businesscheif.com 195UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO
“His face was this close,” Bible says,
motioning to the size of his own head in the
Zoom window through which the interview
for this report was being conducted. “And
the staff on the call could all see that the
President has a sense of humour, that he’s
personable. Typically most people would
see and interact with him in a formal setting,
much further away, and with a more rigid
structure, depending on what the occasion
is. So one of the benefits that's come out
of this is, by using these technologies, are
opportunities for closer relationships to be
formed. That applies with the faculty and
their students, because now each student in
a class of 200 sees their faculty member as
close as sitting around a table.”
What is clear is that people will continue
to be the central focus of UB’s digital
strategy. Bible outlines two disparate, but
very likely scenarios for students learning
remotely during the pandemic. One retires
to a cosy cottage in Cape Cod, with all the
amenities and luxuries one could desire.
Another moves back into a cramped
co-living environment in the city, above a
busy shop, and with limited access even to
high speed internet.
“Why should one have better than the
other?” he says. “The technology then
becomes the decision-maker of who's
going to be successful. So that's shame
on us. As the CIO, I'm kinda technical,” he
says. "I have problems when I'm at home
connecting and I get frustrated by it.
And so if I'm frustrated by it and I know
who to call to get help, what about the
faculty member or the student? This is
somewhere I think we need to, and will
work towards, being better.”