A high profile member of the faculty and administration is thinking about going home.
Chair of the African and Afro-American Studies department, George Wright, who also serves as vice provost for University programs, has been named one of five finalists for the chancellorship at the University of Kentucky. The chancellor, Wright said, plays the role of chief academic officer at Kentucky, an equivalent of the post of provost.
"If offered the position I would really seriously consider it, but that does not mean I would accept it," Wright said Tuesday.
A native of Lexington, Ky., Wright received his bachelor's and master's degrees at Kentucky. He received his doctoral degree in history from Duke before returning to teach at Kentucky from 1977-1980. He has written three books on race and the state of Kentucky and much of his family still lives there.
At Duke, Wright has been instrumental in providing leadership for the African and Afro-American Studies department and in organizing black faculty recruitment efforts.
Wright said his chances of receiving an offer are slim, emphasizing the strong qualifications of his competitors. He also said that if he did leave Duke, it would not be due to any disappointment with the University.
"I really like being here at Duke. I could not ask for a better situation than being a professor and an administrator," he said.
Although Wright does not aspire to rise as high as a university president, he admitted he has long aspired to be provost at one of the three schools at which he has taught--Kentucky, Duke and the University of Texas at Austin.
"If you think about it, the University of Texas has a new provost and Duke has a new provost," Wright said.
Nevertheless, he said that if he gets an offer, he might turn the job down; an offer, however, would allow him to weigh the relative merits of taking the promotion and staying at Duke.
"I would really regret [it] if he were to leave Duke," said Richard White, dean of Trinity College and vice provost for undergraduate education. "But this is a decision he [would have] to make."
Wright came to the University in the spring of 1993 to take over the floundering African and Afro-American studies program with the goal of providing stability. Before him, Leonard Beckum, University vice president and vice provost, served as the program's interim director. The program's last permanent director was Walter Buford, who served in the 1970s.
In the fall of 1993 Wright was also placed in charge of coordinating departmental efforts to recruit black faculty members.
"From day one I have thought one way you can really determine if a program is progressing is if it can live beyond you," Wright said. "I don't foresee [that progress] stopping. Duke has the commitment to recruit black faculty and that is not going to stop if I leave."
Nevertheless, Roy Weintraub, acting dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences, said that a decision by Wright to leave could lead to instability in African and Afro-American studies. Weintraub attributed much of what he termed "recent success within Arts and Sciences" and progress in black faculty recruitment to Wright.
"His leaving would be a tremendous loss," Weintraub said. "He is immensely talented, immensely capable."
Students also showed concern. "It would be a tragedy if he did leave," said Trinity junior April Preyar, president of the Black Student Alliance.
She, however, remained somewhat optimistic about the future of black faculty recruitment. "I don't think it would be so problematic if his responsibilities were passed to someone as enthusiastic about bringing black faculty to the University," Preyar said.
A professor popular among many students, his African-American history class gave him a heartfelt ovation at the conclusion of his final lecture of the semester Tuesday, said Trinity sophomore Jamie Smith, a student in the class. "All the students seem to be genuinely interested in all of his lectures," Smith said. "He makes the subject matter engaging."
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