The Sarah P. Duke Gardens will come under new leadership this January when University Distinguished Service Professor of Botany Richard White takes over as director.
White will replace Professor of Botany William Culberson, who has served as director of the Gardens for the past 20 years.
White takes over during a crucial transition period for the Gardens. Ground breaking is scheduled to take place this month for the Center for Duke Gardens, a building designed to house special events and educational programs.
"I believe the new facilities... beginning with our new building... will provide opportunities for us to expand our current 'outreach' to the community," White said.
White brings to the position an extensive background in administration. In 1997, he retired as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Dean of Trinity College.
Provost John Strohbehn said White's record of administration was "not critical" for the new director, but a distinct advantage, adding that "the timing [of the new directorship] is nice in the point of
Many administrators approved of White's appointment, which came from Strohbehn, and was encouraged by Culberson. "When [Culberson] and the Provost asked me to consider becoming the next director, I took the suggestion seriously," White said.
Culberson will not abandon his interest in the Gardens; he intends to remain an integral part of advising and support for the center.
"Fortunately for the Gardens, the current director will continue to provide strong advice and support for the botanical and horticultural future plans for the Gardens," White said. "I see myself involved in that long-range planning, raising the profile of the Gardens within the University Community, cultivating friends of and for the Gardens, raising funds to support garden activities and attempting to better coordinate the possible roles of the Gardens with appropriate programs within the University."
One of White's primary goals is to make the Gardens more accessible to the undergraduate student body.
"The outdoor classroom possibilities [in the Gardens] are quite remarkable, and should/could appeal to drama, dance and music programs at Duke," White explained.
White, who intends to teach each semester while director, hopes to teach in the Gardens himself using the proposed new center's greenhouse space.
Overall, White is excited about his new position. "[T]o work with folks who love the Gardens... and plants... was too great a temptation to resist," he noted. "The Gardens are very special... and I would hope that I can share and spread my appreciation and enthusiasm for the Gardens with the broader community."
The Center for Duke Gardens is just one part of a three-year, $7.5-million plan for the Gardens, which White said will include "consideration of additional facilities [and] strengthening and expanding current educational programs as well as consideration of new programs."
As such, White is expected to be active in fund raising, an area Larry Daniel, assistant director of the Gardens, said is a strong point for White.
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