Strengthening ties between UB and the City of Buffalo will be one of Joseph Glorioso's chief objectives if he is chosen for UB's top research position, Glorioso said at an open forum on Thursday.
Glorioso, chair of the department of molecular genetics and biochemistry at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine, was the third of four candidates to visit UB for the position of vice president for research. He spoke at an open forum Thursday morning in Capen Hall about his plans to improve the UB if chosen for the position.
"There's a publicity gap between UB and the City of Buffalo, and I want to strengthen the ties," Glorioso said. "There's a lot of ways this office can act as a bridge to the community."
Glorioso said that UB should strengthen its ties with its geographical neighbors, including Rochester and Canada, to share resources and collaborate on research projects.
"It's a big job and a big operation, and I think I can make a difference at UB with my background and experience in medicine," Glorioso said. "We have a lot of opportunities to build in new areas of medicine and research. UB hasn't pushed stem cell research, which is something that can be further developed."
Glorioso said areas like theater, English, and the humanities would also see increased resources if he gets the research position.
"I want to do what I promise to do, and will spend a significant amount of time finding out what goes on in other departments," Glorioso said. "You can't have a great university without a great English department, and you can be 100 percent without a broadly based enterprise. I'm here to serve the entire university, not just medicine."
Improving and further developing the schools of engineering, chemistry and bio- engineering is another area Glorioso said he would like to see flourish.
Successful faculty recruiting is what makes a good university great, Glorioso said.
"I have a lot of faculty recruiting experience," he said. "You need a strategic plan, one that has an immediate effect and one that project into the future."
UB2020, the comprehensive administrative plan for UB's future, is something Glorioso said he isn't completely in sync with.
"The year 2020 seems far away to me, but I guess it's realistic," he said. "I have immediate ideas where I would like to engage departments in going out and recruiting faculty, I want something that would happen soon, instead of waiting five or so years. I want to beat on the president and provost to recruit a new core for research."
Glorioso said he'd like to use some of his short-term ideas and implement them quickly at UB.
"I'd pick one or two immediate things to make a difference right away," he said.
When a question was raised about Glorioso's feelings on properly training junior faculty, he said he had a certain plan in mind.
"I want to spend a great deal of time monitoring junior faculty," Glorioso said. "Mentoring is important. At (the University of Pittsburgh) we have sort of a 'big brother program.' Two senior faculty members are assigned to each junior, and I'm very involved with that. Here, this office could foster a program to mentor junior faculty."
Glorioso also stressed that with the right resources, President John Simpson's goal of taking UB into the top 25 ranked research universities is within reason, but it will be a costly ride to the top.
"It took us one billion dollars to increase research at Pitt, mostly from clinical resources," Glorioso said. "It also took a huge amount of recruiting. This is an expensive business and any institution with the right resources can enter the top 25."
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
