Senior Vice President for Operations Scott Nostaja, who was initially appointed interim president following John B. Simpson's retirement announcement in late August, announced his retirement last week.
Despite not having a Ph. D., Nostaja – who was brought to UB as a consultant by Simpson when the president was hired in 2004 – earned roughly $300,000 a year as senior vice president for operations. When Simpson appointed Nostaja as interim president after UB bypassed SUNY regulations, many faculty members expressed their discontent with the selection, and Nostaja later removed his name from consideration.
The reasons for his retirement remain unclear. Robert J. Wagner, senior advisor to the officer in charge, has assumed his responsibilities.
Meanwhile, Officer in Charge Satish K. Tripathi, who will most likely be replacing Simpson as UB's next president pending confirmation from the SUNY Board of Trustees, has laid the groundwork to search for an interim provost.
On Friday, Tripathi announced the members of the Interim Provost Advisory Group, which will convene to develop a pool of candidates to temporarily fill the position of provost.
"Upon fully considering potential candidates, the advisory group will forward their nominations for the position to me," Tripathi said in an email to faculty members. "Subsequently, I will conduct interviews with the candidates in order to understand their personal and professional inclination in this university leadership position."
Tripathi expects that he will find a viable candidate by mid-April and plans to launch a national search for the next provost/executive vice president for academic affairs in the fall of 2011. That committee will consist of members of the university community, however, specific details have not yet been determined.
As officer in charge, Tripathi has assumed the responsibilities of university president and will retain the powers of provost until an interim is announced.
The Interim Provost Advisory Group will consist of the following members of the UB community: Nancy Smyth, dean of the school of social work; Alexander Cartwright, vice president for research; Dennis Black, vice president for university life and services; Michael Cain, dean of the school of medicine and biomedical sciences; Bob Hoeing, chair of the Faculty Senate; Cristanne Miller, chair of the department of English; Makau Mutua, dean the law school; Jean Wactawski-Wende, vice provost for strategic initiatives; and Aidong Zhang, chair of the department of computer science and engineering.
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