Suzanne Shanahan gives update on Duke curriculum revision process

KIE Co-Director Suzanne Shanahan is currently acting as chair of the Duke Curriculum Committee. Duke Today published a summary of her presentation to the Arts and Sciences Council with updates on initial findings by the exploratory committee:

As part of the committee’s vision for the curriculum, Shanahan said there has been some consensus that a Duke should provide a true liberal arts education with robust disciplinary majors as a centerpiece.

In addition, a Duke education “should be an invitation to a scholarly community that excite both faculty and students,” Shanahan said. “We want students doing things they haven’t tried before, but it should also have a deliberate cohesion: A little adventure and a little coherence.”

She added: “A Duke education should reflect the fact that Duke is a research-based education. Duke should look different than Swarthmore.  Now, the goal here is not for faculty to just to produce ‘Mini-Mes’. However, the goal is to invite students into a pursuit that we love and show them the promise of what scholarship offers.”