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A Formal Process for Global Duke

Academic Council approves new advisory committee

As he charts a course through both opportunities and landmines in expanding Duke's international outreach, Vice President and Vice Provost for Global Strategy and Programs Greg Jones is looking for a formal university process he can turn to for advice.

One step was finalized Thursday when the Academic Council approved the Global Priorities Committee, comprising 12-14 senior faculty members from both the undergraduate and graduate and professional schools.

The committee will review Duke's international strategy, assess operating global programs and consider certain aspects of new initiatives.

"We need a process that will allow Duke to respond both creatively and quickly," said Academic Council chair Craig Henriquez. "This committee won't approve new programs - that will remain with Academic Programs Committee. But it will consider how they will work and give site approval. It makes the gauntlet of reviews longer, but I think it will improve faculty governance over new initiatives."

Jones and Henriquez said the process shouldn't slow down any faculty initiatives, but will ensure that the university will be able to support sustained projects. "It's when there are degrees involved, money and long-term agreements that we need university vetting," Jones said.

The new committee is part of a larger effort to bring more coherence to Duke's international outreach and to tie it to the university's strategic priorities, Jones said. Once the province of entrepreneurial faculty initiatives, international work is becoming too important to the university's future, and the risks are too great, not to have a more formal structure, Jones said.

"We need this global priorities committee," he told the council. "We have also created an ad hoc trustees group working on these issues in a more sustained and coherent way."

Discussing global strategy with the faculty, Jones said while "going global is the flavor of the month in higher education," Duke is not jumping on the bandwagon. He said Duke will chart its own course, guided by its priorities, comparative advantages and assessment of the successes and failures of other institutions.

"We have some significant advantages," Jones said, noting a tradition of interdisciplinary scholarship, a leading international reputation and a commitment to knowledge in the service of society, something that other societies are looking for.

There's no single template for outreach, he added. In Kunshan, China, Duke's major partner is a municipality. In other areas Duke may partner with local universities or non-governmental organizations.

Likewise, Duke is building up the infrastructure needed to support global outreach, including administrative support on human resources, government relations and information technology.

With the new medical school in Singapore graduating its first class next summer and construction on the Kunshan campus proceeding, the size of Duke's international reach is becoming more apparent here in Durham. Jones said there are currently more than 75 Duke international projects with an annual operating budget of more than $25,000.

"The goal is not to create mini-Dukes everywhere," Jones said. "That's not wise. But where there are multiple schools at Duke that have a shared strategic interest in a region, there is opportunity for us. The new Global Priorities Committee will have to do due diligence. It needs to ensure that we are there not as tourists but as good citizens of the region."