Define Duke: this is what the University is trying to do in its renewed attempts to draft a statement of its mission.
Although there has never been an official mission statement, the University has had many statements which have attempted to define the school's purpose.
The mission statement, which is part of the University's long-range planning process, may also be incorporated into the plan as a preamble.
"[It is] a short, straight explanation of the principal purpose of the institution," said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs, who is working on a draft of the statement. "It is a declarative statement of who we are and what we stand for."
Along with asking a number of faculty and student opinions, Burness looked at past proposals as well as the published mission statements of 10 to 15 other universities and of several corporations.
Burness said that among academic institutions, mission statements are fundamentally the same.
"We're here to advance knowledge, we're here to teach, we're here to research, we're here to serve the public. When you boil them down, they all come to the same point." Burness said. The University should try to come up with something that is different, he said.
University president-elect Nan Keohane is currently heading the effort to draft the statement. Keohane served as the main author of Wellesley's mission statement, and is interested in the statement as part of the University's long-range plan, said Provost Thomas Langford.
Keohane outlined issues facing the University in a formal address to the Academic Council Feb. 25.
She stressed the endowment, the academic environment, the balance between undergraduate and graduate education and the need to update facilities and technology as central to the University's future as issues which may be included in the new mission statement.
Once approved, the statement will serve to define the University and its purpose. It will be made widely available and included as part of catalogs and other literature as a preface for understanding the University. The statement will also be used as a reference point in planning and decision making.
In developing a trial proposal, Burness said, "I tried to put together a sense of what it is that makes Duke unique, its strengths, weaknesses, and values. What's special about this place? What do we do here and why?"
Paula Burger, executive vice provost, said Keohane would like to present a draft of the statement to the Board of Trustees as early as May.
The Board must approve the final draft before publication. Before the meeting, the statement may be reviewed by the Planning Steering Committee, an ad hoc Trustee Long Range Planning Committee, and the Academic Affairs Committee.
William Willimon, Dean of the Chapel, stressed the importance of having a written mission statement. "The lack of a mission definitely affects us," he said. Willimon pointed to the current confusion and indecision over the alcohol policy as an example.
"Policy is an embodiment of the type of school you want to have. A mission statement is a context for making policy decisions - in using resources, governing behavior, and determining the type of people we want to have here," he said.
The new draft is not intended to replace older visions of the University, but rather to update them. The process will incorporate and continue with the process of documenting the University's evolution.
"An institution doesn't redesign its mission continuously every year," Burger said. "There is a sense of continuity. It is not so much a process of reshaping the fundamental as of lifting certain aspects up in a way that helps us address contemporary challenges."
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