Ashley’s “integrity”

Durham Herald Sun editor Bob Ashley writes often about integrity and character. He says they’re very important. He wants us to have good character and act with integrity.

So let’s see how Bob responds to the following email.

_________________________________________

Robert Ashley
Editor
Durham Herald Sun

Dear Editor Ashely:

Your Dec. 3 edition carried the story below under the headline “Duke's trustees create new department.” Herald Sun readers were told the story is “From staff reports.”

But if you go to the Duke News site, you’ll find this press release: “Duke Elevates African and African American Studies to Department.”

With the exception of a slight rewording in the first sentence, every single bit of the Herald Sun’s story is lifted verbatim from the Duke News press release.

Questions:

Why did you poach the story from Duke News in the first place?

Having poached, why did you tell readers the story was “From staff reports?”

How do you square what your paper did with the Duke press release with your frequent admonitions to readers to act with integrity and character?

I’ll publish your response at my blog.

Sincerely,

John in Carolina
www.johnincarolina.com
____________________________________________

“Duke's trustees create new department.”

From staff reports : The Herald-Sun
Dec 2, 2006 : 10:04 pm ET

Duke University's Board of Trustees approved elevating Duke's African and African American Studies Program to departmental status at its Saturday meeting.

"As the mission of AAAS has expanded, it has become appropriate to graduate from program status to that of a full department," said Dean of the Faculty of Arts Sciences George McLendon.

Academic departments at Duke offer undergraduate and graduate degrees. Because the AAAS program currently offers an undergraduate degree and a graduate certificate, it already functions much like a department, said Arts and Sciences Dean of the Social Sciences Sarah Deutsch.

"And it became clear that in circles outside of Duke, the label 'program' carried connotations of impermanence and standing that were not applicable to our program," she said. "The shift to 'department' better represents Duke's commitment to the enterprise, and the standing and activity of the unit."

The university's Academic Programs Committee unanimously approved the change at its Oct. 25 meeting, and in a resolution commended AAAS "for its quality research and undergraduate programs. The AAAS faculty, including those with joint and secondary appointments, have demonstrated an admirable commitment to advanced research, teaching and outreach activities that deserves recognition."

The Academic Programs Committee also encouraged AAAS to consider establishing a Ph.D. program in the future.

AAAS has 15 core faculty members. Some 50 other Duke faculty members, whose teaching, research and cross-listed courses contribute to scholarship in AAAS, are designated as faculty affiliates. Currently, 33 undergraduate students major in African and African American Studies, 22 undergraduates minor in it and 24 graduate students are enrolled in the graduate certificate program.

In related business, the trustees also approved several new academic programs, including two new dual degree programs at Duke Law School: a three-year JD/DESS (diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées) in global business law in partnership with two top French universities, and a JD/MEMP (Masters of Engineering Management) in cooperation with Duke's Pratt School of Engineering.

The Global Business Law JD/DESS degree program is a partnership with University of Paris I and with Sciences Po in Paris. The program involves two years of study at Duke and one year in Paris, where students will enroll in primarily master's degree-level courses in global business law and economics and, if needed, an introduction to French law.

Duke joins a select group of American law schools in offering the JD/DESS, which is open to 20 French students and 10 U.S. students each year; law schools at Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, Northwestern, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Virginia also offer the program.

"Law practice in most fields is increasingly international and law graduates who have had meaningful international experience are highly sought after by U.S. law firms," said Duke Law School Dean Katharine Bartlett.

Establishing a dual degree in law and engineering management responds to a demand from applicants to Duke Law School and the Pratt School of Engineering, Bartlett said, and builds on the schools' existing partnership in which a three-year JD is offered in combination with an MS in engineering. Students enrolled in the new program will begin their studies in June instead of August, and will be required to complete 72 credits at the Law School and 30 in the Master of Engineering Management Program.

Currently, about 25 percent of Duke law students are enrolled in a dual degree program.

The trustees also approved:

- A new Joint Doctor of Medicine degree to be granted by the Duke/National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School. This collaboration, which was formalized in 2005, is not only intended to educate future physicians and promote biomedical research in Asia, but represents an opportunity for Duke to expand its global presence in science and medicine, said Victor Dzau, chancellor for health affairs at Duke and CEO of the Duke University Health System.

- The creation of a joint master of management studies degree involving the Fuqua School of Business and Seoul National University. Those SNU students accepted into the program would first attend SNU, then travel to Fuqua in the spring of their first year for Fuqua's final six-week term. This would be followed by a summer internship and a second year of study at Fuqua. At the conclusion of their course work, students would be issued an MMS from Fuqua. The students would receive their Masters of Business Administration degree from SNU once they completed other requirements.