Bruce Pitman is almost inaudible as the heater in his office hums over his speech, which is barely louder than a whisper – but that doesn't mean he is anything but talkative.
He sports a small, green stud in his left ear, a shaved head, and a smile that beams with any mention of his beloved university; the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences doesn't seem to quite fit the stuffy "dean" stereotype.
Pitman became the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) – UB's largest and most diverse school – in July 2011, after Bruce McCombe announced his retirement earlier that year. (McCombe has since returned to the administration as the interim provost after Harvey Stenger left to be the president at Binghamton.)
The school houses 25 different departments, spanning from the social sciences to humanities and arts. It also includes the natural sciences. More than 15,000 students are enrolled in the school, and almost 500 faculty members teach and conduct research in over 20 centers, institutes, galleries, and performance venues in CAS.
But how does a man with a mathematics and technological background unite such a large and diverse school – more than 50 percent of UB's student body – into one, cognate force?
Rising to the top
Pitman came to UB in 1989 as an assistant professor in the mathematics department, after completing his undergraduate studies at Northwestern (he studied math and physics) and earning his Ph.D. in mathematics at Duke.
He liked the mathematics department at UB – it combined applied mathematics with other scientific disciplines.
"I was attracted to that – I do very applied kinds of research," Pitman said. "It was a group where people weren't afraid to be working with disciplinary scientists – folks who are, in my case, engineers and physiologists. Talk with those guys, that was OK, that was an accepted mode of doing mathematics here. And that's a little unusual."
In 2000, Pitman was appointed as vice provost for educational technology. In this position, he helped to integrate technology across the university. Pitman and his colleagues were responsible for setting up today's cybrary and drop-in computer terminals along walkways. They developed the UBlearns site and helped set up "smart" classrooms and other valuable resources still in use by students today.
"Students were good with computing at the time, but there weren't very many resources on campus, and the ‘old birds' knew nothing about using computing to do anything," Pitman said. "That was back in those ‘dark ages.'"
In 2003, Pitman became the associate dean for research in CAS. He spent eight years in that position, under two CAS deans, before reaching his current position.
Overcoming obstacles
On Feb. 27, 2007, Pitman's oldest son, Eric, passed away suddenly from meningitis, a rare bacterial infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. He was a freshman at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute in Kenmore. He passed away shortly after returning home from a class trip to Quebec.
"This is the most devastating thing that could happen to a parent," Pitman said. "It certainly has impacted my wife, my younger son, Mark, and me."
After Eric's death, Dr. Tom Furlani, the director of the Center for Computational Research (a UB supercomputing facility that Pitman is involved in), renamed the center's annual workshop to the "Eric Pitman Annual Summer Workshop in Computational Science."
The workshop is held each summer in Eric's honor, remembering a young man who enjoyed learning new things and challenging his thinking about the world and his place in it. It strives to introduce local high school students into the computing world and give students a chance to do something "different," according to Pitman.
Pitman describes the dedication of the program as "touching" and "poignant," and he hopes that other students can benefit and learn in Eric's memory.
"Doing anything to help remember Eric, it's hard, in one way," Pitman said. "It also makes me very happy and appreciative of what a friend has done for us. I'm just as passionate about doing that workshop and putting it on because I believe in what it tries to do. The support [from] friends across campus has just been tremendous."
Thoughts on UB 2020
Pitman supports Governor Andrew Cuomo and President Tripathi's efforts with the UB 2020 legislation – now a part of the NYSUNY 2020 plan. He believes the tuition increase is essential in bringing UB to the next level, though he knows it's a burden on students. The tuition increases will help bring more prestigious faculty to the university, and in turn, start bringing back classes for students, according to Pitman.
The medical campus is also slated to move downtown as a part of the 2020 plan. This move will not only expand the school's reach, but will also help economically impact the Buffalo region. Pitman wonders how the university will balance these goals.
"One [of the goals] was to get a first-class facility for the school," Pitman said. "Then moving it downtown, and sort of the economic impact it will have downtown and hopefully without deleterious effects in the region around South Campus."
He continued to stress that the main mission of a university is to educate students, and the struggle to balance that mission with the university's economic reach is a complex issue.
"The state also talks about universities as financial engines for the region," Pitman said. "Well, yes. But we can, as a university, influence certain kinds of financial activity in Buffalo and the region, but you can't do everything. A lot of burden is being placed on the university, a lot of expectations."
Pitman explained that to be an "economic engine" for Western New York, the university needs to graduate its students into the community. This means our students need to get involved in companies in the Western New York area and show businesses that strong, talented students come from this university.
Uniting a college
Pitman succeeded McCombe as CAS dean this past July, when McCombe retired after four years in the position. He describes the transition as a "wonderfully easy" one; Pitman and McCombe had become colleagues and friends over the years – McCombe was even the associate dean for research before Pitman.
"Of course it's a smooth transition," said H. Lorraine Oak, the associate dean for research and sponsored programs in CAS. "They're both named Bruce."
Pitman also relies on his four associate deans for guidance – he knows he couldn't understand the vast and encompassing CAS alone.
"[The associate deans] try to educate me, and I rely on their opinions about decisions very, very strongly," Pitman said. "I think we can have some pretty frank discussions about what we're trying to achieve, how do you get there, and how do we manage to do things."
Pitman doesn't have a set plan for CAS yet, but he stressed that he wants to improve the university "experience" for students. In simple terms, he wants students to be able to look back at their college years in 30 years and not remember that midterm or spending three hours in a lecture; Pitman wants students to remember their experiences outside of the classroom.
"Being on campus, being a college student is more than just five classes every semester," Pitman said. "You get educated so that you can think, and that helps, but what you really remember is [experiences]."
Outside of the dean's office
Pitman was born in Canada, but he grew up in New Jersey. He likes living in Buffalo because of the city's proximity to his birthplace – he even has a Canadian flag pin on his bag.
He lives with his wife of 25 years, Marcia, a teacher; and their son, Mark, who is currently a senior at Canisius High School. The Pitmans also have Caleb, their very spoiled family dog.
"Bruce often brings the office home with him – laptops are a wonderful thing," said Marcia Pitman, Bruce's wife. "When Bruce is not sitting at his computer, he is very active. No matter how busy things are for Bruce at work, he always makes time to spend with his family."
Pitman enjoys running, which he describes as an activity where he can just think and relieve stress. He enjoys skiing – he loves the snowy winters of Buffalo.
But, above all, he is passionate about CAS and the university. Pitman wants to make CAS as strong as it can possibly be, and in turn bring students into a university he hopes they'll remember fondly in the future.
"I want to make this institution, UB, be the place that students across New York say, ‘I want to go there – that's just the cool place to go for my undergraduate education,'" Pitman said. "When we get there, I'll be happy."
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
