhD in civil engineering from the University of California, Davis.
The State University of New York is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive state university system, consisting of 64 campuses including major research universities, health science centers, comprehensive and technical colleges, and community colleges, all committed to providing a broad range of outstanding academic programs for students within New York and from around the world. It enrolls more than 363,000 students annually, employs more than 83,000 faculty and staff, and connects more than three million alumni around the world.
UB acknowledges that our campuses operate on land that is the traditional territory of the Seneca Nation, a member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the region remains the home of the Haudenosaunee people. Further, we responsibly acknowledge the continuing impact of settler colonialism on the Haudenosaunee and their territories.
Our scholarly community values Indigenous cultures, histories, traditions, knowledge systems, and political entities and deeply appreciates the important role of Indigenous people in the history, the present and the future of our region, this country and the world.
As a world-renowned research university, UB’s intellectual capital and innovation are playing a vital role in Buffalo’s resurgence as a thriving city that is a magnet for talented professionals, artists, entrepreneurs, and innovators who recognize the tremendous energy and momentum gathering here. Home to one of the nation’s fastest growing populations of college graduates, the Buffalo-Niagara region, with 1.2 million residents, is the state’s second largest major metropolitan area, exceeded only by New York City. The region includes a diverse blend of communities, each with its own distinct personality, yet commonly characterized by a distinctly neighborly way of life, an unpretentious nature and spirited loyalty among residents. Buffalo’s own strong sense of community, easy lifestyle, and affordability regularly place it in top ten lists from a variety of national publications for its overall quality of life.
Buffalo is a city that is densely packed with legal institutions. Within downtown Buffalo are a United States District Court, United States Immigration Court, Buffalo City Court, United States Bankruptcy Court, New York State Supreme Court, Erie County Court, Buffalo City Court, Family Court and Integrated Domestic Violence Court. In addition, Buffalo features a large number of private practitioners and offices of regional and national law firms, public officials at the local, county, state and federal levels, and advocates working in numerous non-governmental organizations in the Buffalo Niagara region and across the state.
Buffalo offers an impressive array of cultural and recreational opportunities uncommon for a city of its size. Buffalo’s rich cultural resources reflect its distinguished history and commitment to sustaining the arts, including the Grammy Award-winning Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; the world-class collection of modern painting and sculpture at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum; an extensive array of historic architectural treasures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, H.H. Richardson, Louis Sullivan, and Eero and Eliel Saarinen; an expansive park system (including Delaware Park), considered to be the very best work of designer Frederick Law Olmsted; and a variety of summer festivals. The city is home to the state’s largest concentration of theaters outside of New York City. From the Michigan Street Baptist Church, to the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, to the Colored Musicians Club and Jazz Museum, the Buffalo Niagara region has a rich African-American heritage to explore. Buffalo is a family friendly, livable and affordable city, with Niagara Falls, one of the major tourist attractions of the world, a short drive away. Buffalo is close to two wine growing regions—Niagara Escarpment and the Finger Lakes region—and it was named one of the Top 10 Food Cities by National Geographic. In addition, the Adirondack Mountains are half-day’s drive from Buffalo.
Rich in natural resources and beauty, the Buffalo-Niagara area is a four-season region that offers the best for seasonal sports enthusiasts. University at Buffalo fans enjoy a full complement of NCAA Division I sports with the UB Bulls, as well as the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, Triple-A baseball’s Buffalo Bisons, and the National Lacrosse League’s Buffalo Bandits.
Less than a two-hour drive from Buffalo across the United States-Canada border is Toronto, the cultural, entertainment, and financial capital of Canada. Buffalo is also ideally located for easy access to many of America’s major cities. The Buffalo-Niagara International Airport offers direct flights to more than 20 cities, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington, DC, all only an hour’s flight away.
UB has played a central role in the creation of a strong, sustainable knowledge economy and thriving entrepreneurial culture that are driving Buffalo’s revitalization. Exemplified and driven by the centrally located Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo is experiencing a period of tremendous progress and momentum as well as unprecedented regional investments in the industries of the future and in the assets that ensure a satisfying quality of life for all its citizens.
UB acknowledges that our campuses operate on land that is the traditional territory of the Seneca Nation, a member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the region remains the home of the Haudenosaunee people. Further, we responsibly acknowledge the continuing impact of settler colonialism on the Haudenosaunee and their territories.
Our scholarly community values Indigenous cultures, histories, traditions, knowledge systems, and political entities and deeply appreciates the important role of Indigenous people in the history, the present and the future of our region, this country and the world.
Additional information about UB’s Vice President and Chief Information officer can be found at https://www.buffalo.edu/ubit.html or at the search website: www.buffalo.edu/leadership-searches/current-searches/vice-president-and-chief-information-officer-2024.html.
Interested individuals should provide an electronic version of their curriculum vitae (Microsoft Word or PDF strongly preferred). A letter describing interest in, and qualifications for, the position is recommended, but not required. All inquiries, nominations and applications should be sent electronically via Russell Reynolds Associates UB.VPCIO@russellreynolds.com.
To ensure full consideration, materials should be received as soon as possible but preferably no later than March 17. Review of nominations and applications for the position will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. To assure sensitivity toward the positions presently held by nominees and applicants, the search will be conducted in strict confidence until finalists participate in campus visits. References will not be contacted without the prior knowledge and approval of the candidates.
Compensation for this position is highly competitive. It is anticipated that the vice president will begin service by the start of the 2024-25 academic year. Review of candidates will begin immediately and continue until a vice president and chief information officer is appointed.
The University at Buffalo is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic university community committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. Potential applicants who share this goal, including veterans and individuals with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.
