Following the announcement that a reorganization of the biological anthropology and anatomy department will likely reduce the faculty by more than half, professors have expressed concerns about the future of the department.
BAA department Chair Richard Kay told faculty members last week that, through retirement and attrition, full-time faculty positions in BAA will probably drop from 10 to four and temporary positions from seven to two.
Although professors in the department indicate such a drastic reduction would take several years, BAA Professor William Hylander said the faculty was "hopping mad" after the announcement.
"You could see a very rapid bailout of faculty. They're all very good, so it's not going to be difficult for them to end up in really good places," said Steve Churchill, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies of BAA.
Four tenured professors are near retirement age, but none of them are likely to leave the University for at least several years. If downsizing occurs, it may result from departing non-tenured professors.
Christine Drea, assistant professor of BAA and non-tenured faculty member, said that given the announcement, faculty "would be stupid not to [take other offers]" if they have them.
The news comes at a time when Duke has pledged millions to develop the sciences as part of Building on Excellence, the University's long-range strategic plan.
"If the goal is to work on the quality of science and natural science, why would you start reducing the size of a highly reputable department?" said Hylander. "We beat the hell out of the Ivy League's schools in this department."
Duke consistently ranks among the best BAA programs in the country, competing with Washington University in St. Louis and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Reducing the department's size would hinder Duke's ability to remain a leader in the field.
"If [the downsizing] becomes publicly known, it would really affect graduate student yield in a negative way," Hylander said.
Professors worry that fewer faculty members will lead to the dissolution of the department.
"Just imagine running a department with four people," BAA professor and director of graduate studies Carel Van Schaik said. There are currently four major administrative positions in BAA: chair, director of undergraduate studies, director of graduate studies and director of the Primate Center.
"It's just not doable," he said.
If BAA does survive, downsizing will detract from the research quality of the department, making it less interdisciplinary, Hylander said.
"There would be that much less opportunity for cross-fertilization. Everyone's research would suffer. It would become much more narrow and less cross disciplined," he said.
Van Schaik and several faculty members will meet with Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences William Chafe and Dean of Natural Sciences Berndt Mueller Thursday rather than in two weeks, as initially planned, to discuss the department's options and the motivations behind the University's proposed reduction.
The department has been hindered by geographic dispersal since its inception 15 years ago. It is jointly administered by Arts and Sciences and the School of Medicine, placing faculty members in the Sands Building, the Biological Sciences Building and other Medical Center buildings. The proposed reorganization will consolidate BAA within Arts and Sciences and eventually base the department in the Biological Sciences Building.
Disinvesting in BAA has been discussed at various points in the department's short history, most recently in late 2000, but each time it was rejected because of the department's strength, said faculty members.
"This thing comes totally out of the blue," Hylander said.
Kevin Lees contributed to this story.
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