It's time to give Nan her due.
The University celebrated the tenth anniverary of Nan Keohane's presidency this weekend with a host of celebrations and events in her honor. While the ceremonies and awards were appropriate, something was missing.
First, a recap of what did happened. Keohane delivered the Founders' Day address Oct. 2 and later in the ceremony was awarded the University Medal, Duke's highest honor. The next night, over 400 Trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, community members and students gathered in Brodie Gymnasium to pay tribute to the political science professor from Arkansas. The festivities included a speech by James B. Duke professor of English Reynolds Price, a performance by the Walltown Children's Theater and a roast by the University's top brass. Saturday, the Kenan Institute for Ethics announced the endowment of its directorship, to be named for Keohane.
The University missed the opportunity, however, to provide the icing on the cake of one of the strongest presidencies in Duke's history: the re-naming of the West-Edens Link as "Keohane Quadrangle."
In her 10 years at Duke, Keohane has led the charge to overhaul the residential life system. When she arrived in 1993, the University was far into its discussions to make East Campus freshmen-only, but it was Keohane's leadership that ushered in the new system as smoothly and successfully as it was. In recent years, Keohane also pushed hard for the sweeping changes to the residential life system that finally came into effect in 2002: the creation of the WEL,the all-sophomores on West requirement, the implementation of linked housing, the creation of the independent corridor, the strenghtening of the quad system and the closing of Trent Drive Hall. It of course remains to be seen if all these changes will be as successful as Keohane and others envision, but the renaming of the WEL in her honor would be a fitting tribute to her important and revolutionizing work in residential life.
Of course, there are other reasons why WEL residents should have been saying they live in "Keohane" by now. Few, Craven, Crowell, Edens, Wannamaker and Kilgo quads were all named for the great presidents of Duke's past, and their accomplishments rose far above just residential life changes. Their achievements in other facets of the University mirror Keohane's other great successes--from the Campaign for Duke and the Neighborhood Partnership to the Women's Initiative and the Robertson Scholars program. Further, the WEL is the only quad on West yet to be named, and the quad's geographic location between two other parts of campus is not enough to create its own identity.
Some may say that this was not the right time for such a naming--perhaps later in the year, closer to Keohane's stepping down, or even several years down the road long after the "Keohane golden era," as Board of Trustees Chair Peter Nicholas called in when surprising Keohane with the University Medal last week, has ended. This weekend, however, was as good a time as ever. Keohane wanted any celelbrations of her presidency this year to occur this past weekend--or at the very least sometime this fall--well before her successor is named. A renaming of this sort in the spring would overshadow the new president's arrival. Further, the WEL needs a real name and needs one as soon as possible. Waiting until the end of Keohane's sabbatical will be too long.
Keohane Quad: Doesn't it just roll off your tongue?
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