MY TURN

I thoroughly enjoy being president of UB. But I do regret that I don't have more time simply to wander campus during the bustle of a typical day. Whenever I do, I'm struck by the many layers of student life here. In just a few minutes lingering near the SA clubs, the cafeterias, or the library doors, I see and hear an astounding diversity of cultures and ideas.

But with so many students and professors spread across an array of academic pursuits on the North and South Campuses, and a budding third campus downtown, UB can feel like a hurried place that lacks a coherent center point. I strongly believe, however, this will not be the case for long. That's because an important piece of UB2020 - our university's path to enduring excellence - is a plan for growth that will not only increase our size, but also improve our physical surroundings.

There is already a sense of UB pride that connects the members of our campus community. Colleagues say they can't remember a time when as many students wore UB logos to class. As we continue to implement UB2020 I think the sense of pride within our campus community will grow stronger yet.

However immersed you are at the moment in the demands of your studies, I have no doubt that in the not-too-distant future you'll look back on this time and reflect that the experiences and intellectual opportunities you seized here at UB have become the foundation for the individuals you will become.

Those same processes of foundation-building and change are also taking place for UB as a whole - the physical campus planning we are undertaking now is laying the groundwork for the truly great university we are becoming. I encourage you to play an active part in this transformation by contributing your ideas and your insights to this process.

Our university has been going through a period of vibrant dialogue about what it means to be a model public research university for the 21st century. The essence of this process is UB2020, which seeks to make UB one of the most distinctive and distinguished such schools in the nation - to become the public university for a borderless world. We have accomplished much in the last three years, although the visible signs of our progress may be blurry to some.

That's why I felt it was important to share news of some of the changes underway with you here in the pages of The Spectrum and in person. I have been meeting with a number of students groups lately, with more meetings scheduled for the coming weeks. These meetings give us a chance to discuss the direction our university is headed and the various ways you can participate in these exciting changes.

It's important to understand that UB2020 is not just a plan for the distant future. Several dozen faculty members already have been hired to support specific strategic strengths, with many more hires planned. And even though our campus planning will play out over the coming years, changes are already underway. For example, the makeover of Founders Plaza will begin this summer, while the doubling in size of our child care facilities, and revitalization of public spaces across the campus, should be completed while many of you are still here at UB.

I remember how important an engaging campus atmosphere was to my own experience as an undergrad. I feel strongly that the campus planning getting underway now will point the way to a university with more memorable public spaces and places to cohere. As many of you return to campus in future years as alumni, we think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the changes now being planned for the future of our UB community.

In the meantime, keep up the hard work, and I look forward to seeing you around campus sometime soon!