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A premier example of a new regional partnership
is The Robertson Scholars Program launched this year. Pictured
are President Keohane and UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser on
a bus that links the two campuses daily through numerous round
trips.
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In an era characterized by rapid advances in science and use-inspired
basic research, collaboration with external research institutions
offers great advantages because of the efficiencies of scale, the
expanded reach of our programs, and the increased impact of all
that we do. Much of our institutional mission is shared with our
sister institutions throughout the Research Triangle as well as
the state of North Carolina. Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, and North Carolina
State University are among the nation’s top 50 institutions
in research expenditures. North Carolina Central University (NCCU)
is one of the nation’s leading historically African-American
institutions. Faculty in every school at Duke are engaged in collaborations
with scholars at one or more of these campuses. The strategic importance
of Duke intensifying its efforts to establish partnerships with
neighboring universities, as well as with industries and government
agencies in the Research Triangle, is a priority in our long-range
plan.
The Pratt School of Engineering, the Nicholas School of the Environment,
and the School of Medicine expect to expand their linkages with
NC State. The Center
for Child and Family Policy has developed collaborative programs
with both UNC and NCCU around the issues of early childhood development
and juvenile violence. In addition, the multi-disciplinary Institute
for Care at the End of Life, housed in Duke’s Divinity
School, brings together faculty from divinity, the Schools of Medicine
and Nursing, NCCU, and the School of Social Work at UNC. We must
be more systematic in strengthening these kinds of inter-institutional
partnerships as we implement our academic plan.
The quality of life in this region is a strategic asset, and Duke
should be a more active participant in public and private partnerships
to address the region’s challenges and opportunities, from
transportation and solid waste to water quality and health care.
This strategic plan also reconfirms the unviersity's commitment
to partnerships with Durham, most notably through programs in the
Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership
Initiative. The initiative focuses on improving the quality
of life of residents in the 12 neighborhoods near Duke's campus
as well as the seven public schools which serve them. The NPI includes
two of the major low-wealth communities of Durham. One of Duke's
partnerships involving affordable housing and crime reduction in
Walltown, the historically African-American neighborhood near East
Campus, won a national gold medal this year from the Council for
the Advancement and Support of Education.
Duke is a major asset for the region’s long term economic
growth. The Research Triangle is well-positioned for national and
international leadership in biomedical research, electronics, pharmaceuticals,
and clinically-related innovations. The presence of the Environmental
Protection Agency and the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences offers significant
potential linkages in scientific policy and related environmental
issues. Our medical center has established strong links to many
of the nation’s leading corporations and emerging high-tech,
biomedical companies in the Research Triangle, and the Fuqua School
of Business has a wide range of partnerships with Research Triangle
corporations. State-funded institutions such as Microelectronics
Center of North Carolina and the North
Carolina Biotechnology Center are taking new steps to coordinate
our efforts and to help us compete as a region, rather than individually.
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