Beneath the glitzy school spirit and the deep tradition of Inauguration Week is Satish K. Tripathi, the man who will be sworn in as UB's 15th president on Friday.
He is a man who has had a lifelong love for education. An enduring authenticity has set him apart from administrators before him and those who now surround him. His hope for UB is unbridled; his passion for progress is intertwined with development plans such as UB2020.
As the university welcomes a new leader, so does the city of Buffalo.
Humble Beginnings
Tripathi's path to the presidency began when he was just 4 years old.
He began attending a small family school in his native India, and walked two miles in each direction – barefoot – to get to his classes.
"We had, I would say, means to live and that was good," Tripathi said. "Money was not an issue but there was not plenty to do whatever you wanted."
One of seven children, Tripathi was raised primarily by his mother and grandmother in a small village that had no electricity or running water. His family was in education; his father was a school principal.
"I think there was not explicit pressure but I would say there was implicit. There was a high expectation that I'd do well and go to a good school," Tripathi said.
After attending Indian schools throughout his childhood, one of the happiest moments of his life was when he was named the top student in his graduating class at the college he attended in India.
The stage for a successful career in education was set.
Local Impact, Global Reach
A brand new ideology inhabits the corner office on the fifth floor of Capen Hall: the man who is known for his intelligence, selflessness, and humility has reached the top tier of the university's administration.
Tripathi appears intent to ignore the spotlight into which he has been thrust: he is a man who will unassumingly sit in a press conference with his hands clasped in his lap, who will wait in a line behind 15 students at the Starbucks in the Commons, who will not speak of his successes because he does not think it's his place to evaluate himself.
"He appreciates the people around him," said Beth Del Genio, Tripathi's chief of staff. "He understands how hard they're working, how smart they're working, how important they are to the team – whether it's the staff working around him or a dean or a vice president."
Being the president of UB is about students, he said, not about the panache of the title.
"You make decisions for the institution, not for your own career," Tripathi said. "I don't think I ever thought about being a president, but the jobs come once you do a good job at a certain level."
He is quick to assure others that the Inauguration Week celebrations are not for him, but to laude the university's 165-year history.
His vision for UB – that the university should expand internationally and produce globally mindful students and faculty – is one that is rooted deeply in his own experiences.
Throughout his life, Tripathi has constantly been on the move. He left India to pursue a degree in statistics at the University of Toronto and then studied in Alberta, worked as a professor at the University of Maryland, and taught at the University of California, Riverside before finding his way to UB in 2004 to serve as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. He and his family have spent time in France and Germany, and his children were bilingual by the age of 8.
"I make a joke to some of my friends and I say, ‘If I didn't really want to move anywhere, I would have stayed in my village,'" Tripathi said. "You've got to see the world and you've got to experience it. You've got to get out there."
After more than seven years in the City of Good Neighbors, he and his wife consider Buffalo their home.
"No," Tripathi said, when his hometown was mentioned. "We are Buffalonians."
On the Job
The only thing that is typical about Tripathi's day is that he starts very early and ends very late. Typically, the president will arrive at 8 a.m., endure a fully scheduled day of meetings, interviews, and activities on- and off-campus, before finally going home around 9 p.m.
"It doesn't seem to bother him if he doesn't have even a minute or two to himself," said Tracey H. Murphy, executive assistant to the president. "He is aware of everything that's going on and he doesn't get too frazzled about anything."
Each day, the president receives more than 30 calls and hundreds of emails. Most often, he will respond personally to messages.
When he goes to outside events, Tripathi often prefers to drive himself to the location rather than make use of university drivers. He wants to "get in, get out, get done," according to Murphy, so that he can get back to campus and back to work.
The president can often be found around the campus meeting with students and advisors, provosts, and deans that will help streamline communication between the president's office and the student body.
"Unless you talk to students, you don't get accurate feedback," Tripathi said. "And that's really an important part of the university."
Often, Tripathi can be found in the Student Union grabbing lunch.
"He has a favorite sandwich at Tim Hortons," said Tracey Murphy, executive assistant to the president. "I don't know what they call it but he calls it the ‘Beth Sandwich' because that's what Beth [Del Genio] usually gets."
Around the office, the president is known as a learner: he has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and information. He surrounds himself with interesting people, timely research, and new information constantly.
"It's always interesting to work with someone who is incredibly thoughtful and incredibly engaged," Del Genio said. "When you work with someone who has those particular qualities, what happens is that your game has to be elevated, as well. What I find is that he brings out the best in people around him."
Beyond the Presidency
Tripathi has been married to his wife, Kamlesh, for 41 years and the pair has two adult sons, Manish and Aashish.
He met Kamlesh on the day of the wedding – theirs was an arranged marriage.
Although his family had been introduced to his bride prior to the union, Tripathi was left alone in his anxiety; the flurry of excitement he felt in the hours before he met Kamlesh are feelings that "are hard to write down in language."
"I think we grew up together and that was really the best part," Tripathi said. "She was 17 and I was 19 and you don't have preconceived notions of things – you just sort of learn it together."
Although Tripathi will no longer admit to rooting for any team other than the Bulls, his sons recall going to Redskins, University of Maryland, and Orioles games in their youth.
"I used to ask him, "Did you play cricket when you were growing up in India?" and he'd say yes but when you probe him on it, he actually was the guy who was like the umpire," said Manish, laughing. "He follows sports but he's not a very good athlete himself – he tries. I think we've kind of taught him how to throw a football and he kind of can shoot a basketball."
Despite his background in computer science and engineering, and his penchant for sports, Tripathi has a soft spot for the arts and Buffalo culture. He and his wife hold season tickets to Shea's Performing Arts Center and hope to attend every performance this year.
"At the university I went to, there was a very strong classical music program, as well," Tripathi said. "My wife loves to listen. Manish has learned Indian drums. So, we had music in the house all the time. It completes you, it relaxes you."
While Tripathi recalls pressure from his parents to succeed academically, he has not pushed his sons in any direction except for forward.
"I sort of felt like I could explore whatever major and do what I liked as opposed to having any pressure [from my dad] to be a scientist or be a doctor or be a lawyer or anything," said Aasish, 32. "I think at that point you kind of start making the decisions you want. I'm happy now and I think that is a result of that independence."
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
