Durham, NC - Duke University will take part in a new consortium of universities dedicated to improving collaboration among scholars in different disciplines.

 

 

This effort, led at Duke by Susan Roth, vice provost for interdisciplinary studies, reflects the university's commitment to interdisciplinary partnerships.

 

As part of this project, each university has agreed to conduct a self-study assessment during the 2007-08 academic year to look at how it fosters interdisciplinary teaching, research, training and academic programs. Members of the consortium will share their findings at a conference in 2008.

"Duke takes great pride in what it has been able to accomplish across all parts of the university in the way of strong partnerships in scholarship and teaching. This is an area of distinction in which Duke is proud to partner with our distinguished peers," said Provost Peter Lange, the university's top academic officer. "We're grateful our colleagues across the country have agreed to join us in this endeavor."

 

The new initiative brings together top public and private research universities from around the country, including the University of California, Berkeley; Brown University; the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; the University of Michigan; the University of Minnesota; the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; the University of Pennsylvania; the University of Washington and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

 

The 2008 conference, "Fostering Interdisciplinary Inquiry," will be held at the University of Minnesota and will bring together representatives of universities from across the country to discuss challenges, opportunities and best practices in interdisciplinary collaboration.