Provost Search Nears End

After months of looking for a replacement for former provost Elizabeth Capaldi, the university's search is coming to an end.

Satish Tripathi, dean of engineering at the University of California, Riverside; David Daniel, dean of engineering at the University of Illinois; and Martin Moskovits, dean of mathematical, life and physical sciences in the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara have been named finalists in the search.

Each candidate paid a visit to UB and shared their thoughts on the school in separate open forums last week.

"I think we are excited to be looking at the future as we meet these candidates today," stated Dennis Black, vice president of Student Affairs, in an email. "They all bring interesting and impressive academic credentials to us and all seek the same thing we do, to make the UB experience the best possible experience. How they would help lead us there is what distinguishes them."

Scott Weber, chair of the provost search committee, said he was pleased with the results from the forums.

"Professors Daniel, Moskovits and Tripathi all gained a greater sense of the unique strengths and potential of UB and each was able to articulate his vision on how to move this great university forward in collaboration with President Simpson," Weber said in an email.

Tripathi, the first candidate to visit UB, got his Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Toronto. In 2003, he was the keynote speaker at the sixth International Conference on Information Technology in Bhubaneswar, India.

Tripathi was the acting executive vice chancellor at the University of California, Riverside from March to June 2002.

He was also a technical officer at the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd., in Hyderabad, India, where he served as a technical officer and developed system software for the TDC-16 series of computers.

The second provost candidate, David Daniel, said he looks forward to a possible future with UB.

"UB aspires to be one of the great universities of the nation," Daniel said. "It's a compelling vision to me."

Daniel received his bachelor's and master's degrees, and his doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Texas, moving from assistant professor to associate professor, to professor to associate chairman for academic affairs between 1981 and 1996. He then moved to the University of Illinois where he served as a professor and head of the department of civil and environmental engineering.

Daniel served as vice-chair of the research team that produced "Staging of High-Level Geologic Repositories for Radioactive Waste" for the National Academies from 2001 to 2003. He also was chair of "Risk-Based Approaches for Disposition of Radioactive Waste" for the National Academies from 2003 to present.

Daniel has received many honors and awards, which include the National Academy of Engineering Award in 2000 and the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the University of Texas in 2002.

The third candidate, Martin Moskovits, said he wants to come to Buffalo to help with a positive change in the university environment.

"I think Buffalo is a place that has taken some hard times and has now reached a steady state," Moskovits said.

Moskovits said while UB possesses excellence, the university could push its standards further.

"I think the obstacles are the rebirth of this area," he said. "The community has reached a new steady state and the university will be a better role player to see better times."

According to Moskovits, in order for UB to grow, the institution must make its presence better known in the community.

Moskovits received his Ph.D. in 1971 from the University of Toronto and is a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Along with the dean of engineering, Moskovits co-established UCSB's Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program and Advisory Committee.

He is currently director of the nanoelectronics program at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. In 2002, Moskovits was honored with the Distinguished Lecturer Award by Dalhousie University.

In Weber's mind, each candidate left UB with a certain excitement about the challenges the new provost will face.

"Each candidate completed his visit with a strong sense that the University has wonderful strengths," said Weber. "The UB community is committed to enhancing the institution's stature, and that the opportunity to play a vital role in charting a path to sustained and enhanced excellence for all of UB would be an exciting challenge."

According to Weber, the search committee will be meeting shortly to finalize their recommendations to President John Simpson.

Black said he holds the committee in high regard for their work on the search.

"Certainly, everyone is impressed with the work of the committee," he stated. "They have attracted a solid group of candidates in a relatively short time period and have invited the entire campus into the process."