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Council Hears Plans to Move Forward on New Sanford School

Faculty also endorse new management studies pilot program

The Sanford Institute for Public Policy is moving forward with its plans for becoming a school at the end of the current fiscal year, despite having fallen short of its fund-raising goal, Provost Peter Lange and Institute Director Bruce Kuniholm told the Academic Council Thursday.

 

The Academic Council will vote in April on the Sanford school proposal, which also must be approved by the Board of Trustees.

 

The 2006 financial plan for turning the institute into a school called for Sanford officials to raise $40 million over three years. The institute has raised just more than $30 million, but Kuniholm and Lange said the school was still financially viable.

Lange said the intellectual rationale for the new school hasn't changed: A public policy school is seen as essential to helping Duke develop its strategic priorities, such as internationalization and knowledge in the service of society.

 

"In the current climate, the strategic importance of a school like Sanford is even more important," Lange told faculty members. "We need to keep the momentum. In a period of some entrenchment, to move forward is a strong statement of our commitment to our principles."

Lange added, "We wouldn't create a school if it was financially weak."

 

But officials have moderated their plans for the school's growth. Kuniholm said the $40 million target was based on a different faculty hiring goal than the one currently in place. In response to the economic downturn, the school's plans to double the public policy faculty from 21 to 42 are being delayed. He said a greater emphasis on junior, rather than senior, faculty hires has also saved money.

Council members quizzed the two about the necessity of moving forward in tough financial times. When asked why not just wait a year for the economy to improve, Kuniholm said, "We can afford it now, and it makes sense.

 

"We have a balanced budget and we've managed our spending prudently," Kuniholm said. "Even under the tough constraints of the next three budget years, we can manage this."

Kuniholm added that the planning process has been carefully done to minimize harm to Arts & Sciences budgets.

The initial reasons behind developing the school still remain strong, Kuniholm said.

 

There is a need to expand and develop the public policy faculty, enhance its research mission and promote entrepreneurial activity, he said.

 

"We are routinely listed as one of the top 10 public policy schools in the country, even though we're not (a school)," Kuniholm said.

 

President Richard H. Brodhead added his support for the proposal, noting he had just returned from a visit to Washington, D.C.

 

"On every issue, the people there are asking for good research and expertise," Brodhead said. "I found Duke to be welcomed twice as much because of our links to public policy. This is a very particular strength of this university that we should capitalize on."

In other items at the council meeting:

 

* The council approved a three-year pilot program at the Fuqua School to offer a master's of management studies (MMS) degree beginning in August. The program is intended for students immediately coming out of undergraduate college, as opposed to the MBA program, which generally requires "real world" experience before enrollment.

Fuqua currently offers a MMS program in conjunction with Seoul National University, but the current economic crisis is increasing interest in the program for American students as well. Fuqua Dean Blair Sheppard told the council that the program will appeal to new graduates with liberal arts degrees who want pragmatic business experience to compete in the tight marketplace.

The degree will also appeal to professional and Ph.D. students who want to combine their field expertise with management training, Sheppard said.

 

But Sheppard said there are questions about whether this kind of training will remain attractive in the long term. "The program is recommended as a three-year pilot," he said. "Graduating seniors can move right into it. The question is it will work well in bad times, will it work in good times as well?"

* The council passed a resolution calling for every dean to establish a faculty advisory committee "to assist in the process of making strategic choices relating to cost controls and reductions."

 

The resolution is meant to ensure that faculty "play an integral role in" how the schools respond to the economic climate, cut costs and make strategic decisions on spending.

 

* The council endorsed a proposal to change the name of the Film/Video/Digital Program to the Program in the Arts of the Moving Image.

Program director Stan Abe said the name change reflects the expanded scope of research interests of the faculty. Plus, he said, it's more elegant and succinct than the current name.