President Simpson's UB tenure has focused on improving the university's standing within America's elite research schools. His ultimate goal is for UB to become a major player in the international education scene. Now, with recent hires and the move to increase enrollment, the change Simpson's vision foresaw in UB's future is underway.
Key in bringing plans into action is the increase in new faculty Simpson looks to hire, which goes hand-in-hand with his proposed increase in the amount of students UB enrolls. There have been 175 faculty members hired in the last two years with 104 occurring this year alone. There are 72 new hires on track for tenure and they are split relatively even among the sciences and humanities.
The decentralized hiring process allows departments to hire as they see fit, dependent on the overall budget given to them by UB. Though clarification is in order for what constitutes a faculty member-the current definition is vague and all encompassing-the process seems to be working and Simpson deserves accolades for his efforts.
There are problems with statistical compilations quantifying faculty turnover, but the trend that's emerging is comforting. Individual schools within UB's community are making their own decisions on those hired based on their own needs, not administration mandates that interfere with the school's best interests. There is a move now towards some centralization, which has its cons, but those don't outweigh the overall pros of a little more administrative organization.
Simpson's penchant for bureaucratic jargon has left many on campus confused as to what the future of UB entails. But the early verdict on the new hires is positive, which lends credibility to his overall plan and should alleviate some of the anxiety in return.
Curse the NCAA
Soccer team's NCAA tourney bid denial insulting end to a great season
A UB sports team has fallen prey to the bias against the Mid-Atlantic Conference once again. The soccer team, like the basketball team last year, was denied coveted entry into an NCAA championship tournament. And while the basketball squad was truly a bubble team last year, our soccer team was not and should have been invited to the NCAA's end-of-the-year big dance.
The brackets for the NCAA Division I men's championship were announced Monday and UB was not among the 48 schools chosen. Twenty-three conferences, including the MAC, received automatic bids, but 25 slots were selected at large. It's ludicrous that UB wasn't selected for an at-large bid, with a final record of 14-3-2.
UB took the third ranked team in the nation, Akron, to a shootout in the MAC championship game before succumbing by one sudden-death goal. Akron received the MAC's automatic bid but no other team from the conference made it. The MAC is simply too strong to be left out.
The ACC placed eight teams in the tournament, while the Big East had seven, and the PAC-10, West Coast Conference, and Ivy League had three teams each. Notre Dame made it, but they were only 10-7-3. Ohio State was invited, yet they finished 11-7-2 and lost to Bowling Green, which UB hammered.
While the MAC doesn't have the prestige found in the power conferences, its level of competition increases every year. It's time the NCAA cast off the favoritism directed towards its more prestigious members and recognize the efforts of the little guy. Conference membership shouldn't be the overriding factor in who does, or does not, get in. UB's men's soccer team deserved better.
