Budget cuts raise questions about University ideals

Budget cuts to the Duke Center for Civic Engagement have raised questions about the direction of  “knowledge in the service of society” at the University.

The DCCE will receive only 40 percent of its initial budget request, said Bob Korstad, interim director of the DCCE and co-director of the program on history, public policy and social change. The future of the DCCE remains uncertain, as administrators decide how to reorganize the center. 

“We have from the provost that DCCE is not going to go out of existence,” Korstad said. “[The center is] going to retain its mission [though] it may be a little bit more limited because of the budget restrictions.”

The cuts are likely a part of general budget cuts made across campus, but also may stem from concerns about the size of the center’s staff relative to the amount of programming and work done by the center, Korstad said. He noted that he does not know what the intentions of those managing the budget are in cutting funds for the DCCE.

Created in 2007, the DCCE is dedicated to furthering collaborative civic participation in order to make the world better as a part of the University’s core mission of pursuing “knowledge in the service of society,” as elaborated in its strategic plan.

The DCCE staff is now working in conjunction with Provost Peter Lange and Dean of Undergraduate Education Steve Nowicki to investigate the best way for the center to proceed with reorganizing operations, Korstad said. The entity is considering reassigning some of its current tasks and duties to other groups under the Provost’s office, such as DukeEngage. Lange and Nowicki could not be reached for comment.

Eric Mlyn, executive director of DukeEngage could not be reached for comment.

“At this point we haven’t worked all of that out,” Korstad said. “I don’t know what’s going to [happen]…we’re pretty wide open.”

Korstad noted that there have been some speculations that these budget cuts may be a step towards ultimately eliminating the DCCE, but that currently there has been no word from the Provost’s office about complete elimination.

“From what I understand, that’s not something that’s being considered at this point,” Korstad said.

Some students are concerned about the long-term fate of the DCCE.

In an email April 28 addressed to student leaders on campus, rising senior Sonam Aidasani asked students to mobilize to “save the DCCE” if they felt it was an important entity and referred them to rising junior Adrienne Harreveld, the administrative intern at the DCCE.

Harreveld said it has been difficult to mobilize students because the enter was notified the day before the Last Day of Classes when many had already left campus or were stressed about exams and also because the decision about the cuts had already been made. 

“In the fall when we get back, a more concerted effort will start and the plans for the DCCE will be cleaner,” Harreveld said.

A letter to administration has been drafted with support from several student groups, but the concerned students are waiting for more detailed information about the future of the DCCE before proceeding.

“Many feel their efforts are unsustainable and difficult to integrate into their lives once their participation in a program ends,” a letter draft from the center included in Aidasani’s email read. “As Duke plans to expand ‘knowledge in the service in society,’ it keeps not only failing to address this issue, but also compounding the problem…. Organizations like the DCCE aim to merge scholarship, the arts, service and engagement to produce long-lasting, sustainable…. What message is Duke sending when it decides to cut a Center created with the same mission it is trying to promote?”

The center, which formerly oversaw DukeEngage, underwent a major restructuring in 2010, separating the two organizations and repurposing the DCCE to coordinate civic engagement opportunities across campus.

In the future, Korstad wants to focus on bringing civic engagement opportunities to students earlier in their college careers and identifying and working with more student groups across campus involved with civic engagement that are not already working with the DCCE such as selective living groups, sororities, fraternities and Duke Student Government. He hopes to encourage students to continue in civically engaged activities after graduating by more thoroughly defining it during their college experiences.  

Thus far, he said that the DCCE has mostly focused on coordinating staff and faculty engagement programs.

Current programming by the center includes Civic Thursdays, a series of lunch discussions, funding Studios—year-long interdisciplinary projects in which participants can collaborate on new approaches to creating positive social change— and overseeing the Clinton Global Initiative University, a program that brings together university students from around the world to work together on innovative solutions to world problems.

Korstad is hopeful about the future of the DCCE.

“Even though this is going to be a hardship and it’s a difficult thing for us to figure out what to do, we’re going to do it and we’re going to do it in a way that doesn’t diminish the work that the Duke Center for Civic Engagement does,” Korstad said. “This doesn’t represent any kind of diminution of the energy and the work we’re going to do.”