President Nan Keohane called for increased cooperation between Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in a speech Friday.
Garnering an enthusiastic reception by UNC's faculty senate, Keohane noted the success of some of the collaborative projects between the two schools and highlighted areas in which Duke and UNC can further their efforts.
Obstacles such as the distance between the two schools, scheduling differences and lack of funding may hamper future cooperative efforts, Keohane said. But the advantages available to both universities, such as financial savings gained by consolidating programs common to both institutions, should encourage cooperation.
"[As] we prepare for the future, we can use creative ideas on each campus to leverage creativity and adventure on the other, so that we may continue to grow side by side, from strength to strength," she said in a prepared text.
Keohane received a tremendous reception from the crowd, said faculty senate chair Jim Peacock, Kenan professor of anthropology and Trinity '59.
"It was the first standing ovation that anyone's received since I've been there," Peacock said, who said many faculty agreed with Keohane's message.
Keohane used the Research Triangle Library Network, founded in 1934, as an example of one of the premier cooperative efforts between Duke and UNC.
"It expands many-fold the bibliographic resources we can offer our faculty and students with relatively constrained resources," she said.
As the two universities try to expand their programs in an era of financial constraints, they should work together in areas such as internationalization, she said.
There are currently 16 joint programs between Duke and UNC, including research laboratories, centers and international studies units, Keohane said.
"[A] graduate student can enroll in a discipline in which we both excel, and expect, by judicious selection of courses and advisors, to multiply the value of the degree," she said.
Though the future looks rosy, there are several obstacles hindering further cooperation, Keohane said.
Though the two schools are only 12 miles apart, Keohane said it is difficult for undergraduates to take full advantage of the resources of both institutions.
"For graduate students or for faculty members, who are more mobile and less focused on a campus, the distance is negligible physically--but may not be negligible psychologically," she said.
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