University at Buffalo President Satish Tripathi is speculated to be on the short list of contenders to fill in as chancellor for the State University of New York system following Thursday's announcement that Chancellor Jim Malatras will resign in January.
The New York Post has reported that SUNY trustees are looking at three current SUNY presidents who could serve as interim chancellor. Aside from Tripathi, who presides over the flagship university in the SUNY system, the story named Harvey Stenger at SUNY-Binghamton and Havidan Rodriguez at SUNY-Albany as short-list contenders for the job.
SUNY Board President Merryl Tisch, however, told The Buffalo News on Saturday that she considered the Post story "uninformed." The process of finding a new leader for the SUNY system is just beginning, she said, and there is no immediate timeframe for the board's decision.
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"We are in the middle of thinking this through," she said. "I never pay attention to speculation."
A SUNY spokesman said the Board of Trustees will announce the next steps in filling the chancellor position soon.
Malatras, a longtime aide and adviser to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, submitted his resignation letter under pressure Thursday after text messages surfaced of him denigrating Lindsay Boylan, a woman who had worked for Cuomo and would later accuse him of sexual harassment.
Malatras resigned amid rising criticisms and calls for his firings from lawmakers, watchdog groups and others for his role in trying to contain sexual harassment allegations by Andrew Cuomo’s first accuser, former aide Lindsey Boylan.
UB Vice President John DellaContrada said Tripathi has no comment about the reports that he is being considered for the chancellor's post. Tripathi has not been contacted by the SUNY Board of Trustees about any interim role, he said.
It would be logical, however, for Tripathi and other current SUNY system presidents to be considered to fill in temporarily as chancellor until the governor's race is decided next year, assuming the board intends to look in-house for a successor.
“It certainly makes sense that they are looking at President Tripathi for this position," said Buffalo State Sen. Sean Ryan of the New York Post story. "He’s been a strong leader for the University at Buffalo for the past decade."
SUNY comprises 64 higher education institutions across the state and enrolls roughly 375,000 students.
The governor controls nearly all seats on the SUNY board.
The appointment of Malatras as chancellor in August of last year is a good example of the governor's influence over the position. As a friend of Cuomo, he was appointed after no national search. Though he had a few years of experience in university administration, his background was considered light in comparison with other college system leaders.
Malatras was praised for his ability to keep the SUNY system open and afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic but could not overcome the growing political pressure, and opposition from students and faculty, to his continued leadership.
Malatras' resignation takes effect Jan. 14.
Tripathi presides over the largest university the SUNY system, is generally respected and considered competent, and is someone with an established relationship to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Tripathi, 70, has served as UB president for 10 years, which is longer than average for a university president. He's worked his way up the administrative ranks and successfully navigated the complex SUNY system to UB's benefit. But he's considered a relatively quiet player in the political realm.
From 2011 to 2017, he served as co-chairman of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, which sets economic development priorities for the region and has funneled hundreds of thousands of state dollars into the region. As co-chairman, he worked with then-Lt. Gov. Hochul, who oversaw all the state's economic development councils.
During his time as UB president, Tripathi has been credited with increasing faculty ranks, raising the university's academic profile, expanding research and degree programs, leading UB strategic planning efforts, improving UB's downtown biomedical footprint, and growing a more diverse and international student body.
Despite this, and the push for higher university tuition rates, Tripathi has not been able to meet the ambitious goals of the UB 2020 strategic growth plan, laid out by his predecessor. He attributed the shortfalls to lack of resources.
Malatras was hired last year at a salary of $450,000 plus a $60,000 housing allowance. Tripathi is considered one of the highest-paid public university presidents, with compensation exceeding $700,000 a year.
