Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - Dr. Satish Tripathi is stepping down as president of the University at Buffalo after 14 years on the job. He previously served as provost at UB for seven years.
“I have been delighted to make Buffalo my home, proud to call UB my academic home and honored to serve as UB’s president,” Tripathi said in a Sept. 16 email to students, faculty and staff.
Tripathi, who will return to his faculty role in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences next fall, said he had been contemplating the decision for several months, and expressed confidence that he is stepping down from the presidency with UB positioned for even greater success.
“There are many reasons to celebrate our shared accomplishments,” he wrote. “What is perhaps most gratifying is that, through every chapter and challenge, we have held fast to our university mission and values.”
Tripathi joined UB as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs in 2004 after serving as dean of the Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California, Riverside, for seven years.
He was appointed UB’s 15th president on April 18, 2011, becoming the university’s first international-born president.
As president, Tripathi is credited with leading UB through a transformative era of productivity and progress, and for his sure and steady leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and other periods of unease and distress precipitated by local, national and international events.
During his tenure, Tripathi has extended the university’s local and global reach by increasing its contributions to society’s grand challenges. His presidency is marked by impressive growth in the university’s research portfolio and sponsored research expenditures, a dramatically enhanced and innovative educational experience for undergraduate and graduate students, and more extensive engagement with the region and world.
Together, these achievements have significantly elevated UB’s stature as a premier public research university. From 2010 to 2024, UB rose 22 spots in the U.S. News & World Report rankings among U.S. public universities and, in the same period, 44 spots among U.S. public and private universities. UB achieved further distinction in 2022 when Gov. Kathy Hochul designated it a New York State flagship institution.
Tripathi will end his tenure in July.