VOL. 69 NO. 26 | DECEMBER 5, 2019
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950
‘Your Friendly on-campus Spider-man’
All Aboard The Polar Express
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Weber is one of five finalists for UB’s second-ranking position BENJAMIN BLANCHET ENGAGEMENT EDITOR
UB has narrowed down its search for a new provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. On Wednesday, UB’s provost search committee began a string of public forums, which end Dec. 11, for the five finalists for UB’s provost position. The forums will feature remarks from finalists and Q&A sessions for UB community members to speak with the potential secondranking administrator at UB. Provost finalist A. Scott Weber, current interim provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, talked about the student government fiscal agent transition, budget models and hiring more minority faculty in the Buffalo Room on Wednesday. Carl Lejuez, University of Kansas interim provost and executive vice chancellor, is the second hopeful for the provost position. Weber’s forum comes roughly two months after the university announced the departure of former provost Charles Zukoski. Zukoski left on Oct. 1 to become the University of Southern California’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.
BRITTANY GORNY SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
UBSPECTRUM
role from 2010 through 2017, Weber discussed the UB Finish in 4 initiative’s increase of fouryear graduation rates and the creation of an enrollment division at UB. Weber said UB could increase “the diversity of [its] faculty,” mentioning that 5% of faculty are underrepresented minorities and faculty of color. He said, as provost, he would set a five-year goal to raise minority faculty rates to 10%. “That’s below our Association of American Universities peers, it’s something we need to work on,” Weber said. He closed his remarks with his glance at top research, public universities ahead of UB in academic rankings having “90% or better” first-year to second-year retention rates. UB, he said, is at 86-87%. He said UB needs a program, similar Siddharth Bandu / The SpecTrum to Finish in 4, that “allows [UB] interiM provoSt a. Scott weBer SpeakS to an audience during a puBlic foruM at the Buffalo rooM on wedneSday. to think about cultural change to this weBer iS one of five finaliStS in the Search for uB’S next provoSt. process.” The search committee, made up of stu- committee. He also referred to UB’s “3.1 out dents, faculty and staff, landed on its five In front of a packed Buffalo Room, of five” reputational index and said if finalists and confirmed the public forums Weber surveyed his roles at the university UB was at “3.3,” “we’d be in the top-25.” on Nov. 26. UB spokesperson Kate McK- over the last 30-plus years and mentioned Weber said great universities in the AAU enna wrote in an email that “in keeping a “willingness to learn” as central to the “recognize their faculty better, retain their with usual practice, public funds are not provost role. He said he believes in UB’s faculty at higher rates and are diverse.” being used to support” the provost search. hopes to become a “top-25 institution” Weber has been serving as interim proCommittee members have worked with but he’s more excited about the “attain- vost while serving as vice president for search consulting firm Russell Reynolds ment” of that merit rather than the “num- Student Life. He said he’s “learned a lot” Associates. The firm’s services are paid ber.” from his two months as interim provost He emphasized the importance of facfor by the UB Foundation, according to McKenna, and committee members are ulty and staff celebration and recognition > SEE PROVOST | PAGE 2 not compensated for their work on the in his remarks. Moving to his vice provost
Ph.D. students and won’t cover the cost of student fees. But the committee said bridge-funding is “not truly 100%” as it will not provide for the incoming graduate student class in fall 2020. The committee also said the university’s decision didn’t consider CAS’ overall budget. “A reasoned, justified plan for reconfiguring Ph.D. training in the college will take time, more time than the few weeks available between the announcement of the graduate stipend increase and the beginning of the 2020 graduate recruitment season,” the committee wrote in its recommendation. The deans now also have the option to request additional funding from the university’s “operating budget,” a $753 million budget composed primarily of tuition
The College of Arts and Sciences will recruit the same number of funded Ph.D. students for fall 2020 as it did for fall 2019, Dean Robin Schulze announced on Wednesday in an email to CAS. Schulze decided to pause recruitment of CAS-funded Ph.D. students on Sept. 19 due to a lack of funding for the Ph.D. stipend raise to $20,000. Students and faculty were upset with the decision, so Schulze granted the Ph.D. Excellence Bridge Committee additional time to decide the best solution. Interim Provost A. Scott Weber announced an increase in bridge-funding from the provost’s office on Oct. 2, which will “bridge the gap” for the Ph.D. stipend increase to $20,000. The provost’s office is providing 100% bridge-funding for 201920, 100% for 2020-21 and 50% for 2021-22. Schulze said maintaining the number of funded students for Fall 2020 is a “one-time only” decision to create budget space and came as a recommendation from the 10-member committee, which CAS tasked with determining “how resources for TAs and RAs would be distributed across the college for fall 2020 and beyond.” The committee recommended maintaining recruitment because the provost’s bridge-funding only provides increases for currentlyvv funded Brenton Blanchet / The SpecTrum
revenue, student fees and state support, according to UB spokesperson John DellaContrada. Weber said this investment funding gives deans “flexibility” in order to reprioritize their budgets according to the “needs of their units.” Gina Cali-Misterkiewicz, spokesperson for the dean, said CAS is “operating within the adjusted bridge-funding” granted by Weber. She did not specify if the college requested additional funding from the operating budget in time for publication. Schulze said CAS’ next task is to “assess the quality of our Ph.D. programs in terms of time to [earn a] degree, completion rates, job placements, relation of current curriculum to job outcomes and cohort diversity and inclusion.” Email: brittany.gorny@ubspectrum.com
the college of artS and ScienceS dean’S office on the eighth floor of cleMenS hall.
Dennis Black writing grants for Habitat for Humanity after stealing over $300,000 from UB BRITTANY GORNY SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
Dennis Black, UB’s former vice president for Student Affairs is now volunteering as a grant writer at the Habitat for Humanity in East Cooper, South Carolina, after he pleaded guilty to stealing roughly $320,000 from university bank accounts and tax fraud in 2018, . Bob Hervey, executive director of East Cooper Habitat for Humanity, said Black “absolutely does not” have access to any of the organization’s funds. State Supreme Court Justice John L. Michalski sentenced Black in January 2018 to five years probation, 2,500 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine for stealing roughly $320,000 from UB and $22,238 from New York state taxation. Now, Black writes draft proposals to request funding from various agencies and foundations for Habitat for Humanity. Hervey said he “doesn’t know” if anyone made Habitat for Humanity aware of the details of his conviction, but they knew he had “some legal difficulties at UB.” “We are aware he has legal issues, the court assigned him community service,” Hervey said. “He’s doing some of that community service here.” Hervey said he doesn’t see a reason Black shouldn’t write draft grant requests for the organization. “He would have supervision and wouldn’t be the person officially requesting the information, but he does assist in drafting such requests,” Hervey said. Email: brittany.gorny@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @BrittanyGorny