Continuing the process of creating a long-range plan for Trinity College, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences William Chafe presented an updated draft of the plan to the Arts and Sciences Council Thursday.
"This plan is intended to act as a compass with points of reference that we can use as a framework," Chafe told the faculty, to whom he had delivered a similar draft in March. "We need to maintain the status quo, but at the same time establish and replenish other areas of growth."
Trinity's plan is part of the larger University-wide strategic planning initiative.
Stressing a desire for the College to become more of an academic leader, Chafe emphasized the need for capital improvements as the foundation for growth. "It is simply impossible for us to maintain our standard of undergraduates we want to attract and faculty we want to hire, if we do not build a new facility," Chafe said. He cited as examples new growth the recently-completed John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies, the proposed addition to the Sanford Institute of Public Policy and plans for a new science building.
Such spaces, Chafe said, will strengthen current programs and allow for the growth of new academic initiatives.
He outlined several such proposals, which range from an expanded center for genome research to a new social sciences research institute.
Several council members expressed concern with how new institutes and programs would interact with established departments, as well as to whom they would be held accountable.
"It's exciting to have new interdisciplinary programs, but they seem to change the way faculty provide input to the university," Professor of Mathematics Greg Lawler said.
Chafe responded that the various initiatives will be accountable to interdisciplinary committees, as well as be staffed with faculty who are on departmental forums.
Other faculty members inquired about the potential for cuts mentioned in the draft of the long-range plan. "Since signature programs have been specified for additional funding, there is concern about where the disinvestment will come from," Professor of Religion Kalman Bland said.
Although he cited the Primate Center and the Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy as possible areas of disinvestment, Chafe said that cuts in specific departments will not be the principal source of new funding.
Alluding to current and projected deficits in the Arts and Sciences budget, Professor of Chemistry Steven Baldwin, chair of the council, also inquired about funding for the new initiatives. Chafe said that several factors-including a requirement that endowment money not be spent for one year-have limited the spending of newly-acquired funding from The Campaign for Duke.
The draft's omission of the new art museum and its effect on undergraduate education raised the eyebrows of several council members who saw the building as an opportunity to engage students.
Provost Peter Lange said that the original idea for the museum included more teaching space, but that delays have forced planners to scale down their plans.
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