A Proactive Dean

William H. Schlesinger Takes Charge at the Nicholas School

A conversation with Duke Science Writers Monte Basgall and Dennis Meredith

MB: "You entered this job with an impressive record of achievement in managing large research projects that addressed front burner environmental topics as well as spearheading the development of the university's graduate program in ecology. You also had the academic freedom that comes with holding a James B. Duke professorship." Why do you want to take on the headaches that come with being the Nicholas School's top administrator?

WHS: I published my first scientific paper in the spring of 1971. So, I've had a 30-year run of doing scientific research and publishing it in a traditional scholarly fashion. ... While it's been fun, I thought it might be challenging to do something else. And, at this time in my life, it might be important to have a position where I can be more effective in the translation of science and policy and where I can try to slow what I consider a continuing degradation of our environment by speaking out on some of these issues....

MB: Will you be an activist dean, and will you go public about your environmental concerns?

WHS: I fully intend to speak out on issues where I think either I have expertise or where faculty and students in our school have developed expertise, and when we have something to offer to the preservation of the environment and better management of resources. ...

MB: Would you call yourself an environmentalist as well as an environmental scientist? And secondly, is it dangerous for a scientist to get caught up in multisided emotional issues, and where do you draw the line?

WHS: I guess I would have called myself an environmentalist along with environmental scientist. I think it's unfortunate that the word environmentalist has gotten a little bit of a bad reputation associated with it. If it means somebody that can speak out thoughtfully on issues and encourage group action to yield a better environment for all of us in the future, then, I think that the bad reputation associated with it is unfounded.

The separation of environmental science, which is what I've done for a long time, and environmentalist is obviously a tricky one. ... If you're an environmental scientist and you want to speak out on the basis of your science, as an opinion of what ought to be done, then I think that needs to be heard. In fact, I almost think it's a duty. ...

DM: One of the reasons for the pejorative nature of the term environmentalist is a widespread belief - whether right or wrong - that there's a see-saw relationship between the environment and economic health. What's your - from the perspective of the dean of the School of the Environment-what's your sense of that balance? Or whether there is a balance?

WHS: I certainly think that business and environment, if I can put it in those categories, have not worked well together in the last 20 or 30 years. There's a lot of ways that business and industry operate that are incompatible with the way environmental scientists or environmentalists think would be beneficial for preserving the environment and the world. There have been, on the other hand, ways in which environmentalists have acted which have, I think, not been helpful. Often ignorant of economics or ignorant of economic reality, they have not been helpful on the other side of the equation.

Actually, one thing that I think we hope to do fairly soon in the Nicholas School is to work on some partnerships between environmental science and business industry interests. ...

MB: On a similar line - the global warming issue comes up. And in that context I've heard some people say that the problem of politicians sometimes taking scientists' advice seriously is that the politicians are looking for answers whereas the scientists are in the job of asking questions. Is there a way that scientists can fill that role - the fact that they are basically questioners, and also do a better job of helping policy makers come to grips with what to do since they can't wait for all the questions to be answered?

WHS: Scientists love questions. They love to pose them. They love to follow them. They love the result of one set of research, experiments or investigations leading to another set of questions and investigations. And the job is never done in that sense. We also, in environmental science, talk a lot and deal with uncertainty in our predictions. ... What's the level of uncertainty in something like global warming, or the migration of vegetation in response to global warming, or sea level rise? All those predictions come with uncertainty. Politicians have trouble dealing with that uncertainty. I believe that scientists should state more definitively the things that they are certain about within what I'd say is beyond a reasonable doubt....

MB: Well, let's go back to more Nicholas School questions - direct questions. What do you envision to be your biggest challenge in your regime -fiscally, academically, and research priority wise?

WHS: You've pretty much got those in the order in which I see the challenge. Right now, the school has some fiscal difficulties in its operating budget. It is projected to run a deficit of something in the order of 10 or 15 percent of the operating budget for next year. We can't do that year after year and have much flexibility to pursue those innovative new avenues that we really want to. So, I think, one of the first things I need to do is to bring the fiscal operations together in the school. That will be most easily done by looking at the revenue side of the equation.... Academically, of course... I have an agenda that we should develop areas of excellence where we're better than any other school in the country, if not internationally, in some disciplines. ...

MB: What is the root of the fiscal problems? What are the shortfalls? Is that - enrollment in the MEM programs have declined, is that the major one?

WHS: I think that the major problem on the revenue side of our equation is the MEM enrollment has not grown to the extent that was predicted. ... I don't think we've made a real effort to get the word out that we have this program: That the program is good. It's successful, exciting, innovative, will place you in an interesting job in business or industry or government where you could make a difference to the environment. ... I'm going to put a ... fair amount of resources into recruitment and marketing for the MEM program in the coming year. ...

MB: Do you see the Nicholas School's principle role as education or research, and how important is one to the other?

WHS: I would say they are equally important. And I would characterize my career, here, at Duke as roughly 50-50 in the business of education and the business of research. And, I think I'm better for it, and I think both halves are better for it. My research is better because I've learned how to communicate it in the classroom. And my classrooms are better because I'm talking about exciting things that have happened now at Duke or that I've read about because I'm an active researcher. ...

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