Connor, Pitman named to UB leadership positions

By UB Now Staff

Connor, senior assistant dean for enrollment management, has been named interim vice provost for enrollment management. The appointment was effective Jan. 1. Pitman, professor in the Department of Materials Design and Innovation, has been named interim vice president and chief information officer, effective March 1.

“It brings me immense pride to congratulate Bruce and Chris on their well-deserved appointments within the university,” said Kemper E. Lewis, dean and professor of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

"Their sustained excellence and unwavering commitment to fostering growth have enriched our SEAS community and will undoubtedly propel our university to new heights. We are fortunate to have such distinguished colleagues guiding our institution and I look forward to witnessing the impact of their visionary leadership in shaping the future of UB."

With more than 25 years of experience in higher education at UB, Connor has held leadership roles at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He also served as the campus functional lead for the UB 2020 Student Services Transformation enterprise implementation of the current HUB student system.

As senior assistant dean for enrollment management in SEAS, the school experienced a 77% increase in enrollment to record levels, including a 74% increase in international student enrollment and historical increases in diversity. During his tenure, the school also developed numerous interdisciplinary professional science master’s degrees closely aligned with employment market demand, which grew to over 1,100 enrollments in five years.

Connor is a nationally recognized expert in graduate enrollment management, actively involved with many professional higher education-focused organizations. He currently serves as a member of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Higher Education Advisory Council, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Research Advisory Board, and as a mentor and trainer to the European Association for International Education.

Connor received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award in Excellence in Professional Service in 2019, the IELTS USA Best Practices Award in International Enrollment Management, and the SEAS for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Staff Award.

Connor is a UB graduate, holding a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in communication and psychology.

A UB faculty member since 1989, Pitman is a former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and a former vice provost for educational technology. He has also served as associate dean for research and sponsored programs in CAS, and most recently as interim director of the Institute for Computational and Data Science.

An expert in mathematical modeling and high-performance computing, for the last two decades he has been studying uncertainty quantification—techniques for understanding uncertainty in models of physical or biological systems, and how computing can account for these uncertainties.

The author or co-author of over 90 research articles, he has been a principal investigator or co-investigator on nearly $15 million in research and equipment awards.

He holds a doctorate and master’s degree in mathematics from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from Northwestern University.

Pitman succeeds J. Brice Bible, who is leaving UB to take on the same role at the University of South Carolina.