Richard White, dean of Trinity College and vice provost for undergraduate education, will soon be making the leap from bureaucracy back to botany.
White will retire from his administrative duties in May 1997 and will return to teaching in the botany department after a 12-year stay in the Allen Building. Before he returns to the botany department, however, White will take a one-year leave of absence to complete a manuscript at Cambridge University in England. The book is a biography of the distinguished English botanist F.O. Bower, whom White describes as a "touchstone for the work in my research area."
Before settling into the Allen Building in 1985, White taught in the botany department for 22 years, starting out as an assistant professor in 1963. He eventually went on to chair the department for seven years, beginning in 1978.
Originally appointed for a five-year term to the post of dean of Trinity College and dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences in 1985, White agreed to continue for an additional five years as dean of Trinity College and vice provost. White said that after 10 years, he thought that he was finished. "I thought two [five-year terms] was enough opportunity to do what you wanted to do," White said. He was asked, however, to serve two extra years as dean to maintain some stability during a major administrative transition period that involved the hiring of both a new provost and a new dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Provost John Strohbehn said that his transition to the University was aided significantly by White's contributions. "As a vice provost, [White] was one of the people I have met with regularly, and he has given me a better understanding of undergraduate education and how it works here at Duke," he said.
William Chafe, dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences and another recent addition to the administration, shared similar thoughts about White. "One of the things that makes my job so pleasant is working closely with [White]," Chafe said. "It has been an honor to have an opportunity to be closely engaged with someone who cares so much about undergraduates and the institution."
Administrators invariably list White's sense of humor as one of his strongest qualities. Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for student affairs, said that because of his incredible sense of humor, "he is someone with whom I can 'spar' and enjoy every minute of it, even though I usually lose. What I most fear about him is being in a public speaking setting and having to follow his remarks."
But there is much more to White than his sense of humor. "He has such a unique combination of talent and skills," Wasiolek said. "He is as good a fundraiser and people person as we've ever had at Duke." She added that, "with a major fund raising campaign on the horizon, it will be interesting to see how the void is filled."
Throughout his tenure as dean, White's concern with developing and maintaining a focus on undergraduate education has remained a top priority. White has worked on a broad range of projects, from enhancing the freshman experience with the FOCUS program and helping to develop an all-freshman East Campus, to establishing the Trinity College Board of Visitors, which brings supportive alumni back to the University to discuss important issues facing all undergraduates.
Preserving a strong interest in undergraduates will prove to be even more difficult in a changing University environment, White said. "As we become much more aggressive in becoming a national research university, competitive with the very best research universities in the country, I think it will be an important role to continue to maintain the focus on the quality of the undergraduate experience."
White, who will turn 61 in October, has mixed feelings about his departure from the administration. Although he said he has thoroughly enjoyed his tenure as dean and has had ample opportunity to have a positive impact on the University, he said it is time for a change.
"It is usual for administrators to turn over; 10 years is a reasonable time to have an effect or not," White said. "For personal development reasons, the idea of doing something different is also attractive. I really do enjoy Duke undergraduates and I look forward to teaching."
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