After months of assessment from the Presidential Search Committee and wondering from the Buffalo and UB community, the university finally has a new president. John B. Simpson, formerly the chief academic and budget officer at the University of California at Santa Cruz, will be appointed next year pending approval of the State University of New York Board of Trustees.
The search committee announced the decision Friday, breaking their self-enforced code of silence. Their secrecy and handling of the matter left a lot to be desired, but hopefully Simpson will lead the university in the right direction for years to come.
Many things were kept secret throughout the selection process. Candidates were not named and there was no input or analysis from anyone outside of the search committee. Since Simpson is a new face, it will be difficult for interested parties to analyze his strengths and weaknesses as a leader.
The Spectrum wishes it could glowingly endorse Simpson, but the truth is that we still know little about him. It has been unfair to the community to bring in someone completely new without allowing any outside input. Since the university is a large part of the Buffalo community, the new president will affect many different people. These people all want something from a president, and should have been allowed to voice their opinions at some point during the search process.
Once the president was chosen, however, the university did excellent work notifying the UB community. An e-mail sent to all students, faculty and staff notified them of Simpson's selection and of the press conference that could be watched live online. The widespread release of this information was a step in the right direction and hopefully Simpson will keep lines of communications open between himself and the university.
Students understandably know very little about Simpson, and hopefully he will work with student publications and organizations in order to increase visibility. He has, however, been a progressive administrator from the University of California system. U.S. News and World Report consistently rank the UC schools higher than SUNY schools, and because of his involvement in the UC system, Simpson will hopefully transfer some California methods to benefit both UB and the SUNY system.
The announcement of Simpson's recommendation came as a surprise to many through the UB community, as Provost Elizabeth Capaldi, early pegged as the front-runner for the position, came here from Florida to a school with a president on the verge of retirement. She pulled out of a job search at the University at Massachusetts, knowing that there would be a vacancy for president here. Since President William R. Greiner's announcement to step down, it appeared she was in line for the position, speaking at executive functions and getting into the daily aspects of presidential work.
With Capaldi now leaving for a job in Albany with SUNY as vice chancellor, two questions must be answered. First, the School of Bioinformatics has lost its biggest supporter within the university administration and it is not clear how this will affect the future of the program. Capaldi's work with the School of Bioinformatics is nothing short of exceptional. She created the program and made it an economic mainstay in Buffalo and a program that has spread to other schools.
The second unknown at UB with Capaldi's departure is her replacement. The decision will be made by Simpson, with the assistance of Greiner. It will be interesting to see if Simpson chooses someone else from outside UB who can work with his vision, or someone from the UB community who is already familiar with the school and necessary information.
The selection committee took a step towards the future by opting for a fresh face instead of a UB insider. The new president will have to deal with many ongoing programs, such as the Lee Road project, the Division I-A athletics program, bioinformatics and alumni fundraising efforts.
Hopefully, Simpson will be more forthcoming than the selection committee about his plans for these programs and his overall vision for UB. Simpson should make himself available to answer questions from all sides.
UB needs an energetic leader who will reinvigorate the university and community. The details surrounding Simpson and his vision are still murky, but it is too early to criticize him. If he reaches out to students and the community, it will start him down the right path to running a successful university.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
