University Strategic Plan Crossing the Boundaries: Interdisciplinary Planning for the Nineties
Set the stage for the commitment to a culture of intellectual innovation and collaboration; seen by then‐President Brodie and then‐Provost Griffiths as an opportunity to evaluate interdisciplinary activities at Duke in order to move that agenda forward.
Office of the Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Activities created
Position (to be held by Dean of the Graduate School) created by then‐Provost Langford, following recommendation of the 1988 strategic plan. The office was charged "to facilitate the evaluation and administration of both new and existing interdisciplinary programs with the goal of minimizing institutional barriers to collaborative activity of faculty across the campus."
Provost's Common Fund created
The annual competition remains an important vehicle to this day for providing seed money for interdisciplinary activity across the University.
University Strategic Plan Shaping Our Future: A Young University Faces a New Century
Acknowledged the importance of the Common Fund and heralded the tradition of interdisciplinary and cross‐school collaboration as one of Duke’s competitive advantages. The plan, led by then‐President Keohane, called for the fostering of joint degree programs and joint faculty appointments, and emphasized, among the goals for the Schools, to securely establish the School of the Environment.
English Professor Cathy Davidson named first full-time Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies
Full-time appointment, made by then-President Keohane and then‐Provost Strobehn, underlined the commitment to increasing academic and administrative effectiveness in interdisciplinary teaching and research.
University Strategic Plan Building on Excellence
The academic plan, released under the stewardship of then‐President Keohane and Provost Lange, was built around a series of major cross‐departmental and cross‐school intellectual initiatives that were seen as cornerstones to the attainment of planning goals, and as “shaped by, and shaping of, the undertakings of the schools”. Furthermore, to support the implementation of the plan, central resources were made available to create greater presidential and provostial leverage in setting institutional priorities.
University Strategic Plan Making a Difference: The Strategic Plan for Duke University
Followed from a planning process that actively engaged the academic community. The process, under the leadership of President Brodhead and Provost Lange, put forward a bold vision with a central role for interdisciplinary studies, and resulted in the building of an infrastructure for interdisciplinary scholarship, teaching, and practice that brought Duke’s commitment to a new level.
Recognition of the importance of the contribution of the social sciences to an intellectual environment characterized by collaboration and the production of knowledge in the service of society
The plan proposed strategic hiring in Economics, Sociology, Psychology, and Political Science, as well as in Public Policy Studies, enhancing the interdisciplinary profile of the social sciences, and producing a new wave of scholars who easily cross disciplinary boundaries, and have intellectual connections to one another that produce fertile ground for interdisciplinary scholarship.
Psychology Professor Susan Roth named Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies
Charged with implementation of interdisciplinary goals of Making a Difference
Commitment to the seven signature interdisciplinary University Institutes and their affiliated centers (UICs)
The plan also included a commitment to grow the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), Franklin Humanities Institute (FHI), the Kenan Institute for Ethics (KIE), the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions (NI), and the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy (IGSP), and to complete the group of seven signature interdisciplinary University Institutes and their affiliated centers by establishing the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) and the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences (DIBS).
Provost’s Joint School‐UIC Tenure/Tenure‐Track Faculty Hiring Program begun
The program facilitates University Institutes and Centers (UICs) partnering with the Schools to enhance Duke’s vision of knowledge in the service of society and more broadly raise the profile of interdisciplinary studies at Duke; designated strategic funds over a nine year period for the joint hiring of faculty who work half time in one of the Institutes.
Office of Interdisciplinary Program Management (OIPM) created
OIPM opened as the central administrative infrastructure to promote program delivery and innovation, realize economies of scale, set standards of staff expertise and competence, provide close oversight for good stewardship of University resources and compliance with University regulations and standards, and establish a new financial model and metrics to guide investments in the University Institutes and Centers (UICs). The Executive Director of OIPM reports to the Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies and works closely with the Offices of the Executive Vice Provost and the Executive Vice Dean for Administration in the School of Medicine. A very challenging charge of this office is the facilitation of collaboration between Duke Medicine and the Campus, something that is essential to the smooth functioning of three of the UICs who are jointly sponsored by the Provost and the School of Medicine (IGSP, DGHI, DIBS).
School-based centers moved to schools
Administration of the more than 60 interdisciplinary school-based centers transferred to school deans, with current procedures for the chartering and review of school-based centers monitored by the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Creation of Terry Sanford School of Public Policy
Strategic plan called for the transformation of the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy and the Department of Public Policy Studies into the Terry Sanford School of Public Policy, to broaden the reach of public policy studies at Duke.
