In 2010-11, Duke awarded distinguished professorships to 26
faculty members. In addition, 10 faculty were inducted into the
Bass Society of Fellows for excellence in undergraduate teaching
and research, bringing the total number of Bass Fellows to 57.
THE EARLIER, THE BETTER:
A PROFESSORSHIP THAT AIMS TO PUT KIDS FIRST
AS AN ENTREPRENEUR and venture capitalist,
J.B. Pritzker T’87 is used to taking calculated
risks. But as a philanthropist who invests in
early childhood education and supports at-risk
families, he knows he’s betting on a sure thing.
As he wrote this year in a Huffington Post article,
“Thanks to a raft of economic and scientific
research that’s emerged in the last two decades,
we can actually quantify the link between
quality early education and achieving our most
vital economic and social goals—a competi-
tive workforce, improved health outcomes, and
reduced crime, among others.”
J.B. and his wife, M.K., invested their money
in Duke last year when their family founda-
tion made a gift of $2.5 million to endow the
Pritzker Professor of Early Learning Policy
Studies in the Sanford School of Public Policy.
The professor selected will
specialize in early learning policies and practices
for children from birth
through age five and will
work closely with Duke’s
Center for Child and
Family Policy. Established
in 1999 as an affiliate of
what is now the Sanford
School of Public Policy,
the center contributes
solutions to problems affecting today’s children
and families through education, research,
service, and policy engagement.
Many of those solutions have addressed
the same critical early period of development
that the new professor will be studying. For
example, Durham Connects, a
home visit program aimed at
connecting parents of newborns
with community resources, was
developed, implemented, and
evaluated by the center. During
the evaluation period, nurses
working with the program vis-
ited nearly 1,600 families, and 98
percent of mothers surveyed said
Durham Connects was helpful
to them and their babies. This
success led to the program’s expansion in 2011
to include all Durham residents whose babies
are born in Durham County. The center is now
conducting research to determine the effective-
ness of the program in reducing incidents of
child abuse and neglect in the Durham area.
Duke faculty are consistently
recognized as leaders in their
fields through awards, fellow-
ships, and memberships in
national societies. Here are a
few examples from 2010-11:
VINCENT CONITZER, the Sally
Dalton Robinson Professor of
Computer Science and Professor of
Economics, was included in IEEE
Intelligent Systems’ “Artificial
Intelligence’s 10 to Watch” list for his
work on computational game theory.
REBECCA H. BUCKLEY, professor
of pediatrics and immunology, was
elected to the National Academy of
Sciences for her life-saving research
in pediatric immunological diseases.
MARK R. WIESNER, the James
L. Meriam Professor of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, was the
2011 recipient of the Clarke Prize for
his research in solving real-world
water problems.
OSCAR HIJUELOS, an English
professor of the practice and Pulitzer
Prize-winning novelist, was chosen
for membership into the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences.
E. ROY WEINTRAUB was elected
Distinguished Fellow of the
History of Economics Society, the
organization’s highest honor.
MARIANNA TORGOVNICK,
MARILYN TELEN, and GABRIEL
KATUL are Duke professors who
received Fulbright Scholar grants
for research in the fields of
American literature, hematology,
and hydrology, respectively.
