In a thoughtful and reaffirming address at the annual meeting of University faculty Thursday, Academic Council Chair Peter Burian emphasized the importance of faculty concerns to the future of the University.
Burian and President Nan Keohane presented annual reports on the status of academics at the University. The gathering preceded the October meeting of the Academic Council, and came just one month before Provost Peter Lange is scheduled to deliver to the council a draft of the University's long-range planning initiative.
After initially asking whether the faculty can provide a distinct perspective on the University, Burian, who is also a professor of classical studies, reaffirmed its ability to do so.
"Especially in matters touching the creation and dissemination of knowledge-a.k.a. researching and teaching-we have a unique stake, and a special claim to exercise authority," Burian said.
He cited the monthly meetings between administrators and the Executive Committee of the Academic Council as evidence of the importance of faculty input. But he noted that administrative attention to faculty concerns does not always translate into solutions.
Specifically, Burian pointed out two faculty issues that he sees as unresolved-the lack of staff support for professors and the inability of junior faculty to "feel ownership" in the University.
"While staff support may seem like an obvious place to economize when creating new programs and institutes, we must not undermine the strength of current programs by underestimating the importance of human resources," he said, adding that the lack of assistants is already hurting professors' work.
Burian also suggested that the University must do more to integrate younger professors into administrative and research circles.
"Newly tenured faculty members are unlikely to have much experience in the University's many rules and regulations, causing a feeling of isolation," he said. "It is not surprising that younger faculty are not willing to take a greater role in the University."
Keohane, anticipating the completion of the long-range plan, used her speech to give the faculty a context in which to evaluate this vision for the University's future. "Like a navigator's chart, it can help steer us past the siren songs of appealing but meretricious or simply low-priority investments of our time and energy," she said. "A good plan is not a straitjacket but an invitation, a framework for effective action."
Keohane specified six characteristics that make the plan unique to Duke, including the University's emphasis on interdisciplinary programs, its success in integrating new technology into teaching, and its insistence on both quality teaching and researching. Expanding beyond academics, she also cited as unique to Duke its creation of Duke University Health System to balance the corporate and academic aspects of medicine, and the University's handling of morality discussions on campus.
Following the University faculty meeting, the Academic Council commenced its meeting and promptly entered into executive session for the afternoon.
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