The Duke Digest - December 18, 2011

In Today's Issue:

  • General Martin Dempsey, Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff, to Speak at Duke
  • President Brodhead: Talent Knows no Borders
  • Duke Study Documents Cumulative Impact of Mountaintop Mining
  • EPA Administrator Visits Duke; Event Video and Slideshow
  • Faculty Opinion - Policy and Markets: How, Not If
  • Duke Accepts 648 Early Decision Applicants
  • Opinion: The Unaddressed Link Between Poverty and Education
  • Justice Stevens to Speak at 2012 Duke Law Hooding Ceremony
  • Duke Establishes Fellowships for Women in Science in Honor of Former Graduate School Dean
  • Opinion: Should Politicians Trump Generals?


GENERAL MARTIN DEMPSEY, CHAIR OF JOIN CHIEFS OF STAFF, TO SPEAK AT DUKE JAN 12
Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, will speak at Duke University on Jan. 12.

Dempsey will deliver the 2011 Ambassador S. Davis Phillips Family International Lecture at 5:30 p.m. in Page Auditorium.

Dempsey is the nation's highest-ranking military officer, serving as adviser to the president, secretary of defense and the National Security Council. During his 37 years in the U.S. Army, he has served during times of war and peace at every level, from platoon leader to combatant commander. Both a soldier and a scholar, he earned a master's degree in English from Duke in 1984.

Those unable to attend can watch a live webcast at ustream.tv/dukeuniversity.

Read More:
General Martin Dempsey to Deliver Lecture on Jan 12 (Duke.edu) 


PRESIDENT BRODHEAD: TALENT KNOWS NO BORDERS
President Brodhead, in a piece appearing in the Chronicle of Higher Education, writes about his travels to Africa and Asia this summer and the importance of thoughtful global expansion of our universities:

"Talent knows no borders, and we must draw the most creative minds—both faculty and students—from around the world to stay at the forefront of discovery. Globalization also provides a broader meaning to the 'real world' experience our students need to test out and amplify what they learn in the classroom. Universities become stronger through mutually respectful global partnerships."

Read More:
Talent Knows No Borders (Chronicle of Higher Ed) 


DUKE STUDY DOCUMENTS CUMULATIVE IMPACT OF MOUNTAINTOP MINING
Increased salinity and concentrations of trace elements in one West Virginia watershed have been tied directly to multiple surface coal mines upstream by a detailed new survey of stream chemistry. The Duke University team that conducted the study said it provides new evidence of the cumulative effects multiple mountaintop mining permits can have in a river network.

Read More:
New Study Documents Cumulative Impact of Mountaintop Mining (nicholas.duke.edu)
Cumulative Impacts on Mountaintop Mining on an Appalachian Watershed (nicholas.duke.edu)


EPA ADMINISTRATOR LISA JACKSON VISITS DUKE; EVENT VIDEO, SLIDESHOW
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, a member of President Obama’s cabinet, discussed current EPA policies and recent Congressional challenges to environmental laws in a conversation at Duke University’s Reynolds Theater at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6.

Jackson’s talk was the 2011 Duke Environment and Society Lecture, sponsored by the Nicholas School of the Environment.

A Q&A with audience members followed.  See below link for video and a slideshow of the event.

Read More:
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson Spoke at Duke Dec. 6 (nicholas.duke.edu)


FACULTY OPINION - POLICY AND MARKETS: HOW, NOT IF
Bruce Jentleson, professor of public policy and political science at Duke, writes in an opinion piece for the Huffington Post:

"The policy vs markets debate makes for good rhetoric but lousy results. It's not if government should play a role in the economy. It's how best to do it."

Read More:
Policy and Markets: How, Not If (Huffington Post)


DUKE ACCEPTS 648 EARLY DECISION APPLICANTS
This year, a record 2,641 students applied under Duke's Early Decision program, a 20 percent increase over last year's number. Those who apply via this process know they want to attend Duke and commit to enroll at the university if they receive an offer of admission in December.

Students admitted through Early Decision this year will represent 38 percent of next fall's incoming class, which is expected to include 1,705 students. Of the 648 admits, 526 will enroll in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and the remaining 122 will enroll in the Pratt School of Engineering.

Read More:
Duke Accepts 648 Early Decision Applicants (Duke.edu)


OPINION: THE UNADDRESSED LINK BETWEEN POVERTY AND EDUCATION
Helen Ladd, professor of public policy and economics at Duke, writes in an opinion piece for The New York Times:

"No one seriously disputes the fact that students from disadvantaged households perform less well in school, on average, than their peers from more advantaged backgrounds. But rather than confront this fact of life head-on, our policy makers mistakenly continue to reason that, since they cannot change the backgrounds of students, they should focus on things they can control. So why do presumably well-intentioned policy makers ignore, or deny, the correlations of family background and student achievement?"

Read More:
The Unaddressed Link Between Poverty and Education (New York Times)


JUSTICE STEVENS TO SPEAK AT 2012 LAW SCHOOL HOODING CEREMONY
Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired in June 2010 after 35 years on the high court, will be the speaker at Duke Law’s annual hooding ceremony honoring the Class of 2012.

Read More:
Justice Stevens to Speak at 2012 Law School Hooding Ceremony (law.duke.edu)


DUKE ESTABLISHES FELLOWSHIPS FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE IN HONOR OF FORMER GRADUATE SCHOOL DEAN
Duke University has established two fellowships to honor Jo Rae Wright, who stepped down in October after serving more than five years as dean of the university's graduate school.

The Jo Rae Wright Fellowship for Outstanding Women in Science will annually recognize one Ph.D. student in the biomedical sciences and one in the natural sciences whose research shows particular creativity and promise. The graduate school will select the recipients, beginning with the next academic year.

Read More:
Duke Establishes Fellowships to Honor Jo Rae Wright (Duke.edu) 


OPINION: SHOULD POLITICIANS TRUMP GENERALS?
Peter Feaver, professor of political science and public policy at Duke, writes in Foreign Policy:

Under what conditions should the commander-in-chief go against the advice of his senior generals? Any that he/she chooses. But the president is held accountable for all national security decisions, and when the decision involves rejecting counsel from senior advisors the president should expect and get critical scrutiny.

This is civil-military relations 101, but this basic principle of civilian control has gained some notoriety in two recent contexts.

Read More:
Should Politicians Trump Generals? (NPR.org)