Huntington Willard, director of the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP) and Nanaline Duke Professor of Genome Sciences, has been named senior adviser to the dean and vice provost for undergraduate education, Dean Steve Nowicki announced Monday. This new role will be in addition to Willard's continuing duties as IGSP director.
"Hunt will be a real asset to our work," Nowicki said. "He brings creative insights and a differing perspective, but he is also very familiar with Duke students and undergraduate education."
In addition to leading an active research program at Duke, Willard has developed a series of programs to engage undergraduates in both curricular and co-curricular activities of the IGSP. He directs the popular FOCUS program for first-year students -- called "The Genome Revolution & Its Impact on Society" -- and established and directs the Genome Sciences & Policy Certificate Program. During his career, he has been honored for his teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor from 2006-10, Willard developed a program to engage undergraduates in long-term, open-ended research opportunities, in close conjunction with IGSP and other science faculty across campus. He used the award to improve and support programs to expand research opportunities for Duke students, especially women, in the study of the genome sciences.
"Hunt has lived this experience and well understands both the benefits and challenges of connecting our students with faculty in the professional schools," Nowicki said.
One of Willard's new responsibilities will be to work with the Office of Undergraduate Education and the Residential Life and Housing System to develop a new Duke House residential model, specifically on ways to better link faculty to the residential experience, Nowicki said.
"Now that my HHMI Professorship is over, there's an opportunity to extend what we've learned at the IGSP to develop a more robust model for engaging faculty and students in various coherent and creative four-year intellectual pathways, not just in the sciences but across a broad set of disciplinary and interdisciplinary initiatives," Willard said. "Working with Steve and with his office will provide the basis for doing just that, and in this position I hope I can contribute to the larger context of undergraduate education at Duke, while continuing my efforts in the IGSP."
Willard came to Duke in 2003, with appointments in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and the Department of Biology. Before coming to Duke, he held faculty positions at the University of Toronto, Stanford University and Case Western Reserve University.
In his new role, Willard also will work with Associate Vice Provost Donna Lisker, Dean Lee Baker, who was recently appointed associate vice provost for undergraduate education, and Associate Vice Provost Lee Willard (no relation to Hunt Willard).