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The Chronicle T h e i n d e p e n d e n t d a i ly at D u k e U n i v e r s i t y
xxxxxday, april thursDAY, mmmm17, xx, 2014 2013
www.dukechronicle.com
ONE ONEHUNDRED HUNDREDAND ANDEIGHTH ninth YEAR, YEAR, Issue Issue xxx 115
Education prof. sparks dialogue on status of Latino faculty by Rachel Chason The Chronicle
A Latino visiting professor’s approaching departure has raised concerns about Latino/a faculty representation and treatment. According to the 2013 Faculty Diversity Initiative Biannual Report, there are only 12 Latino/a professors in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. Latino/a faculty currently comprise 2 percent of all tenured professors—a figure that has been nearly stagnant for two decades, even as numbers have increased for other underrepresented groups. Speaking at the Unity Through Diversity forum hosted by the Center for Multicultural Affairs, Jason Mendez—a visiting assistant professor and the director of the minor in education who is leaving at the end of the academic year—described the environment in the education program as contrary to the spirit of equity and diversity promoted by the University. The only fulltime professor of color currently employed by the department, Mendez said that the program’s leadership is not committed to recruiting or retaining diverse faculty and has failed to provide minority students, faculty and staff with the support that they need to succeed. Mendez also said he has experienced “microaggressions” and “inequitable practices” from the department of education’s leadership. “My issue is not with Duke,” Mendez said. “My experience at the University as a whole has been wonderful, and I’ve had the opportunity to form some incredible relationships. However, change—and See Mendez, page 4
Compilation by Rita Lo/the Chronicle
PowerPoints created by the program in education featured stereotypical images from Latino and Asian cultures, prompting some to say the slides have racist connotations.
In light of MOOCs, intellectual property policies remain flexible by Abhi Shah The Chronicle
When English professor Cathy Davidson announced her move to City University of New York, a question was raised as to who would retain the rights to the massive open online course she created while at Duke. The Intellectual Property Board, one of the Provost’s committees, gave Davidson—who is the Ruth F. DeVarney Professor of English and the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies—the rights to the MOOC titled “History and Future of (Mostly) Higher Education” after interpreting the University’s intellectual property and online courseware policies written in 2000. Although the policies
were drafted during a time when online education looked much different than it does today, its language continues to be relevant, administrators say. “The revisions in 2000 were drafted with an eye for online education,” said Laurence Helfer, the Harry S. Chadwick Sr. Professor of Law at the Law School Helfer. “[Duke] didn’t know what it would look like, but the directors knew it was coming. [The policy] is efficiently broad and has flexible language so that it can be applied to the types of MOOCs that are offered today.” Duke’s interpretation of the policy tends to allow professors to retain the rights to their course materials that Duke funds. Kevin Smith, director of the office of copyright and scholarly
communications, explained that the University’s interpretation is similar to those at a majority of other schools. Faculty members own the property of the content, but Duke also has a hand in some forms of ownership. “Duke has a license to enter into an agreement with platforms like Coursera to publish the content online,” Smith said. “Other institutions have ownership and give faculty members a license. In a practical manner, both parties have the ability to do what they want to do.” Smith said that although the policy was written in 2000—long before MOOCs in their present form were created—it does not need to be revised because the policy is flexible enough that the Intellectual Property Board can
interpret it as they see fit. Helfer is teaching a MOOC on international human rights law and also noted that the University’s existing policy has the ability to adapt to new forms of online education. Although Duke’s intellectual property policy’s wording may be flexible enough to accommodate new issues raised by MOOCs, not all peer institutions have found that this is the case. Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for instance, have recently announced changes to their policies. Faculty members believe that the current policy supports their efforts in the classroom. See MOOC, page 3