BUFFALO —
University at Buffalo President John Simpson announced his retirement late Monday, citing among other things the state legislature’s failure to enact the UB 2020 plan.
Simpson, who noted a desire to spend more time with family in a message posted Monday on the school’s website, also said that he would be “less than forthright not to note that this difficult decision has been made somewhat easier by Albany’s failure to give UB and SUNY the policy tools and stable support needed to fully achieve this university’s great potential.
Simpson, 63, will officially step down Jan. 15. The school’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Scott Nostaja will assume the role in the interim.
State Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer, a longtime supporter of the bill, suggested an unwillingness by legislative colleagues to give up control over aspects of the state school’s management contributed to the plan being defeated twice in the senate. Tuition would have been controlled by the school rather than the state legislature, which Ranzenhofer said would allow students to budget for increases instead of being beholden to political whims. Another key aspect of the plan in his opinion would be added freedoms for the university to compete for research dollars.
“They’d be allowed to partner with other businesses and not-for-profit groups without everything having to go through the legislature,” he said. “It just was not given the priority it should have had from the leaders of the area, to finish the deal.”
The UB 2020 proposal was intended to allow the school to compete with other premier research universities throughout the country by reducing government control over tuition and strategic partnerships.
Simpson said it has been an “honor and a pleasure” to serve as the university’s 14th president. A native of California with 30 years experience in higher education, he previously served as campus provost and executive vice chancellor of the University of California, Santa Cruz, before moving to Western New York with his wife to take his latest job.
“Katherine and I have been proud to make our home in this community and I personally have been grateful to benefit from my rewarding relationships with my colleagues in the higher education community — locally, nationally and globally,” he said.
Simpson has announced he will return to the West Coast along with his family.
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