Published October 7, 2013 This content is archived.
Colleagues:
I am pleased to share with you, Realizing UB 2020: Achieving Academic Excellence. This is UB’s statement of institutional direction and the culmination of nearly nine months of collaborative discussions and analyses by our entire campus community. President Tripathi and I are very grateful for the engagement of faculty, staff and students in the Realizing UB 2020 process, which has resulted in the refinement and further articulation of our ambitious UB 2020 plan. In particular, I would like to extend my deep appreciation to SUNY Distinguished Professor Bruce McCombe, chair of the Campus Advisory Committee; Professor John Thomas, chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee; and all of the faculty liaisons and staff who worked diligently to extend our communication to the campus community.
Many initiatives outlined within this report are already underway. This past summer, I charged seven task forces to develop specific priorities, timelines and budget estimates by January, 2014. Among other initiatives, the task forces encompass curriculum enhancement, the development of theme-based communities of excellence, and infrastructure improvements that will benefit our teaching and scholarship efforts across the university. A General Education Committee has been launched to revamp that program. As we strive to achieve our aspirations, we are committed to rewarding exceptional performance. One way we will do so is through a merit pay system for faculty and staff. As we develop this system and a new resource allocation model necessary to achieve our goals, we will ask departments and support units to define expectations and performance metrics in areas key to institutional success.
This is an exciting time for UB. President Tripathi will offer his State of the University Address this Friday, October 11. This fall, I will host several open forums where together we will further refine our plans and initiatives. I encourage you to attend President Tripathi’s address and the open forums so that you are actively engaged in defining the future of our university.
In the conversations we held over the last year, we confirmed our commitment to excellence, considered national challenges to higher education, and established strategies to achieve our ambitious institutional directions. Much work has been done and much remains to be implemented. I look forward to working with you to build an ever stronger UB.
Best,
Charles F. Zukoski
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
