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Peter Lange
Provost, political scientist, avid learner, team builder, music lover
Describe yourself in three words:
Humorous, direct, analytic
Describe Duke in three words:
Ambitious, entrepreneurial, self-critical
Why Duke?
It's an institution in constant change and improvement. It's not at all the same place it was when I came here, but it's not even the same place it was five years ago. I always felt I could grow here. I've learned a tremendous amount on this job.
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photo by Chris Hildreth |
What one thing would you
change about Duke?
I think we're still too often self-doubting as an institution. I don't mean we should be complacent, because we can't afford to be complacent in any way. But I think we sometimes doubt ourselves more than we should-in what we're able to accomplish, in what we have accomplished.
Who is your favorite person?
It depends on how you think about the question. If I was going in the music direction, because I love music, I might say, Bruce Springsteen or John Coltrane. If I was going in a more who's-a-person-who's-inspired-me direction, I would say the last two or three years of Bobby Kennedy's life. I have a lot of admiration for tough-minded people who effectively are trying to advance ideals, but who are also results-oriented.
What do you value?
I value energy. I value leadership in people. I value humor a great deal, a sense of irony, warmth.
In
his words:
I love my job. I get up in the morning
because I love to come to work. I love the challenge of interacting
on a regular basis with really smart people about difficult
problems. As a professor, your rewards come from knowing
a relatively narrow range of topics extremely deeply and
sophisticatedly. As a provost, you have to know about an
enormous range of topics at least a little bit. And I love
that this job is a constant learning process. When President
Keohane gave me my final interview for the job as provost,
she said, "Well, I want to offer you the job." And I said
something like, "Well, that's great, Nan, this is going to
be fun." She said, "Fun?" And I said, "Yeah, it's going to
be fun." And it has been fun. |
A joint project of University Photography and Duke Magazine,
Face Value is an evolving gallery of portraits displayed in
Perkins Library and represented in the magazine.
By capturing these individuals in images and words, the project
celebrates some of the staff, faculty, and students whose contributions
define a diverse community.
Portrait by Chris Hildreth. Photo finishing by Brent Clayton. |
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