Graduate/Professional Young Trustee finalist Austin Beason, an executive master’s in business administration candidate, hopes to leverage his perspective as a parent and understanding of the higher education landscape to represent the Duke community.
An orthopaedic hand and upper extremity surgeon in Philadelphia, Beason commutes to Duke once a month for Friday, Saturday and Sunday courses to earn his Master of Business Administration through the University’s Executive MBA program. Having pursued his undergraduate degree between 2008 and 2012, Beason has a unique perspective on the evolution of higher education.
“I've always loved higher education and trying to figure out ways to make it more effective and of higher value to students and residents and trainees,” he said.
Beason considers his role as a father of a three-year-old and 10-month-old as his most informative experience, which he credits for shaping his “commitment to building a better future — not just for [his] children, but for next generations of Duke students and leaders” as a Young Trustee.
He also pointed to his undergraduate experience at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as playing an influential role in cultivating his leadership and education-focused mentality. There, Beason said he grew his love for teaching and the “whole process of academic medicine.”
In 2017, he received his Doctor of Medicine from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, where he also completed his orthopaedic surgery residency between 2018 and 2023.
At Southern Illinois, he hosted the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Career Podcast with a focus on professional development for early career orthopaedic surgeons and the Journal of the AAOS Unplugged podcast, where he discussed musculoskeletal health care research. Alongside his membership at the AAOS, Beason said these podcast experiences gave him a sense of what students value.
During his time in medical school, Beason also served on the Alumni Board of Governors, published nearly 20 peer-reviewed medical research publications and was awarded Resident Teacher of the Year in 2020 in the surgery department.
From his experience navigating the terrains of academia, Beason said he believes that education should be a “value proposition” for students. In particular, he sees hybrid and remote programs as beneficial for those like himself who want to learn without physically relocating.
“I really do believe that higher education is on this brink of revolutionary change. I think we're going to have to rethink what value higher education brings to the student or the learner, wherever they're at in their career,” he said.
Despite spending a limited amount of time on campus, Beason said he feels highly engaged with his peers, describing the MBA curriculum as “truly an immersive experience.” Because of this environment, he feels equipped to advocate strongly for his peers’ interests in the role of Young Trustee.
Beason additionally hopes to push for more Duke alumni engagement to build a more robust network that students can take advantage of when navigating their careers.
“As any institution, the biggest asset capital you have is your alumni and finding ways to really engage them … that's how you make change,” he said.
Meg DeLuca, assistant director of executive MBA Programs at the Fuqua School of Business, spoke about Beason’s strong character, which she believes will serve him well as a Young Trustee.
“To me, he's like a natural leader because people just respond to him,” DeLuca said. “… He would put all this heart into [being a Young Trustee] and really just knock out the park whatever would be required of him to do.”
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Madera Longstreet-Lipson is a Trinity sophomore and an associate news editor for the news department.