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Srinivas Aravamudan, an outstanding scholar
and teacher, joined the English Department in 2000.
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Investment in the constant improvement of the faculty is the route
to excellence in all the university does. Hiring is a key component.
We create new faculty positions when there is a good academic reason
and when we can afford it, but strategic use of positions generated
by regular turnover in the faculty represents our greatest opportunity.
We must, therefore, be willing to hire precisely in those areas
of most dynamic intellectual development and not simply replace
faculty just to continue a presence in a particular area. We should
concentrate new faculty where Duke can achieve excellence and make
a difference.
Our planning process identified growth in the faculty of some
schools is crucial to maintaining and improving excellence and to
attaining Duke’s broader intellectual priorities. Specifically,
we expect significant additions in three schools: the Fuqua
School of Business, the Pratt
School of Engineering, and, to a lesser extent, the Law
School. Fuqua’s academic plan, for example, calls for increasing
its faculty by 50 percent over the next five years. Toward that
goal, in 2001, Fuqua celebrated its best year ever for recruiting
faculty in its 32-year history, adding 21 new members.
An exciting recent recruitment by the English Department illustrates
the multi-faceted approach Duke is employing to attract distinguished
young scholars. Srinivas Aravamudan was first identified by Duke
University Press and then recruited to Duke as an associate professor
of English by the English Department in Fall 2000. In December 2000,
his book Tropicopolitans: Colonialism and Agency, 1688-1804 (Duke
University Press, 1999), was awarded the Modern Literature Association
prize for the best first book, and he now serves on the board of
Duke University Press.
However, Duke will not improve its faculty solely by making new
hires. Duke’s emergence as an institution of national and international
stature has been based on the contributions of its current faculty.
We must retain our best faculty and support the efforts of every
faculty member to become the best scholar/teacher possible. We will
provide new spaces and renovate others, especially in the sciences
and engineering, where the need is greatest. We will provide the
necessary support personnel who have the expertise to assist faculty
efforts, primarily in the incorporation of information technology
into teaching and research. We will work to add and keep up-to-date
the equipment and instrumentation necessary to support and strengthen
our programs.
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