Editorial: Visionary Leaders

Duke University is among the most wealthy, resource-rich institutions of American higher education, but the true worth of an university is measured by the people who lead it. This week's dual announcements that Duke's top two leaders plan to step down reinforces, above anything else, how wealthy the institution truly is.

Duke will not lose University President Nan Keohane and Health System CEO Ralph Snyderman, for as of now they plan to stay at Duke after they step down from their leadership positions. But the Duke community will miss their steady, experienced leadership, however controversial it may have occasionally been. Each one managed with a visionary touch a separate, enormous bureaucracy, eventually transforming both the University and the Health System in revolutionary ways that have helped prepare Duke for a changing world. It is too early to say farewell, but they will each be remembered for their outrageously ambitious planning for Duke's future.

An outsider might suppose that the coinciding announcements - combined with the completion of Board of Trustees Chair Harold "Spike" Yoh's three-year term - signal an administrative crisis for Duke, but there is little real evidence to suggest that is the case. In fact, Keohane and Snyderman leaving in June 2004 will make for a clean, appropriate break in Duke leadership. Although they have done much to envision and plan for the institution's future, Keohane will have just completed a successful $2 billion capital campaign to add to her many other accomplishments and Snyderman will have laid the groundwork for the Health System and its forays into preventative care. The time is probably right for each of them to pass on their leadership roles to others who can build on their excellence.

Before they do so, however, both Keohane and Snyderman have established clear goals for their final 16 months leading Duke. Snyderman will continue to push the integration of health care and to develop innovative treatment methods that focus on prevention. Keohane will work with Snyderman to clarify the role of each in the governance of the Health System, as well as help plan the futures of the undergraduate experience, the Women's Initiative and other projects established during her tenure. Of course, she will also finish out The Campaign for Duke, ensuring that all her other work has the funding to continue well into the future.

The search for the next leaders of the University and the Health System will surely prove an incredible opportunity to reexamine the direction and priorities of each organization. As a result, the multitude of constituencies in the Duke community should make their voices heard. The voices that will echo most into the future, however, will certainly be those of Duke's two dynamic leaders.