The Log | School News
Environment Dean to Become President of Institute of Ecosystem Studies
William
H. Schlesinger, dean of the Nicholas School, has
been named the second president and
director of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies. He will step down
as Nicholas School dean on June
1, and assume his new duties in Millbrook, N.Y.
The Millbrook institute is one of the largest and most respected ecological research organizations in the world, with expertise in aquatic science, forest ecology, urban ecology, air pollution, nutrient cycling and disease ecology.
Provost Peter Lange, Duke’s top academic officer, praised Schlesinger, the James B.Duke Professor of Biogeochemistry, for having done an “excellent job” as dean, adding, “We will regret his departure.”
“During his time as dean he has made a number of truly outstanding faculty hires, grown and improved the school’s student population and brought a far higher degree of integration around a common vision to the school’s units, ”Lange said. “He also made substantial progress on the budget challenges the school faced when he became dean and developed the vision for and established the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions to better project the findings and implications of environmental research done at Duke and elsewhere into the world of public and corporate policymaking.
“Bill has been a courageous advocate for the environment.
We will miss him in North Carolina.”
-- Fred J.Stanback Jr., of Salisbury,N.C., Nicholas School Board
of Visitors (Emeritus)
“These are most substantial accomplishments and Bill’s leadership will be missed by faculty, students and administrators alike.” A strong advocate of translating scientific research for the public, Schlesinger took over the leadership of the Nicholas School in 2001 and was appointed to his second five-year term in 2005. During his tenure, the school saw a steady increase in enrollment in the professional program, growing 66 percent from 71 to 118 in a class.Giving levels have reached their highest, with the annual fund jumping from $356,000 to $836,000, and major gifts increasing from $2 million to more than $6 million.
With the signing of the $70 million pledge to the school from Pete and Ginny Nicholas of Boston in December 2003, Schlesinger began planning for a new building to bring the Durham units of the school together. He also oversaw the creation of the Nicholas Institute in 2005, which launched its Washington,D.C., office on Nov. 16. Schlesinger championed a series of environmental advertorials that ran on the op-ed pages of The New York Times, which gave the school national exposure and heralded the opening of the Nicholas Institute. He also wrote and published numerous op-eds, testified before Congress and has given dozens of speeches across the country on environmental issues.
“Bill can explain the intricacies of carbon
sequestration and marvel at the courtship display
of a woodcock with equal enthusiasm. He
understands the importance of scientists
venturing from the ivory tower and applying
their expertise and perspective to real-world
problems. We need more scientists like Bill to
engage in and inform the public debate on the
significant environmental challenges we face.”
-- Derb S.Carter Jr., director,Carolinas Office,
Southern Environmental Law Center
Noted for his research on global environmental change, Schlesinger served as president of the Ecological Society of America from 2003 to 2004. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2003.
“The decision to leave the Nicholas School and Duke University was a difficult one for me. It has been an honor for me to head this school and work with such dedicated faculty and staff members and students,” Schlesinger said.“I will miss my friends and colleagues of more than 25 years, but I trust that the school and the Nicholas Institute have a positive momentum that will continue on.
“The Institute of Ecosystem Studies offers me an opportunity to focus on my work and research in a way that a dean cannot, and I look forward to the new challenge,” he said. Schlesinger will maintain his connection to Duke as James B.Duke Professor Emeritus of Biogeochemistry.
“I think Bill has been a remarkable force at Duke
for getting the issues surrounding
global climate change presented. In this regard he has provided something
of a
constant drumbeat; one that has clearly raised the visibility of
this topic not only
within the academic realm but also among the larger public. Bill’s
passion for
spreading the word about climate change will be sorely missed and
in the absence
of someone taking his place, Duke will definitely miss him.”
-- James N. Siedow, vice provost for research, Duke University
“A lot of people say ‘think globally, act
locally,’ but Bill actually does it. He has a
special ability to see the big picture and
to relate to everyone from specialized
scientists to the media to the layperson.
Bill is willing to stand up and fight for
what’s right, whether or not it’s popular,
and his friends, colleagues and the
environment are thankful for it!”
-- Jeffrey S.Pippen, Nicholas School research associate and birder
extraordinaire
“Bill’s booming voice, infectious laughter and
his outspoken commitment to the environment
make him a force to be reckoned with
at Duke and beyond.His support of the
Nicholas School faculty, students and staff
make him an ideal colleague and boss.As a
staff member who has had the privilege of
working with and for Bill for the last six years,
I will miss his encouragement, his support,
his sense of humor and his leadership. It has
been a true joy knowing Bill!”
Cynthia Peters, assistant dean for enrollment services, Nicholas
School
“Bill has accomplished a great deal during his (too-brief)
tenure as Nicholas School dean. He has encouraged and overseen
the growth and diversification of our professional environmental
management degree program, and he moved the school into new endeavors
such as programs in energy, and environmental health and security.
He has placed a high priority on faculty development and the results
of his efforts are evident in both the numbers and the quality
of our faculty. On a personal level, he has done much to unite
the school, despite its geographic fragmentation.”
Norman L. Christensen Jr., professor of ecology and founding dean
of the Nicholas School
Duke Names Search Committee for Nicholas School Dean
Provost Peter Lange appointed a nine-member search committee in January headed by Susan Lozier, professor of physical oceanography and chair of the Earth and Ocean Sciences Division, to conduct a global search for a new Nicholas School dean.
Lange said,“I am grateful to the members of the search committee for agreeing to take on this position of great responsibility. This is an excellent committee,whose most basic charge is to propose three final candidates (unranked) to President Brodhead and me by May 1, 2007. We anticipate an announcement will be made by late spring 2007.”
In addition to Lozier, committee members are: Ana Barros, professor of civil and environmental engineering, Pratt School of Engineering; Scottee Cantrell, assistant dean for marketing and communications, Nicholas School; Larry Crowder, Stephen Toth Professor of Marine Biology, Coastal Systems Science and Policy Division, Nicholas School; Richard Di Giulio, professor of environmental toxicology, Environmental Sciences and Policy Division, Nicholas School; Simon Rich, Board of Visitors chair (emeritus), Nicholas School; Jim Salzman, professor of law and environmental policy, School of Law and Nicholas School; Jim Siedow, vice provost for research and professor of biology; Dean Urban, professor of landscape ecology, Environmental Sciences and Policy Division, Nicholas School.
Lozier said the committee will work toward bringing several candidates to campus for interviews in April. Although the process is confidential, Lozier promises updates throughout the spring which will be posted on the search Web site at www.nicholas.duke.edu/deansearch. The site also provides information on the search process and links to the position description and Nicholas School strategic plan.