For two months now, our university has been in the hands of a new president, but from the looks of things so far, you wouldn't know UB even had a president, let alone a new one.
For the first time in 14 years, someone other than former President William Greiner occupies the president's office in Capen, but instead of being excited at the promise of new and fresh leadership, I find myself wondering if President John Simpson has done anything since January other than unpack.
Of course I understand that as an administrator, much of what Simpson does is behind-the-scenes. As students, we see the results of his work, not the work itself. But also as students, we deserve something more than a wizard behind a curtain.
President Simpson and today's UB students are at a crossroads in our school's history. This year's freshman class is the largest ever. It is also one of the smartest ever (if you believe in test scores) and academics continue to head in the direction of national excellence. Overall, UB has a chance to be greater than it ever has been in its 158 years. And that chance is what brings us to this crossroads, where we and our new president get to decide in what direction UB will go and how far we can carry it together.
This should be an exciting crossroads to reach because of its challenges and its promise, and yet, where is our leader?
To date, I haven't heard a peep out of him, nor have I heard or seen anything about his interaction with the UB community. I've never expected to see Simpson walking through the Student Union lobby, shaking hands and talking to students. But then again, it's something I would love to see.
And surely after two months here, Simpson has ideas for the university he wants to put into action. Well, what are they? What's with the secrecy?
A president is someone who is elected or appointed, and is therefore accountable. And while Mr. Simpson is accountable to those who appointed him, he's also accountable in many ways to the student body. I have no doubt President Simpson knows this, but knowing is one thing, and doing is another.
At the college level - where students should be interacting with authority figures, not just being acted upon by them - students will never learn to become active and proactive members of their various communities if they are left to face the closed doors and absent figures of their teachers, mentors, and presidents.
In my personal experience with The Spectrum, I know we've tried to get in touch with Simpson for articles several times, and other than our Jan. 14 profile piece on him, the closest we've gotten to him is his secretary.
I understand that President Simpson may not have had a lot to say about something like the Goldhaber situation, especially considering he didn't know the man, but even if that's all you have to say, as the leader of this university, come out and say it.
Don't let your secretary give statements for you. Mr. Simpson, you are now the commander-in-chief of this educational institution. Your work will affect the lives of thousands of students, students who so far have held up their end of the bargain under Greiner by working hard to turn UB into what it is today.
Today's students are ready to continue holding up their end of the bargain for you, President Simpson, to steer UB in the right direction, but why should they if they don't know who they're steering with?
Wednesday night, I attended the men's basketball game. In case you haven't heard by now, the Bulls whooped rival Kent State. Finally, a sports game at UB was everything it should be. It was loud. It was electric. It was exciting. And more important than anything else, it was fun. Simply put, it was flat-out rockin', and for the first time since I've been at UB I thought: maybe this school does have some spirit in it after all.
That night, more students crammed into Alumni Arena for a men's basketball game than ever before. I saw nearly every person I've ever met at UB, some I hadn't seen since orientation. I even saw Greiner sitting behind the backboard. And all of these sightings added up to the best one of all - I saw a glimpse of UB's potential greatness.
But you know who I didn't see? I didn't see President Simpson. It was the biggest game at UB for any team this year, and our school's president wasn't there.
Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe I missed him. Maybe he wasn't sitting with all the other VIPs. But if he was there, why didn't he make his presence known? And as the president of a university, doesn't attending a school function incognito defeat the purpose of attendance? Or maybe, he had somewhere else to be.
Either way, I'd like to know. So give me a call and correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Simpson. It would be nice to hear from you.
