With the help of the newly appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Uday Sukhatme, UB has broad plans to begin two new lecture series at UB: one aimed at attracting potential students and another to help freshmen choose between UB's 177 different majors. Both series will focus on alerting students to the undergraduate research possibilities at the university.
Sukhatme referred to UB as an "academic powerhouse" and believes UB's reputation places it in a better position to attract prospective students than other colleges in Western New York.
"What makes us different from Buff State or Canisius College, is the opportunity to engage in research," Sukhatme said.
Sukhatme designed similar programs during his time at the University of Illinois at Chicago and hopes to see positive results.
The first lecture series, tentatively titled "The Cutting Edge," is modeled after UIC's lecture series of the same name, which brought 10 sophomore, junior and senior high school students from Illinois to UIC's campus to experience a taste of college life.
Professors will give five Saturday morning lectures, which are open to the Buffalo community and the students' parents. The presentations will include a general overview of collegiate life and would take place in a lecture hall, providing both students and parents a feel for the academic environment.
"This is a little more outreach to the community," said Sukhatme. "And why high school students? Because they're our future students."
"The Cutting Edge" was known to draw Illinois students, parents and even school counselors from as far as 80 miles away, said Sukhatme.
Sukhatme expects the series to take place in March or April of 2003, with students from both city and suburban high schools coming to the campus to hear faculty presentations on topics ranging from collegiate life to personal research opportunities.
The series will deal with what Sukhatme believes is a major problem of freshman academic life - the expectation to choose a major - and he hopes to take steps to clarify that process.
"If you force (freshmen) to declare a major, they will choose one," he said. "But you know as well as I that in one year they'll change, and then in another year they'll change again."
The challenge administrators and professors face, he said, is informing the students of their options prior to having them choose a major.
To aid in that process, the second lecture series Sukhatme plans will be a one-credit course, consisting of 15 lectures, focusing on helping freshmen define their search for a major.
A professor from each of the major disciplines within the CAS will give one lecture per week, detailing career options in his or her particular field and highlighting research opportunities within the university.
Due to the time constraints and amount of material to cover, Sukhatme said the lectures would cover a broad overview of each subject, to give students "an opportunity to know what's out there."
"It's once a week, let's not get carried away," he joked.
While Sukhatme's plans are still in development, he said that one of the best ways to understand the life of UB's students is to teach them. Programs like these, he said, will not only help to strengthen UB's standing within the Western New York community, but will help bolster the campus community as well.
Next year, Sukhatme plans to return to teaching and to teach at least one physics course. He hopes his experiences as dean will strengthen his bond with UB's population.
"That's the best way to find out about our students," he said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
