The UB 2020 Initiative
UB 2020 is the University at Buffalo’s campus-wide plan to achieve academic excellence by forging a coherent university-wide vision. Started in 2004, the plan is the most ambitious transformation at UB since the campus joined the SUNY system in 1962. Among the many results will be a university that is bigger in size, sharper in both focus and physical appearance, and stronger academically. The main focus is on:
- Achieving Growth: Implement plans to grow by as much as 40% by the year 2020 in an effort to become one of the top research universities in the country.
- Excelling in Academics: Concentrate in the areas of greatest academic strengths, realign resources, make strategic investments, develop partnerships, increase synergies across the campuses, and recruit top faculty.
- Building UB: The Comprehensive Physical Plan: Develop a physical presence that supports a model twenty-first century university—an open place of learning and a generator of new ideas that sets a standard of academic excellence and serves a diverse population in today’s knowledge-based society.
- Transforming Operations: Realign operational services, such as human resources, information technology, and sponsored programs, for efficient service and process delivery.
A cornerstone of the UB 2020 vision is the identification and development of strategic strengths. These strategic strengths will be used to focus academic planning, organize and empower faculty, better use and identification of needed infrastructure, and enable more strategic planning to achieve its vision. Eight strategic strengths, based on existing academic excellence, have been identified:
- Artistic Expression and Performing Arts
- Civic Engagement and Public Policy
- Cultures and Texts
- Extreme Events: Mitigation and Response
- Health & Wellness Across the Lifespan
- Information and Computing Technology
- Integrated Nanostructured Systems
- Molecular Recognition in Biological Systems and Bioinformatics
MCEER is coordinating the UB 2020 Strategic Strength on Extreme Events, as its research and outreach expertise are uniquely qualified to lead this effort. More information is available on the MCEER website at http://mceer.buffalo.edu/ub2020/default.asp.
