1: Faculty

Increase the Capacity of our Faculty to Develop and Communicate Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Knowledge

Other Information:

We will create a Faculty Enhancement Initiative to hire, retain, and reward the faculty at all levels, and do so in a targeted manner that builds strength in our departments, schools, centers, and institutes. -- The university's first obligation is to attract, nurture, and retain faculty of the highest excellence, where excellence is understood to include both powerful intellectual creativity and the eagerness to stimulate and support the creativity of students. Our identity is, and will continue to be, driven by the quality of our faculty. We are determined further to raise the intellectual expectations for current faculty and the intellectual caliber of future faculty through strategic appointments in areas where Duke has differential advantages, as identified in both school and university plans. This requires not only recruiting competitively for the absolutely best faculty but also retaining our best scholars when they are being recruited by peer and more highly ranked institutions. We must find ways to break through in our efforts to hire the most outstanding faculty in our priority areas, which, in part, will be the product of the quality of the resources we offer, the programs we mount, and the collaborations we build. But above all, it will be the product of the strategic aspirations of our schools, departments, and interdisciplinary programs; their self-confidence in seeking the best; their patience in attracting them; and of the capability of the administration to back these aspirations with the appropriate resources. This, in turn, will require not only strong administrative encouragement and steadfast will, but also a sharp strategic eye, a commitment to invest primarily in the strategic priorities presented in our institutional, school, and institute plans, and an ability to build collaborative hires where desirable. And it will require as well some adventurousness, a willingness to take intellectual risks. We will compete for, and be competitive for, the best faculty by identifying and supporting hires that realize our aspirations. The partnership between the schools and central administration needs to promote the best hiring, allow faculty to make the most of their talents, and assure appropriate rewards so that we retain our best faculty. Together we will target and develop faculty members who are already, or can be expected to become, recognized researchers with national and international impact, who inspire students and set examples for their colleagues in their teaching, and who, through their leadership - both within the schools and campus wide - enhance the research and learning environment for all within the university. We further commit to work with school deans to assure we support efforts to enable faculty to strike a balance between teaching, research, and service. Engagement in interdisciplinary efforts, informal mentoring and service responsibilities, and forging new ways to provide educational experiences are demanding more of faculty time each year. As the responsibilities of faculty evolve, it is essential that expectations and compensation are consistent with these efforts and university priorities. To enable schools to be responsive to recruitment opportunities that advance either their strategic goals or university-wide initiatives, to retain our best faculty - tenure and non-tenure track, and to nurture those on steep upward trajectories, we will create the Faculty Enhancement Initiative. This initiative will enable strategic hiring in an anticipative way: rather than hiring faculty as vacancies occur, schools will be able to make accelerated appointments against expected retirements, planned future growth, and committed, but not yet fully funded, endowed chairs. The initiative also pays attention to current Duke faculty and provides support to enable them to realize their maximum potential in teaching and research.

Stakeholder(s):

• Faculty at Duke University

Objective(s):

1.1: Cluster Hiring

1.2: Strategic Hires

1.3: Shared Searches

1.4: Diversity

1.5: Integrated Research and Teaching

1.6: Mentoring

1.7: Strategic Priorities

1.8: Research Facilities

Content