UB moving ahead with UB 2020 initiatives

UB is moving ahead to implement some specific initiatives to advance campus priorities identified through the Realizing UB 2020 process — priorities that university officials say will continue UB’s transformation as one of the world’s pre-eminent research universities.

In an email to the UB community, President Satish K. Tripathi noted that these institutional priorities, once accomplished, “will take us to even greater heights as one of the top research universities in the nation and world.”

“Our strategic focus, as always, is on advancing the research enterprise, enhancing the educational experience and strengthening the academic support framework that provides the foundation for our success,” he said.

UB has made tremendous progress, Tripathi said, toward achieving the UB 2020 goal of raising the university’s profile among research universities worldwide and expanding the impact of its mission regionally, nationally and globally.

“But we are by no means finished,” he said. “Our transformation is not complete. And that is a good thing. Great universities don’t stand still. No matter how much they achieve, they are continually creating, innovating and transforming.”

Tripathi outlined several initiatives the university is pursuing to continue the momentum that has been building over the past year with Realizing UB 2020:

• The Communities of Excellence initiative brings together resources from across the campuses to solve large challenges facing mankind. The first of these communities, the UB RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy and Water) Initiative, was launched last month.
• New internal grant programs in the humanities and the arts are being created to expand opportunities for scholarly and creative activity.
• The curriculum is being enhanced at all levels “to further enrich the distinctive experience we provide our students.” Initiatives include restructuring the general education curriculum, expanding the Undergraduate Academies to include more theme areas, developing an innovative inter-professional program for graduate and professional students, and enhancing international education opportunities for all students.
• New professional development opportunities are being created for staff to enhance the academic support network that is at the foundation of the research and educational enterprises.
• Engagement with the extended university community is being expanded, ranging from career networking opportunities for recent graduates to greater outreach to alumni and university friends around the world.

Tripathi said that throughout the UB 2020 process, the university community has been setting — and achieving — “very ambitious goals.”

“Together, we have envisioned — and realized — major change across every aspect of the university. With these new transformational initiatives, we are charting an exciting and ambitious course for the immediate future,” he said. “With every step, UB is taking our research and educational enterprise to the next level of excellence as a truly world-class research university.”