Duke University is doing something that's become less common among the nation's elite universities amid the economic downturn: It's actively wooing new faculty members.
To be sure, Duke has trimmed faculty recruitment in the wake of endowment losses and accompanying belt-tightening. But it remains in the hunt for outstanding scholars who can propel the university into new academic frontiers, strengthen emerging programs and continue renewing the university's intellectual landscape.
Often used as a barometer of growth in the academic world, faculty searches at Duke will total about 63 this year, not including those at the medical and nursing schools, which also continue to recruit. That's a decline of only 20 percent compared to the average of the previous three years.
Faculty are now hard at work to fill positions that range from a senior scholar in energy chemistry to a U.S. legal historian, and from a senior scholar in health economics to a junior faculty position in the sociology department, for which Duke has received more than 325 applications.
"We're making the most of opportunities in a difficult job market," said Provost Peter Lange, who, as Duke's chief academic officer, is deeply involved in faculty recruitment. "Duke was already an attractive option for many scholars and we got more than our share of the best people when we competed with other top schools. But as some of those schools have slashed their hiring, some amazing people have been saying yes to us faster than they might have before. Appointments like these further accelerate the momentum of improvement we were already seeing in the faculty."
To help maintain this flow of new faculty members, Lange said the university is planning to create a central fund to provide financial assistance for current faculty members who meet Duke's "Rule of 75" and who may be considering retirement but have faced downturns in their retirement funds because of the recession. During the next few weeks, the deans of each school will discuss with eligible candidates their future plans. Faculty members in the schools of medicine and nursing are not eligible for the funds.
Duke will make the additional funding available to those faculty members who commit to a full retirement date no later than June 30, 2011.The funding will be available for the deans to include in retirement packages until Dec. 14, 2009. The central fund will loan the added funds to the schools, which will repay the money over five years.
"We want to ensure the deans have flexibility to assist our colleagues in realizing their goals for retirement," Lange said. "In the process, we'll enhance the resources available to continue the renewal and expansion of the faculty as a whole."
Lange encouraged faculty members selected for the new initiative to consult with Duke's Human Resources Department before making any decisions. He said their departure will be a loss for the university, but will help make it possible for Duke to continue recruiting actively at a time when some competitors are holding back.
"We already have some new positions in mind and can't wait to see who we might be able to attract to them," Lange said.