The Board of Trustees voted to approve the transition of the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy to the Terry Sanford School of Public Policy, the University announced in a press release Saturday. The shift, effective July 1, will make Sanford Duke's 10th school.
"The creation of a new school is significant any time you do that in a university," said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. "It brings Sanford and public policy to the same level as law, medicine, business, divinity-it's at one level. It's a statement that this is a very significant priority for the University and also a recognition of the quality of the program."
In becoming a school, Sanford will see an increase in the size of its faculty to accomplish one of its goals of "transforming student lives," said Sanford Director Bruce Kuniholm, who will become dean of the school in July. In the last three years, the institute has increased the size of its tenure track faculty by 50 percent, he added.
The shift will also enable the school to carry out its strategic vision centered around global and international development and environmental, health and social policies, Kuniholm said.
Although faculty and research expansions are imminent, the school plans to retain a similar number of students, according to Saturday's press release. With approximately 185 undergraduate and 85 graduate students receiving degrees every year, Sanford offers one of the country's largest public policy programs.
Despite Sanford's new sanction as a separate school, incoming freshmen will not be required to submit a separate application to be enrolled as a public policy student. Students in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences will still be able to declare the public policy studies major in the same way as they do now.
And for public policy students, the school will offer new opportunities for interdisciplinary programs and "elevate the stature of their degrees," Schoenfeld said.
The change will enable Sanford to collaborate more easily with peer universities and engage directly in joint programs and hires, Kuniholm added. He noted that Sanford has already hired faculty members in conjunction with the Global Health Institute and the Nicholas School of the Environment and is looking to move toward partnerships with others, such as the Pratt School of Engineering.
"President [Barack] Obama said when he signed the Serve America Act, 'We need your service right now, at this moment in history.... I'm asking you to stand up and play your part,'" Kuniholm said. "Across the nation, students are flocking to public policy programs and have much more interest in public service. Sanford is answering that call."
Knowledge in the service of society is one of a number of Duke's strategic plans, including international and interdisciplinary education, Kuniholm said. Such global emphasis has led the institute to collaborate with governments in India and China.
Although the new school is still working to reach its fundraising goal of $40 million by July 1, officials said the school is being built on financially stable turf, as Sanford has already raised $36.1 million in cash and pledges as of this month. The institute also has one of the largest endowments of public policy schools across the nation, Schoenfeld said.
The process of transitioning Sanford from an institute to a school began in the summer of 2005, when a provost-sanctioned task force recommended that Duke consider creating a separate public policy school. Since then, University officials have worked toward the shift. Prior to the trustees' approval last week, the Academic Council approved the change at its April 16 meeting.
"[Sanford is] ready," Provost Peter Lange said. "It is indicative of our continued forward momentum."
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