Letter: Top professors argue that Duke must support BAA

Duke alumni in some of our graduate programs have called to our attention a series of articles that have recently appeared in The Chronicle. We have read with dismay the articles projecting a downsizing of the biological anthropology and anatomy department at Duke University.

Duke's BAA department has long been a center of excellence in the study of primate and human evolution and has had a profound influence on our current understanding of primate evolution. Its faculty includes leading researchers on the primate fossil record, primate functional morphology and biomechanics, primate ecology and primate behavior and human paleontology. Its graduate program is one of the best in the world, producing outstanding students, many of whom have gone on to become leaders in their field. BAA faculty - including non-tenure track post-docs - have successfully and competitively funded these endeavors with grant money from many sources, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. BAA faculty have also been instrumental in the development of the Duke University Primate Center, which is of central importance for research into prosimian biology, evolution and conservation - which is arguably the single most important locus for the study of prosimian biology in the world.

It is unfathomable to us that a university such as Duke, dedicated as it is to excellence in research and teaching, would consider decimating a department of the quality of BAA and threatening the existence of the Primate Center. Such actions would be extraordinarily short-sighted and ill-advised. We urge the Duke administration to develop a more realistic plan for BAA, building on its strengths and rewarding its excellence. To do otherwise would be to diminish the quality of research and undergraduate and graduate education at Duke.