Dr. Michael Merson, founding director of the Duke Global Health Institute, has been named the interim vice president and vice provost for global strategy and programs—managing Duke around the world, from Durham to China.
Merson, also the vice chancellor for Duke-National University of Singapore affairs, replaced Greg Jones, who stepped down from the position due to health concerns after serving for one year.
“My major goals of the office will be to interact with faculty across the University and with the leadership of each school and discuss how they can best grow their global academic programs,” Merson said. “It’s a broad mandate, but it’s important to realize that it’s a mandate that spans all of the global activities on campus and internationally.”
Merson was chosen because of his wide background in global academic programs, said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations.
“It would be very difficult to find somebody who had such a broad and deep background in global education,” Schoenfeld said, noting that Merson created the global health institute at Yale University as well as the DGHI. “His entire career has been spent in global health and global education.”
Nora Bynum, director of global strategy in the Office of Global Strategy and Programs, said Merson’s extensive global experience makes him a natural fit for the position. She added that the office has worked closely with the DGHI over the past year.
“I expect Mike [Merson] and our team will make a smooth transition to this new structure,” Bynum said.
Merson’s appointment comes at a time when Duke has partnerships and agreements with more than 300 institutes worldwide, and 48 percent of Duke undergraduates study abroad.
“When we think of Duke globally, we really mean that,” Merson said. “We’ll be resourcing faculty who want to work internationally and help develop programs on campus that have international flavor.”
Merson said he does not believe his work at the Global Health Institute or at Duke-National University of Singapore will interfere with his new appointment, praising the strength of the staff that Greg Jones assembled and the significance of his work while he held the position.
The work that accompanies his new position is similar to the work he does as director of the DGHI, Merson said. The position will entail communicating with deans and faculty, and leading discussions about how the University should be growing its academic programs.
Bynum said she expects the biggest upcoming challenge for the office as Merson begins his interim position to be the successful implementation of Duke’s partnerships with the city of Kunshan and Wuhan University.
Merson said his work with Kunshan will encourage more discussions about Duke Kunshan University, which he said has recently been taking place at the Fuqua School of Business over which degree programs to host at DKU.
“We should be discussing this among ourselves, whether it Kunshan or anywhere in the globe or whether it’s Fuqua or anywhere else,” Merson said. “It’s a healthy approach. It’s what we should be doing as faculty.”
Merson emphasized the array of options that Kunshan will offer, such as undergraduate offerings, a master’s program in global health and research programs.
Jones will be missed by the office, Bynum said, emphasizing his strong leadership skills while he served as vice president and vice provost.
“Greg [Jones] has been instrumental in moving Duke’s global work forward over the past year,” she said. “[He] was able to strengthen and deepen our partnerships in many parts of the world, while working to increase cooperation and cohesion across Duke’s schools and units engaged in global work.”
Schoenfeld said the University will begin searching for a permanent vice president and vice provost for global strategy and programs in the Fall, adding that the search will vet candidates from within the University, as well as nationally and internationally.
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