Faculty members heard a message of optimism at the first Arts and Sciences Council meeting of the academic year.
Dean of Arts and Sciences Laurie Patton shared her vision for the year with council members Thursday and discussed the school’s fiscal standing—which has improved from last year. Patton also emphasized her commitment to promoting innovation, adaptation and integration within Trinity College of Arts and Sciences’ academic departments.
Patton—the second-ever woman to fill this role—previously worked as the Candler professor of religions at Emory University where she also served as the director of Emory’s Center for Faculty Development and Excellence.
Patton said she is confident that this will be a successful year because of Trinity’s strengthening budget. The school’s administrators are working with a balanced budget for the 2011-2012 academic year and do not have to compensate for any remaining deficits from the year before. Despite the improvements, she advised council members to remain conservative with their spending.
“[Finances are] slightly better than last year, but we still exist in a volatile market and can’t count on being out of the woods yet,” Patton said.
Because of the balanced budget, Trinity administrators have the ability to hire 15 new faculty members. Patton urged council members, when considering how to allocate the open positions within each department, to ponder the advantages of a diverse staff and the necessity of building faculty strength in a wide range of areas.
“The assumption in our very name is that we move between disciplines,” she said. “The arts and sciences are uniquely positioned to provide interdisciplinary opportunities through their resources.”
During her speech, Patton stressed the ability to be flexible when pursuing higher education as an exciting opportunity for faculty members because they can work in multiple disciplines.
“Duke is the opposite of the closing down of curiosity, and that’s why I’m here,” she said.
In other business:
Council Chair Ruth Day said all faculty members will receive the results of a recent budget solutions poll. More than 350 faculty members participated in the survey, which assessed their opinions on how to achieve cost-savings and how to enhance revenue.
Additionally, Day said the council will soon conduct more faculty polls concerning possible revisions to Curriculum 2000 and the current system of course evaluation.
President Richard Brodhead addressed the council and expressed his enthusiasm about the beginning of the year and the addition of Patton to the Duke faculty. Brodhead said although a perfect algorithm for excellence in higher education does not exist, the presence of inspirational professors changes students’ academic experience.
“Great teachers help people model how to be an intelligent adult,” Brodhead said. “Let it be our business this year to be the ones… who offer such great awakenings to the students of this University.… Let’s make this a year of superb generosity, and so when the phenomenon of a great teacher is mentioned, those people [talking] will think of us.”
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