Durham, NC - Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead told the members of the Academic Council on Thursday that he is establishing a new position -- dean of undergraduate education -- to better integrate the multiple dimensions of the student experience at Duke.

 The new dean will serve as Duke's principal spokesperson on undergraduate education and be responsible for leading and coordinating all aspects of undergraduate life, working closely with the vice president for student affairs and with senior administrators responsible for undergraduate affairs in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, the Pratt School of Engineering and the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.

 During the strategic planning process last year, a committee concluded that Duke would benefit from such a position, which will report to the provost.

 Since calling in his September 2004 inaugural address for Duke "to make the whole of college life a maximally stimulating, growth-inducing experience," Brodhead has repeatedly emphasized the importance of undergraduates learning from both formal academic and broader life experiences. Similarly, in its report issued last month, Duke's Campus Culture Initiative Steering Committee praised efforts to "foster connections between curricular and co-curricular spheres."

"The undergraduate experience is more than the sum of its parts," Brodhead said. "Students get the richest education when they engage all the opportunities that surround them here -- in coursework, in community service and other activities, and in everyday interaction with their teachers and friends -- and each of these fuels and inspires the others. I'm grateful for the leadership Dean of Trinity College Bob Thompson, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta and their staffs have taken to pioneer greater cooperation between academics and student life at Duke. The new structure is a logical next step toward education without boundaries."

Brodhead told the Academic Council that Peter Burian, chair and professor of classical and comparative literatures, professor of theater studies and a former chair of the Academic Council, will lead the search committee. The committee has been asked to identify candidates for Brodhead and Provost Peter Lange to consider for a final selection and appointment by June 1.