While many students were caught off-guard during exam week by the announcement Friday of the University's next president, they remained enthusiastic that Richard Brodhead, dean of Yale College and the A. Bartlett Giamatti Professor of English at Yale University, could live up to current President Nan Keohane's legacy.
Many students were unfamiliar with Brodhead and had only learned of the new appointment through an e-mail sent to the entire Duke community by Board of Trustees Chair Peter Nicholas. The Trustees announced that Brodhead would succeed Keohane July 1, 2004, at a press conference Friday morning.
While the majority of students only knew of the future president's accomplishments through reading the local newspapers, the two students who served on the Presidential Search Committee spoke highly of him.
"He has so many good qualities," said Devon MacWilliam, a senior. "I'm very proud to be someone to welcome him to my peers."
Biology graduate student Lou D'Amico concurred. "I think the thing that really strikes you is that he cares so deeply for student education," he said. "Not just the undergraduate education, because it's clear he has excelled at that at Yale, but also that education that impacts graduate and professional students."
Still, students could not resist questioning whether Brodhead could achieve as much success as Keohane. "It's going to be kind of hard to top Nan," said sophomore Chasity Lomax.
Others agreed. "It's tough to top Nan's legacy," conceded Campus Council President Anthony Vitarelli. "But without having to focus on fundraising, I think he can really enjoy working on the undergraduate experience. His experience is an enormous asset."
Students grappled to compare Keohane and Brodhead in terms of each's experience in undergraduate education. "Nan did a lot for undergraduates," said freshman Karen Burns. "I guess I am pretty optimistic."
Many students recognized that Brodhead may be in for a few surprises when he leaves Yale and comes south to Duke, where many students feel a sense of envy of Ivy League schools .
"[I think there is] a little bit of Ivy envy," said junior Jonathan Oren. "It's good to aspire to something that's great, but it's bad to be concerned with rankings and numbers."
Burns agreed, saying she thought the Duke environment was casual. "A lot of kids here have Ivy League envy," she said. "I guess that maybe there's a different atmosphere at Duke than the Ivy League. He might find Duke a little more laid back, a more relaxed atmosphere."
While others debated his potential or Keohane's achievements, in the throes of exam week many students seemed to be most amused by one of Brodhead's more unique qualities.
"I like his name," said senior Jordan Kramer. "It's going to be very useful for the student comics and the Monday, Monday column."
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