Welcome back, look forward

Welcome back to campus and happy FDOC! As we have done in previous years, The Chronicle's Editorial Board will mark FDOC with a brief review of university-related news from the summer, along with a few stories and trends to look out for in the coming months.

At the helm(s) of the university, much change is afoot. Just a few months ago, the administration announced a new dean of academic affairs, Professor Arlie Petters. A veteran at Duke, Professor, now Dean, Petters takes over academic affairs from Dean, now Professor, Lee Baker. In his position as dean of academic affairs, Professor Petters will inherit Dean Baker’s legacy of curriculum renovation and will work with the Trinity Arts & Sciences Council to formulate an innovative curriculum reflective of Duke’s commitment to endowing its students with a strong liberal arts education. Joining Dean Petters among the ranks of Duke’s administration will be Professor Ravi Bellamkonda, formerly of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dean Bellamkonda will head the Pratt School of Engineering, seeking to, in his words, move the engineering curriculum away from ‘content-mastery’ and towards ‘learning-mastery.’ As Deans Petters and Bellamkonda begin their administrative tenure, Duke will see its President, Richard Brodhead, end his own. On April 28, Brodhead announced that he would retire at the end of the 2016-17 school year; over the summer, an executive search committee began the hunt for a new leader of the university. The next few months will see the fruits of the search committee’s efforts as the next head of Duke is pushed through the slow channels of bureaucracy.

On a more democratic note, the US 4th Circuit of Appeals court cleared the path toward franchise for Duke students interested in voting as North Carolinians in the November election. Issuing a decision that mirrored several others around the country, the court struck down North Carolina’s voter identification law, ruling the law politically motivated and grossly “discriminatory.” The court’s decision, if upheld, will not only ease the early voting process for Duke students and release them from strict photo ID requirements, but also allow them to register to vote on election day. In addition to allowing Duke students to partake more easily in the presidential elections, the 4th circuit’s decision will enable them to vote in local and state races, including those for governor, attorney general, executive offices, judgeships and state houses. For students anxious for changes in the state government after the passage of the widely decried House Bill 2 last March, the ballot is now wide open.

In a final bit of News, Duke, on August 10, announced that it would raise its minimum wage to $13 an hour. The announcement came just months after an activist group, DSWS (Duke Students and Workers in Solidarity), occupied the administrative Allen Building and demanded, among other things, a $15 minimum wage for all university employees. Although DSWS acknowledged the Duke administration’s actions as progress, they noted that their fight for a $15 minimum wage would continue into school year.

The discussed news events above are but a few of the factors that will influence occurrences and headlines in the coming months. As always, the Editorial Board will seek to add value to discussions of university headlines, looking to promote discourse among Duke’s population and edify readers. We hope you will join us.

Editor’s Note: This editorial was written by members of staff rather than The Chronicle’s independent editorial board.