Memorandums

President Simpson outlines strategy for taking UB to new heights March 26, 2004

Dear Colleagues:

During a series of media interviews last week, my initial impressions regarding UB and its central importance to the region and state were confirmed as I discovered that the arrival of a new university president was a major news event. When one reporter asked me how I'd been preparing for my first day as President, I responded as any academic trained as a research scientist would. "Getting the data in a variety of ways, like talking to people," I said, "searching the UB website, reading analyses and thought-pieces prepared by diverse members of the university community, familiarizing myself with UB's history as well as the current cultural and regional context. In general, doing everything I can to deepen my own sense of the university and all its essential strengths and weaknesses, including regional, state-wide and national perceptions of UB."

While I was truthfully somewhat surprised at the amount of media interest displayed in my arrival on campus, I found the experience to be a very positive sign of the extent to which our university is appreciated as a well-respected and vital resource within our local community and state. It's clear to me that the people of Buffalo Niagara and the State of New York care deeply about UB, and are just as deeply invested in our success. I was pleased to witness this first-hand during my first week as President, not only because it validated one of the reasons why I chose to come to UB--the opportunity to expand my commitment to public higher education--but because it rang true with my own perceptions of our university as one of the nation's most impressive institutions of higher learning. Certainly this is true in my own field, physiology and biomedical research, and from my colleagues across the disciplines I know it to be true of many, many other of UB's fields of study as well. As I said later in that same interview, there are two great state systems of public higher education in the country: the one I just came from, and the one I have just joined.

Now that I'm here, what are my perceptions of our university? In short, UB is every bit the excellent public research university that I envisioned, and perhaps even more exciting-in terms of promise for the future-than I anticipated. We have top-notch faculty engaged in outstanding scholarship, teaching and public service here at UB; we have staff committed to supporting the excellence of our academic and research enterprise; we have engaging, talented students and alumni dedicated to their alma mater; we have key volunteers lending their expertise and leadership to the development of our university. Add the sum total of all this energy and intellectual capital to the quality of our technological resources and potential of our physical plant, and the result is a tremendously effective equation for great and sustained achievement.

While it's too early in my UB research process to state categorically the format that achievement will take, or define the specific strategies with which we will pursue it, I can pledge two things: 1. My role as President will be to set a tone for excellence in all of our pursuits, and I will push this agenda very aggressively. 2. Your input will be integral to this process. As a new member of the university community, I am eager to hear your thoughts and ideas regarding the future of UB. In the weeks to come, I will be conducting meetings with faculty, staff, students and other members of our community to discuss our opportunities and challenges.

Like our colleague institutions across the nation, our university does face challenges, some currently endemic to public higher education in our country, and others entirely specific to UB; some known, some not known. But with our wealth of talent and our potential for innovation and new development, we will approach these with confidence, seizing them as opportunities to learn and to create a new vision and reality for UB. As the 19th century French physiologist and philosopher Claude Bernard wrote in his now classic work, Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine, "Man can learn nothing except by going from the known to the unknown." I look forward to working with you during this process of discovery.

Sincerely, signature
John B. Simpson
President