Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood announced today (Thursday, October 16) that John B. Simpson will be appointed as president of the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York by the SUNY Regents at their meeting on October 28.
"Although John's appointment means a loss to this campus, it is also a compliment to us all that his leadership and achievement here has been recognized by another great university," said Greenwood. Simpson is the first campus chief academic officer in UC Santa Cruz history to rise to a presidency at another major university.
Among his accomplishments at UC Santa Cruz, Simpson has stimulated active and productive planning exercises, and in the last year has fostered the establishment of an innovative way to address budget cuts through the Executive Budget Committee process. That process aims to establish strategic budget reductions while protecting the academic mission, rather than the more commonly used "across-the-board" budget-cutting tactic. With his support and leadership, UC Santa Cruz has created 43 new academic degrees or concentrations and hired nearly 150 ladder-rank faculty, enhancing the scope and quality of both the teaching and research missions of the campus.
"My experiences at UC Santa Cruz have been invaluable for me, both personally and professionally," Simpson commented. "I leave a stellar institution poised for even greater distinction in many areas."
Chancellor Greenwood has announced her intention to appoint an interim campus provost and executive vice chancellor well before Simpson will assume his new post.
The University at Buffalo is a research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York. It offers the only degrees in law, pharmacy, and architecture in the SUNY system, and is the home of the only comprehensive public school of engineering in New York State. It is a member of the Association of American Universities, a prestigious organization of approximately 60 of the nation's leading four-year institutions of higher education.
Simpson was appointed as executive vice chancellor of UC Santa Cruz in summer 1998. Previously he was dean of arts and sciences at the University of Washington. A professor of psychology, he held a variety of academic and administrative posts there for 23 years prior to his arrival at UC Santa Cruz.
