November 19, 2001

Page 1

Monday, November 19, 2001

Sunny High 72, Low 47 www.chronicle.duke.edu Vol,

97, No. 60

The Chronicle

Tarred The football team continued its losing streak Saturday, falling to the Tar Heels 52-17.

See Sportswrap

THE INDEPENDENT DAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY

Microbiology to merge with genetics University narrows pool for OIT head

By KEVIN LEES The Chronicle The Department of Microbiology, long

plagued by internal division and a dwindling doctoral program, is set to join with the Department of Genetics this week. Joseph Nevins, James B. Duke professor of genetics and current chair of the genetics department, will likely serve as chair of the merged department. Jack Keene, James B. Duke professor and chair of microbiology, said the move will strengthen the new division and allow for more collaboration. “We will have additional faculty,” Keene said. “The whole idea is to combine and grow [and] foster ideas to have a critical mass in microbial pathogenesis .” The department was formed in 1993 after splitting from the Department of Immunology and for a long time under the leadership ofvirologist Wolfgang Joklik was a top-10 department with over 70 graduate students. Currently, there are about 20 graduate students. “It’s a great development because microbiology is an area that was very strong and has been in some substantial decline,” said Provost Peter Lange, adding that it is likely that Nevins will become chair. Nevins said no decisions have been made about the details of the merger. Due to a lack of administrative support, a small faculty and difficulty recruiting graduate students, the department began to falter, according to a 1999 external review. The review highlighted

expressed concerns about the viability of a doctoral program without significant

faculty recruitment.

“When I first went to the microbiology department, there was a very powerful and very good chairman,” said Stephen White, a former faculty member and now chair of structural biology at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. “It was probably the best department at Duke.” Lewis Siegel, dean of the Graduate School, said genetics was the most compatible fit because the leadership in the Department of Genetics emerged from

the microbiology department in 1994. Patrick Lager, a graduate student in microbiology and a medical student, works with Keene in functional genomics. He said it is difficult to know how the merger will affect him, but that he has noticed a change in the number of faculty members in the five years he has

studied microbiology at Duke. “There’s been some shift of faculty around, either leaving the institution al-

together, or some leaving the depart-

ment, who either don’t fit in as well with what’s going to be the combined departSee MICROBIOLOGY on page

7 �

By DAVE INGRAM The Chronicle The search for the University’s next chief information officer has reached its final stage, just as administrators are trying to finalize a vision for the future of technology on campus. The search committee has narrowed its choices for the position of CIO and vice provost for information technology to several finalists and hopes to make its final selection in the next several weeks. The position became vacant this summer after Betty Leydon departed for a similar position at Princeton University, leaving open the leadership of the Office

of Information Technology and of various

computing initiatives. Those initiatives—-

such as creating a wireless network on campus and increasing technology use by faculty members—have continued in part, but administrators are looking for someone to jump-start those efforts. “It’s a huge operation. The person has to be an outstanding administrator,” said Philip Morgan, chair of the search committee and professor ofsociology. “But really, we’re looking for someone who has a vision for academic computing at Duke.” One early goal of the committee was to See INFORMATION on page 7 �

Toledo downs women’s basketball Duke prepares for Maui, new season

By SHAWN NICHOLLS The Chronicle

When the women’s basketball team arrived in Toledo, their season, al-. though in its early stages, had gone according to expectations. Duke had dominated Dynamo-Moscow in its only preseason game and then soundly defeated then-seventh-ranked Texas Tech in the State Farm Classic. Friday night the Blue Devils crushed an outmatched squad from Elon 102-52. However, when Duke (2-1) left Toledo (1-0) Sunday on the short end of a 71-65 score, the Blue Devils were the Rockets’ first victory over a ranked opponent, as well as the highest ranked opponent any Toledo sports team has beaten in recent memory. “Congratulations to [Toledo Coach] Mark Ethlen and his players,” Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. “They played a tremendous basketball game. They came in focused and they were ready to play. They played with great intensity, heart, hustle and determination.” Duke opened the first half with an unproductive 12 minutes, shooting 6-for-18 from the floor. The Blue Devils, however, were still able to take the lead at halftime, 30-23. Sheana Mosch, one of only two Duke players in double figures, made two baskets and a three pointer over the last 4:15 of the half to fuel a 9-0 Blue Devil run. Seemingly unfazed, however, Toledo regrouped and jumped back into the lead with a 12-2 run to start the second half. Then, after a Duke basket, Toledo’s Courtney Risinger knocked down a three pointer to put the Rockets ahead 38-34. DUKE GUARD MONIQUE CURRIE falls and is called for traveling in front of two Toledo players. See TOLEDO in SportsWrap page 9 >

inside

Students reported three robberies over the weekend, including two armed robberies on Central Campus early Saturday morning. See page 3

The Blue Devils will play their first regularseason game tonight against the unranked Seton Hall pirates at the EA Sports Maui Invitational. if CRAIG SAPERSTEIN The Chronicle

LAHAINA, Hawaii After executing what coach Mike Krzyzewski termed “search-and-destroy missions” in its two lopsided exhibition victories, the topranked men’s basketball team commences its regular season tonight against Seton Hall (1-0) in the first round ofthe EA Sports Maui Invitational. Competing in a field that includes top-10 powerhouses Kansas and UCLA, not to mention a Pirate team that defeated San Francisco 87-79 in its season opener Friday, the Blue Devils believe that the threeday tourney will not be all fun in the sun. “I think that it’s a fact of life that if you play tough people, you’ll get a chance to lose and you also have a chance to get better,” Krzyzewski said. “You don’t come to Maui expecting to go 3-0. When you come to Maui, you expect three very difficult games and you expect to come out ofhere better.” One team that hopes to improve is Seton Hall, which lost its two top players from a year ago—forwards Eddie Griffin and Samuel Dalembert—and its See MAUI in SportSWTap page 8 �

Cultural organizations had the opportunity to present their concerns and future plans to the community at the second annual Unity Through Diversity Luncheon. See page 3

Democratic U.S. Reps. David Price, Bob Etheridge and Bob Menendez discussed Latino issues at a panel discussion Saturday. See page 4


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