<p>Can this be constued to be a move into a postion to try to grab the coveted "flagship U" banner in NYS? </p>
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The president of the State University of New York at Buffalo has set an ambitious goal of making the school one of the top research universities in the nation, by recruiting more students, hiring new faculty and expanding the campus.</p>
<p>University President John B. Simpson announced the expansion plan on Sept. 28 during a speech to the faculty Senate.</p>
<p>The universitys master plan is to increase its size by 40 percent over the next 15 years, attracting 10,000 new students and 750 new faculty members, with a campus large enough to accommodate them all. The plan will include the three locations of UB; the North, South, and downtown Buffalo campuses.</p>
<p>This is an undertaking of historic proportions, Simpson said. It is the first time since the construction of the North Campus in the 1970s that UB has undertaken such an ambitious plan.
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<p>While quite a few critics might agree that this plan is "seemless", more likely the aim is to create an integrated campus and facilities to attract faculty and students alike - build it and they will come.</p>
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The vision for making UB a bigger and stronger institution is also a vision for how UB and Western New York can strengthen the vital partnership that binds them together, Simpson said.</p>
<p>Robert Schibley, a professor at UBs School of Architecture and Planning has been asked by Simpson to devote his time to the master planning process.</p>
<p>Schibleys message is that an excellent university attracts and that the core of your ability to attract is from you faculty.</p>
<p>If were going to grow 40 percent we have the chance to improve the physical quality through that expansion and growth, he said.</p>
<p>Schibley said that the physical changes to the campus will promote a seemless campus between all three of the UB campuses and the surrounding areas. What Schibley wants to see UB turn into is one campus with three centers.</p>
<p>A lot of this is about connecting to our region, and the economy of our region, Schibley said.</p>
<p>In economic impact alone, the University contributes $1.5 billion each year to the economy of Western New York. Schibley said if UB grows by 40 percent, the economic impact will grow as well.</p>
<p>Having a major research university located here is a real asset for the people of Western New York, Simpson said...</p>
<p>There are no great cities without a great hometown university, he said.
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<p>UB also intends to continue to intensively recruit foreign and OOS students. It may be of interest that:</p>
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UB is ranked 11th out of 3,000 U.S. universities in the number of foreign students attending. Half of the foreign students at UB are from Asian countries; 500 of those are Chinese students.</p>
<p>Page said Chinese students are important to UB because it was the first U.S. university to establish an exchange relationship with China after the normalization of relations between the two countries. They have had a strong working relationship for 25 years.
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<p><a href="http://www.legislativegazette.com/read_more.php?story=1693%5B/url%5D">http://www.legislativegazette.com/read_more.php?story=1693</a></p>