Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education, addressed the Duke Student Government at its meeting Wednesday to promote diversity and engagement as priorities for the year.
Nowicki specifically spoke about the practical advantages of diversity in the student body and the importance of “intellectual engagement” in the student experience at Duke.
“They are seemingly disparate, but I think that they’re actually intertwined,” he said.
On the topic of diversity, Nowicki first emphasized Duke’s relative quantitative success in achieving diversity, referencing a current white to nonwhite ratio of one to one as reported by Duke’s annual diversity statistics. However, he also cautioned that without inclusion, the significance of diversity ends with its statistics.
Nowicki pointed out that students who interact with people unlike themselves are proven to be more successful, and that diversity should not be promoted just for diversity’s sake, but also for the potential it offers in personal growth and full engagement on campus.
After conversations with students undoubtedly showed him how fixated they can be on academic goals like GPAs, Nowicki also expressed concern about students focusing on academic engagement at the expense of intellectual engagement.
“You can have an intellectual conversation about basketball. What intellectual means here is deeper, rather than superficial,” Nowicki said.
Additionally, Nowicki qualified the statement he made at freshman convocation to “question authority” by differentiating between questioning and just being cynical of authority. He concluded with a personal anecdote of how as a college student, he too was unsatisfied with the system of higher level education. He chose, however, in his career to become part of this system of authority, a step he lauded DSG members for taking as well.
In other business:
Chief Justice Dana Raphael, a junior, swore in University and Presidential Committee nominees.
The SOFC re-recognized a group under new leadership, Youth for Debate, which was de-chartered two years ago. The group is committed to improving public school education through assistance with debate and public speaking.
DSG's executive board presented its goals for the year, which included internal restructuring for efficiency and long-term goals for external projects such as DevilsGate tailgate.
The modifications to the SLG housing guidelines announced in the Spring were presented.
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