Drawn to UB by the university's ambitious hopes for the future, Jorge Jose was the fourth and final candidate to make his pitch for the vice president of research position at an open forum held Friday in Park Hall.
Jose, who is presently the chair of the physics department at Northeastern University, fielded questions from the 10 faculty members on hand for the hour-long session, and stressed that were he offered UB's top research job, his aim would be effecting serious and progressive change.
"I'm not interested in only management," Jose said. "I understand that would be a big part of the job, but I'm more interested in doing something big, bringing in new ideas, and encouraging new ideas and new ways of thinking within the faculty."
One way to spark a freshness among the faculty, according to Jose, would be an incentive system based on performance, a "Darwinian economic system," that would encourage faculty members to get out and seek grants in order to do research.
"I believe strongly that people should be rewarded when they've done well," Jose said. "I'd support variable salary raises based on what you do. If someone's research brings in $2 million to $3 million, then why shouldn't they see, maybe, a 20 percent increase in salary?"
Incentives were a point of emphasis for the faculty members in attendance, as was the importance of recognizing and supporting those doing research in the less lucrative humanities fields.
According to Maureen Jameson, chair of the romance languages and literatures department, a $100,000 grant doesn't go very far once high overhead costs and graduate assistant salaries are factored in, a problem when it comes to motivating faculty involved in the humanities to do research.
"Every field is different. The salaries are different, the teaching goals are different," Jose said, regarding the issue. "Obviously the sciences require large amounts of money for startup costs alone, while the people in humanities have just a small amount of money to work with."
As a possible solution to this problem, Jose said, at Northeastern, part of the large overhead cost, which adds up to 57 percent of the grant, can be refunded, allowing the researcher and the university to put the money to better use.
Jose also proposed selectivity when it comes to buyouts, as quality professors may be vital to certain core classes.
Jose also spoke extensively about hiring, agreeing with faculty members that the university would be better served in hiring young, talented people with potential rather than trying to wrest away established, but far more expensive professors from other schools.
"I believe you do whatever it takes to get the right people," Jose said. "Don't just hire one quality person in a particular area, but hire two or three and allow them to say 'what an opportunity to work with this person,' then suddenly we have a long standing basis for excellence."
Beyond making the correct hires, Jose also stressed the importance of mentoring young professors, calling to attention a system at Northeastern where more experienced faculty are assigned to their younger colleagues in order to help them learn how to become better teachers, researchers, and how to seek funding.
On the issue of tenure, Jose stressed restraint, acknowledging one staff member's assessment of a "culture of entitlement" amongst SUNY professors.
"I'm always very careful about giving tenure," Jose said. "You don't want to be stuck with someone who's going to pursue scholarship, but not the funded scholarship that will be beneficial to the university."
Increasing research opportunities in all departments at UB would benefit the university as a whole, according to Jose, and President John Simpson's commitment to research weighed heavily in the physics professor's decision to seek the job.
"Reading what the president has said, speaking to him, it's clear he's really interested in making changes for the better," Jose said. "There's opportunity here for tremendous change. The administration is excited, the faculty is excited, and with better funding, more proactive research and better students, everyone at the university stands to benefit."
Jose's competition for the vice president of research position includes Myron Salamon, Howard Federoff and Joseph Glorioso, all of whom have participated in similar forums in the last month.
The next step for faculty members who have participated in the forums is to offer feedback about the candidates online, according to Faculty Senate Chair Peter Nickerson. The final decision on who to hire will lie with President Simpson and Provost Satish Tripathi.
