Dear university community,
Welcome to the start of UB’s spring semester! As we have just turned the calendar to 2022, I’m reminded that it’s the time of year when we’re called to “ring out the old and ring in the new.” This phrase seems particularly apt today, as our UB community marks the transition from one semester to the next while anticipating the knowledge we will acquire, the discoveries we will make and the mastery we will gain over the coming months.
That said, we have much to celebrate in the present moment. As you know, UB was recently designated a flagship institution of the SUNY system, a distinction that reinforces our stature among premier public research universities. At the same time, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced funding for a new academic building to accommodate our rapidly growing School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Speaking of enhancements to our living-learning environment, I hope that you have an opportunity to visit the just-opened One World Café. With its seating and meeting areas available starting today—and dining available soon—I am certain that this spectacular new space will serve as a popular destination for our students, faculty and staff to socialize, work and collaborate.
And so, to ringing out the old. If only it were that easy! I can appreciate that many of us, myself included, have grown increasingly weary of starting another semester under the threat of COVID-19. We would not be human if we did not find ourselves exasperated by its persistence and adaptability. But then, we could use those very words to describe our scholarly community. In the face of a public health crisis, we have rooted ourselves in UB’s mission of excellence, leveraging our research and innovations for the greater good. We have acclimated to evolving health and safety guidelines—and, in the process, kept the rate of COVID-19 at UB low and disruptions to our scholarly community at bay.
Given the present circumstances, ringing out the old simply isn’t feasible. Yet, as a community grounded in inquiry and reason, we can certainly learn from it. And therein lies the promise of 2022: That our researchers, here at UB and beyond, gain a deeper understanding of the virus so they can develop more effective therapies. That our disciplinary experts develop strategies from the present crisis to mitigate future ones. That we advance our respective fields to make the world a better place than it was before COVID-19 entered the vernacular.
With that, I would like to offer my very best wishes for a productive, enriching and rewarding semester—and a happy new year!
Sincerely,
Satish K. Tripathi
President
