In its last meeting of the academic year, the Academic Council heard reports from task forces on women's issues and diversity issues. The groups recommended that the University establish a standing committee to examine diversity issues.
Susan Roth, chair of the Women's Initiative task force, outlined some of the challenges women face at the University. Among these challenges are a fall-off in female with Ph.D.s pursuing research, narrowly defined faculty searches that exclude women, a lack of mentoring for women and a sense of isolation that some women feel in the workforce, Roth said.
In order to address these issues, she proposed that the University establish programs to provide more mentoring to both faculty and graduate students, build a stronger sense of community among female faculty and broaden faculty searches to allow for the hiring of more women. Roth also recommended a greater emphasis on retaining women through such methods as conducting exit interviews for female faculty to discern their reasons for leaving.
Some council members pointed out that Roth's task force had omitted data from the School of Nursing, which is overwhelmingly female. Roth said this omission was intentional because the study was meant to highlight the difficulties many women at the University encounter.
John Staddon, James B. Duke professor of psychological and brain sciences, challenged the task force's recommendation against narrowly defined searches, asking Roth if she was "not at all uncomfortable that the disciplinary mix of the University... will be guided by [gender concerns]."
Speaking for the diversity task force, Rex Adams, former dean of the Fuqua School of Business, pointed out that the University's strategic plan emphasizes the importance of diversity.
"We take seriously the need... for everyone with a voice in selecting and developing faculty to assume responsibility for helping Duke develop greater diversity in the faculty ranks," he said.
Adams also said that because Duke's faculty is not notably diverse, and because the rate of increase in diversity is slow at a time when overall faculty growth will be low, every opportunity for hiring and advancement must consider diversity.
Many council members voiced their concerns about the task force's suggestion that diversity play a greater role in the Appointments, Promotions and Tenure process.
Barry Myers, associate professor of biomedical engineering, argued that the APT process is inherently an individualistic evaluation and that race or another form of diversity should not be used as a metric in evaluating individuals. Instead, diversity should be promoted through methods such as greater emphasis on retention of minority and female faculty members, Myers said.
James Rolleston, professor of Germanic languages and literature, echoed Myers' sentiments, also warning against transforming the pursuit of diversity into a bureaucratic monster.
"At the APT it shouldn't be a question of plus and minus points for activities like [promoting diversity]," Rolleston said. He emphasized that the most important aspect in the APT process should be the candidate's work.
Other council members opposed a requirement that faculty work for diversity on personal freedom grounds, arguing that this condition would essentially ask that faculty hold certain religious or ideological beliefs in order to get tenure. Others questioned the assumption made by the task forces that diversity is in and of itself a good thing.
In his remarks closing the meeting, Provost Peter Lange said he was reluctant to incorporate diversity into the APT process.
IN OTHER BUSINESS: Lange announced the search committee to find a replacement for Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences William Chafe, who will be stepping down at the end of the next academic year. He charged members of the committee to undertake a national search to find suitable candidates.
The council unanimously approved a policy on parental leave and tenure clock relief resulting from parental obligations that was discussed at its April 24 meeting. The new policy goes into effect July 1. The council also unanimously approved an extension of the ability to serve on the Academic Council to a greater number of non-tenure track faculty. This change was discussed at the Council's April 24 meeting.
In ceremonial fashion, the Academic Council approved the degrees for May 2003 graduates. The council also adjourned into an executive session to discuss the awarding of honorary degrees.
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