As the University continues to implement its heavily-funded plan to improve Duke's sciences, the short list of finalists for the Department of Biology chair indicates Duke means business.
Of the three candidates the search committee recommended for the position, two remain interested in the job--Philip Benfey, associate professor of biology at New York University and Virginia Walbot, professor of genetics and molecular biology at Stanford University. A third candidate, Mark Mooseker, professor of molecular cell and developmental biology, pathology and cell biology at Yale University, wrote in an e-mail that he has withdrawn his application.
William Chafe, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, said the search will likely conclude in three to four weeks.
"The goal of the chair search is to find somebody who could work with the faculty to find out where the best opportunities for the future are," said committee chair Roger Barr, professor of biomedical engineering. "Generally, the situation is that biology is a strong department. It's had a lot of issues associated with the merger, which at this point have been pretty much resolved."
The hire is vital as Duke begins to invest in the sciences, including a proposed $80 million multidisciplinary sciences building that will link the disciplines of chemistry, physics and biology.
Professor of Biology Dan Kiehart, a member of the search committee, said it is common for troubled departments to hire external chairs. Administrators made the decision to hire an external chair before the 2000 merger, but Kiehart said the biology department has had little trouble consolidating.
"Many of us view it as a real opportunity to attract some new blood to Duke, an opportunity to bring in someone of national reputation," he said. "I think it's safe to say, among the three people mentioned, there was significant appreciation for the candidates' talents from a wide spectrum of biologists in the department."
Both candidates' research interests lean toward genomics--Benfey specializes in developmental genetic and genomic approaches to address how plants form organs such as roots and leaves, while Walbot studies plant expression of genes using transposon mutations.
Walbot said she did not want to comment on her candidacy because she had not been offered the position.
Benfey said that in the next five years, if he were appointed chair, he would work to develop Duke's short-term resources in genomics and proteomics, but that the future of biology lies in computational sciences.
"There will be those that will have resources and have been able to integrate computation sciences and there will be those that will be... far less exciting," he said. "Duke has potential to be one of those exciting places."
The zoology and botany departments merged to form the biology department in July 2000 after an external review forcefully recommended the merger, which had previously been suggested by a 1996 task force. Kathleen Smith, professor of biological anthropology and anatomy, was named interim chair.
"I think the department has done an excellent job of the nuts and bolts of merging and of figuring out how we make decisions given our size and diversity," Smith wrote in an e-mail. "I don't believe there were many major intellectual challenges to overcome as part of the merger."
Smith added that the new chair will face typical challenges such as getting to know the faculty and administration, but also must consider curriculum offerings, teaching policies, the new facility and building strength in newer areas of biology without sacrificing traditional strength.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.