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News

SUNY trustees to meet at UB
to vote on Tripathi recommendation

By SUE WUETCHER
Published: April 7, 2011

The SUNY Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting at UB on April 18 during which the board is expected to approve Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher’s recommendation that Satish K. Tripathi be named UB’s 15th president.

Tripathi, who has served as UB’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs since 2004, has led the university to achieve significant academic growth through the recruitment of many prominent faculty in key areas of research and scholarly activity, enhanced student quality and diversity, and an expanded international presence.

The university will celebrate the occasion with a reception that afternoon from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the atrium of the Center for the Arts, North Campus. All faculty, staff and students are invited to meet and congratulate Tripathi and his wife, Kamlesh Tripathi.

Those wishing to attend should RSVP online.

Zimpher announced March 17 her recommendation that Tripathi succeed retiring President John B. Simpson, and at the same time named Tripathi as UB’s officer-in-charge, effective immediately, with all of the responsibilities and authority of a campus president.

“Dr. Tripathi’s international reputation as an accomplished researcher and transformative leader in higher education makes him ideally suited to serve as president of the University at Buffalo,” Zimpher said in announcing her endorsement of Tripathi, the top choice of UB’s presidential search committee.
“Major public research universities like UB provide access to high quality, affordable education and engage in research that helps build vibrant communities at home and across the globe. Dr. Tripathi will provide outstanding leadership for UB as it carries out this important mission,” she said.

Tripathi emerged as the front runner to succeed Simpson after the search committee reviewed the credentials of 68 candidates representing a diverse national and international pool from a wide range of academic disciplines and professional experiences.

Jeremy M. Jacobs, chair of the UB Council and the search committee, has said all the finalists were pre-eminent scholars who served very successfully in such administrative leadership roles as provost, vice president for research, vice president for health sciences and dean—all at leading institutions in the Association of American Universities (AAU) and all with an impressive portfolio of administrative accomplishments.

Jacobs, who has been involved in multiple presidential searches at UB, noted that this was the most competitive candidate pool he has seen.

Tripathi, 60, joined UB as provost on July 1, 2004, after serving as dean of the Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California-Riverside. Among his many accomplishments at UB, Tripathi was one of the principal creators of the UB 2020 strategic plan to achieve academic and research excellence.