UB president Satish Tripathi to step down after 14 years

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — University at Buffalo president Satish Tripathi will step down next July after serving 14 years in the position, he announced Tuesday in an email to students, faculty and staff.

Tripathi, the university’s longest-serving and first international-born president, was appointed as UB’s 15th president in 2011. He first came to UB in 2004 as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

In the email, Tripathi announced that he will return to a faculty position next fall in UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

“I have been delighted to make Buffalo my home, proud to call UB my academic home and honored to serve as president,” he said. “Over the past 14-plus years, we have developed a rigorous, relevant and innovative curriculum across disciplines, transforming the undergraduate and graduate experience for a generation of students.”

Under Tripathi’s presidency, UB opened six building projects across its three campuses, launched seven academic departments, and has risen in the ranks both nationally and internationally.

According to a UBNow article, Tripathi created formal research partnerships with 31 institutions around the world. UB has also ranked in the nation’s top 30 universities for international students during Tripathi’s tenure.

The university said it has received an “unprecedented” amount of money under Tripathi’s presidency, most notably from the Boldly Buffalo fundraising campaign, which was led by Tripathi and ended last June. A total of $1.1 billion was raised over six years.

“I have every confidence that the University at Buffalo will further extend the boundaries of inquiry, knowledge and discovery far into the future,” Tripathi said. “In returning to my faculty role next fall, I look forward to continuing to pursue this noble goal alongside a scholarly community whose devotion to the public good has inspired me from the first.”