The Fuqua School of Business presented plans Thursday for a
new Masters of Management Studies Program, the first professional degree
program to be offered in conjunction with Duke Kunshan University in China.
Speaking to faculty at the November meeting of the Academic
Council, Fuqua Dean William Boulding said the program would begin in fall of
2012 with students taking classes in Durham and moving to Kunshan for the
spring semester. (See proposal
here.)
"The Fuqua faculty thought we had the ability to
deliver something of equal if not better quality [than our programs in Durham]
and enhance faculty research," Boulding said.
Boulding added he believed the program would be financial
viable "but I can't guarantee that.
It might not work, but we are limiting the risk that we are exposed
to." And he again assured faculty members that the school takes concerns
about academic freedom seriously and "its long experience of teaching in
China" prepares the program well to deal with any legal issues.
The program is important to Fuqua "because American
business schools were built under circumstances that no longer exist,"
Boulding said. "Institutional
forms, the way things happen, the rules of the game all vary widely around the
world. What we're trying to do is
engage places in the world that are important to our future so we can better
understand them. China is
important, and it is difficult to understand, so we need to be on the ground
there."
The proposal has been approved by the Fuqua faculty, the
China Faculty Council, the University Priorities Committee, the Academic
Programs Committee and the Executive Committee of the Academic Council.
The council will again consider the proposal and vote on it
Dec. 1. Duke trustees are expected
to vote Dec. 3.