September 7, 2001

Page 1

The Chronicle

Friday, September 7,2001

Sunny High 83, Low 63 www.chronicle.duke.edu Vol. 97, No. 11

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Rice-a-roni The Blue Devils will travel to Houston, Tex. looking for their first win of the season against the Rice Owls. See page 11

THE INDEPENDENT DAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY

Franklin Center residents settle in � An additional four programs moved into the John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies, including the African and African-American Studies Program. By DAVE INGRAM The Chronicle

Just months after a star-studded grand opening filled with fanfare, one ofthe University’s newest initiatives is welcoming some new residents and trying to unify diverse programs. The John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies opened as a place for humanities scholars and students to interact in new ways. The center started with about a dozen programs, but after further building renovations this

summer, several other disciplines, including the African and African-American Studies Program, have moved into the Erwin Road building. “It’s rounding out the whole concept of the space,” said Cathy Davidson, vice provost for interdisciplinary studies. “What I like about it is that it’s both a part of the campus and apart from the campus. Quite literally it gives one a different perspective.” The 36,000 square-foot Franklin Center was renovated from an old dormitory for $3.5 million, and features classrooms, office space, a computer cluster and other meeting spaces. By contrast, many West Campus offices are fall or overflowing with professors and graduate students. Four programs moved to the Franklin Center this summer. As one of the largest ofthe University’s interdisciplinary programs, AAAS—the first discipline with tenure lines to reside in the center—fits in with the goals of the center and promotes more interaction See CENTER on page 10 �

THAD PARSONS/THE CHRONICLE

MCDONALD’S employees are required to wash their hands once each hour. They say the policy resulted in the restaurant’s high sanitation rating.

Campus dining facilities pass the test McDonald’s pulls ahead of other on-campus eateries By ELLEN ZANDER The Chronicle

McDonald’s food may be greasy, but at latest count, it’s also pretty clean. The mega-chain beat out the rest of the on-campus eateries, earning a near-perfect sanitation score of 99.5. But others, like Grace’s Cafe and the Alpine trio—Alpine Atrium, Alpine Bagels and Brews and the Perk—just barely squeezed out a grade of A. The Alpine eateries earned a score of 90, while Grace’s came in next to last with 90.5. Those scores put the eateries close to the University’s minimum standards.

“If a restaurant receives a B, it runs the risk of losing their contract at Duke,” said Jim Wulforst, director of Dining Services. “What you have to focus on is the history of fa restaurant’s] sanitation ratings. You can’t just focus on one grade,” he said. Ron Mazzei, kitchen manager of Alpine Bagels

and Brews, and Grace’s Cafe owner Jack Chao attributed the lower scores to factors other than the food’s cleanliness. “It’s so much more than just the food,” Mazzei said. “Our kitchen’s downstairs in the basement, and a lot oftimes, it’s 100 degrees plus.” He added that a lack of See SANITATION on page 8

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Duke holds ground, places Bth in latest rankings Administrators doubt list’s significance

� Well before yesterday’s list was released, a Duke professor was hard at work on a website making fun of rankings.

By VICTORIA KAPLAN and KEVIN LEES

By KEVIN LEES

The Chronicle

The Chronicle

Duke University ranked number eight with a score of 93 in US. News and World Report for the second year in a row. In the magazine’s annual rankings for undergraduate education, released last night, consistency was the rule, not the exception. “I’m one who doesn’t put too much credence in the specific ranking US. News puts on us,” said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs. “At the end of the day, it’s more to sell magazines than anything else.” The magazine reported that Princeton University was the top research university, followed by Harvard University, Yale University and the California Institute of Technology—the same order as last year. The magazine said it based its university rankings on seven key indicators: academic reputation, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance and alumni giving rate. See RANKINGS on page 9 � 1

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Two seniors decided to help inner-city Durham children p| ay jn a youth baseball league. Now they’re searching for more volunteers. See page 3

In case you are not satisfied with the University’s number eight ranking from US. News and World Report, you can go

to another service—ranking www.rankyourcollege.com. Stuart Rojstaczer, associate professor of earth and ocean sciences, has launched the site to poke fun at college ranking methods. On the website, Harvard may be number one for a few seconds. But just hit the refresh button on the Internet browser and the top-ranked school is the California Institute ofTechnology. The next moment, it is Princeton. “I’ve been thinking about doing this off and on for the past few years,” Rojstaczer said. “The college rankings that the media circus provides are a measurement ofwealth.” See

The Duke University Management Company, responsible for investing the University’s endowment, saw negative returns last year. See page 3

ROJSTACZER on page 9 �

North Carolina employees will vote today on whether to ask the state Legislature for the right to collective bargaining. See page 4


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