Coaches voice opposition to Curriculum 2000

The new Curriculum 2000 proposal has been publicized as an opportunity for the University to raise the level of its academic standards.

If approved as is, however, athletic officials say it could threaten the standards of the athletic department.

In a meeting of the department last Tuesday, representatives of Duke's 26 teams expressed their concerns about the proposal to Bob Thompson, dean of undergraduate affairs.

"The whole purpose of the meeting was for [Thompson] to meet with the coaches and for us all to talk about the new curriculum and for him to explain some of the rationale behind it," said Associate Athletic Director Chris Kennedy. "And then [for him] to take their perceptions and their concerns back to the curriculum committee."

Thompson apparently left with an earful. One head coach, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that every coach and representative shared a great deal of concern about the curriculum's effect on their programs.

Primarily, coaches argued that the proposed increase of overall courses from 34 to 36, combined with the potential foreign language and math requirement, could stifle Duke's recruiting efforts.

"If that passes, I feel like we're just going to be competing with the Ivy's," the coach said. "Right now I feel we're good. That would just kill us."

The coaches said that the main problem with recruiting under a new curriculum is not just its impact on Duke's efforts, but also how other schools will take advantage of it. Right now, Duke is able to recruit against almost anyone from Stanford to Clemson. Department officials feel that the academic rigors of the proposed curriculum's requirements could be used by others to keep top athletes away from the University.

"I can see where the coaches would not be in favor of this."

Thompson agreed, "[The coaches] see the proposals as making life more difficult for student-athletes. It would be harder for student-athletes to balance their schedule. It's difficult to balance it now. Anything that raised the level of requirements would be more difficult to do."

He said that the committee is still actively discussing whether or not to raise the minimum number of courses to 36. The anonymous coach said that aspect of the proposal causes coaches the most fear.

Many student-athletes are already required to stay on campus during the summer to meet the 34-course requirement. Adding two more would keep more athletes at the University year-round, and cost both the athletes and the department more money.

"They may be going to 36 courses, which we're concerned about on a number of levels, partly financial, because it's going to cost a fortune," Kennedy said. "I have a concern with the fact we're increasing the number of courses but not increasing the number of offerings for small learning experiences."

While the number of courses might be negotiable, the foreign-language requirement is not. Despite the athletic department's opposition, this aspect will remain in Curriculum 2000,Thompson said.

"I think that [the coaches] are concerned about both the number of courses and the foreign language requirement," said William Chafe, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences and dean of Trinity College. "[But] we intend to stand firm on the foreign language requirement."

Whether the feelings of the athletic department carry as much weight as the suggestions of faculty and students remains to be seen. The committee has already promised changes in response to the latter in their final proposal, due Nov. 15.

"I think we're all cognizant of what makes us unique," Thompson said. "But we have to move forward at the same time, while maintaining what makes Duke so special."

Katherine Stroup contributed to this story.