While some local residents cite Buffalo as a wasteland of squandered economics, officials are now looking at UB - and the surrounding region - as a land of infinite opportunity.
The Comprehensive Master Plan is the name for the long-term, broad initiative to turn UB into a "model 21st century university." Currently under heavy brainstorming, the plan starts from square one and opens up the floor for discussion to faculty, local communities, and even students.
"(The plan) came from the ground up, not the top down," said Robert Shibley, director of the Urban Design Project in UB's School of Architecture and Planning.
Officials hope that the plan can draw in an even greater student population, keep alumni in the area and bring projects like the academically strengthening UB 2020 into fruition.
According to James A. Willis, Interim Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations, one initiative of the Master Plan is to make the university a more inviting, memorable environment for its current students and alumni; one that encourages social interaction and unites all three campuses "seamlessly."
"We would need capital improvements even if we didn't have a master plan," Willis said, noting that the university was overdue for reevaluation.
He compared his ideal vision of UB's social scene to a more classic environment, in which alumni come back to play a game of chess with current attendants in the Student Union or the nook of a library.
In addition to making on-campus improvements, Shibley stressed the need for a greater interaction of the university with the surrounding communities, whether it be in Amherst, North Buffalo or downtown.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for UB to reframe the way it relates to the neighborhoods and community," Shibley said. "(Students) are going to come here for the great academics and stay because they love it."
There are already over 60,000 UB graduates living in Western New York, and the majority of licensed professionals in the area are university alumni, according to Willis. Attracting students to the area and keeping them interested in Buffalo is vital to the university's growth as well as the growth of the region.
"We are not partnered or related with the community, we are the community," he said.
If goals are met, Master Plan statistics show that UB could net an additional 10,000 students and 750 faculty positions over the next 15 years and increase funds by 40 percent.
"There are those of us in Western New York that go, 'What are you, nuts?' to 10,000 new students," Willis said, laughing. However, he assured that the goal could very well become a reality.
As of now, Willis said there is no official method as to where, when or how UB will reach the plan's primary goals. Instead, the university is taking things slowly in order to consider all possibilities and implement what officials believe are the best choices.
However, Willis did cite several areas that are being taken into consideration, including better transportation between campuses, addressing the growing need for student housing and working to integrate the Bailey Avenue side of South Campus with the rest of the community.
UB is currently coordinating ideas with the City of Buffalo, the Town of Amherst and Erie County, which have already created comprehensive strategies for their own communities. UB will also be looking outside of the area for guidance.
"In a month we will be selecting an external national firm to help in the process," Willis said.
With the Master Plan comes yet another breakthrough. In addition to proposals from architects and official planners, Shibley voiced a great desire for student input and ways to acquire student feedback on the issue.
A draft including plan elements is slated for March of 2008, with a final draft slated for August of the same year.
