Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education, gave his annual Fall address to the Duke Student Government senate body Wednesday evening.
The speech focused on the changing role of higher education as much of the media concentrates on the rising costs and online alternatives. Nowicki focused on the undying value of education in a traditional university and the continued innovation of Duke’s teaching methods.
“The nature of higher education right now is much questioned, nationally and worldwide,” Nowicki said.
Duke administrators are not immune to feeling concerned about the future of higher education, Nowicki said.
“Are we a dinosaur? Are we dying out?” he asked, noting the many criticisms that universities have faced over the past decade.
But Duke will never be irrelevant, Nowicki said. He added that the value of an education expands far beyond the knowledge passed through textbooks.
“I don’t remember a single thing that I learned in college,” Nowicki said. “What I got out was understanding how to think, how to form relationships, how to identify and solve a problem.”
These skills, he noted, cannot be learned through online-only education formats.
Despite the appeal that schools like the University of Phoenix have, including allowing students to learn in their pajamas, students will never have the ability to learn from each other and through the mentorship of professors through these platforms, Nowicki said.
The ability to live together and create a community that connects learning and living is a unique and important part of the college experience, Nowicki said. The implementation of the new house model is striving to enhance this experience, he added.
“A residential campus creates and environment for social connectivity,” Nowicki said.
Because the housing model is still in the early stages of its development, the lasting success of the new communities has yet to be seen, he said.
He noted that it will take several years for the independent houses to develop the personality and sense of community that selective living groups currently have.
Nowicki responded to concerns that undergraduate education at Duke is forcing students to become overly pre-professionally focused and less intellectual.
“I know Princeton [University]. Those students aren’t more intellectual than Duke students, it’s just that they don’t have a winning basketball team,” Nowicki said.
He continued by highlighting some of the extracurricular aspects of campus life that enhance the Duke experience.
“Duke Student Government is an essential part to make Duke work,” Nowicki said.
There is an amazing phenomenon currently occurring at Duke, he noted, because of the football team’s recent success at a time when discussion of basketball typically reigns supreme.
“Education is not a spectator sport,” Nowicki said. “Education transforms lives.”
In other business:
In honor of National Transgender Day of Remembrance, the senate voted unanimously to approve legislation supporting gender-neutral housing options on East Campus beginning in the 2014-15 school year.
President Stefani Jones, a senior, noted that despite the passage of the legislation, the decision to implement the changes is left to the administration.
Information technology analyst Michael Faber, Trinity ’05, presented Blue Sky, his new platform for Duke-centered discussions about community improvement.
“Blue Sky is the ying to Fix My Campus’s yang,” Faber said.
The platform allows students to post concerns or suggestions for improvement among any area of student life at Duke. Faber encouraged senators to spread the word about the new website.
Nowicki noted that he supports student use of Blue Sky.
Executive Vice President Nikolai Doytchinov, a junior, led a first reading of the student organizations and finance bylaw. There will be a second reading at the Dec. 4 meeting, at which point the senate can vote to adopt the legislation.
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