The dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences will be stepping down June 1, 2007, administrators announced Monday.
William Schlesinger, who has been at the University since 1980 and dean since 2001, will become president of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y.
"This was just an opportunity that could not be passed up. This is a great, well funded think tank that has a wonderful, although not hugely long, history of ecological research, and I have enough wanderlust left in me that it couldn't be overlooked," Schlesinger said.
The decision to leave Duke was a difficult one, he said.
"All the people, places, experiences that we've had in Durham, North Carolina, at Duke, it's hard to just sort of leave that behind so casually-so that was a huge draw to stay," Schlesinger said. "Duke and the provost made some very generous offers to try to keep me here... but I decided that a move might be fun and challenging on my end of things."
In a statement, Provost Peter Lange praised Schlesinger for growing and improving the Nicholas School's student population and bringing "a far higher degree of integration around a common vision to the school's units."
"I'm unhappy that he's leaving but he's got a great opportunity and I think it's something that will carry him probably to the point that he finishes his career," Lange told The Chronicle.
Schlesinger said he has accomplished many of his goals as dean, citing the expansion of the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C., and the newly opened Washington, D.C., office of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.
"I've either got a lot of it done or I got things in place where it should happen and unfold with somebody else," he said. "Frankly, I think it would take a real effort for somebody to break that momentum and I hope they would not want to do that."
A nationwide search for a new dean will begin almost immediately, Lange said, adding that he hopes a replacement will be found by the time Schlesinger departs for his new job.
IES, which Schlesinger will lead starting in June, is one of the largest ecological research organizations in the world.
It "is dedicated to the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge about ecological systems," according to the institute's mission statement. At IES, Schlesinger will be taking over the role of Gene Likens, founding director of the institute.
"Dr. Schlesinger's selection is the culmination of an international search that had many qualified candidates," said Lori Quillen, IES public information specialist. "We are thrilled to have him on board. His leadership strengths, including a commitment to outreach, will be an asset to the institution."
Schlesinger added that he is eager to return to focusing on research, specifically looking into New England forests, water and air pollution issues and environmental health issues.
"This think tank is all research, all the time. It has a smaller number of people but, essentially, the vast majority of its activity is primary scholarship to understand how ecosystems function," he said. "To some extent it's a little bit of a return to being a professor rather than being dean."
Schlesinger, who first arrived at Duke in 1980 as a professor of botany, is the third graduate or professional school dean who has announced he will be relinquishing his post next June. Both Katharine Bartlett, dean of the School of Law, and Douglas Breeden, dean of the Fuqua School of Business, will be stepping down June 30, 2007.
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