Cheryl Hyatt, Principal Search Consultant
Hyatt-Fennell Executive Search
PO Box 214
Conway, PA 15027
Re. Avila University Vice President for Academic Affairs Search
Dear Members of the Search Committee and the Avila University Community:
My name is Christopher M. Duncan and I am currently the Provost at Wittenberg University1 in
Springfield, Ohio, as well as a tenured Professor in the Department of Political Science. Please accept this
letter on behalf of my application for the position of Vice President for Academic Affairs at Avila
University.
I am now in my fourth year as Provost and I believe that my time in this role and the other positions I
have held during my career have prepared me well for this opportunity. I am particularly excited about the
chance to re-enter Catholic higher education in this important leadership role as I believe that this is
where my true home is intellectually and spiritually. Someone I respect deeply once told me that there are
really only two good reasons for pursuing a position of leadership. The first is to preserve something of
value and importance and the second is to build something of value and importance. In my career as an
academic administrator I have tried to both preserve and build at the same time and this is the orientation
I would bring with me to Avila. Such work requires a delicate balance of responding to the signs of the
times, forward thinking, perseverance, respect for tradition, and the capacity to help manage and heal the
sense of loss that sometimes accompanies change. On each score I believe that I have the inner resources
and skills needed to help Avila and the members of its community realize both the institutional and
personal vocations at play in a complicated and challenging world.
Before proceeding, though, I would just like to explain briefly what may seem like on odd career
trajectory. After having served two very successful terms as a department chair at the University of
Dayton I was selected as Dean of Liberal Arts at Duquesne University. My work there went exceptionally
well. Unfortunately, the housing crisis hit at the same time as my move and my family remained behind
in Ohio while I commuted back and forth from Pittsburgh. My daughter was in high school and midway
through experienced a crisis and I felt that I had to do whatever I could to return to Ohio, and Wittenberg
gave me that opportunity. Four years later she is in college and doing well, and I would like very much to
return to Catholic higher education. As the first person in my family to go to college and someone who is
committed to values-based education, I am particularly excited by the mission and charism of the Sisters
of St. Joseph of Carondelet.
After reading through the position description I have tried to address the themes and items in a couple of
groupings that follow. My vitae contains a number of specific and detailed annotations of my work and so
I will try not to duplicate it in too much detail below.
Leadership and Community
In my spiritual tradition one of the most important concepts is the discipleship of equals. My orientation
to leadership and community stands on that commitment and everything it entails. In practice, that
commitment means that we are called to positions of leadership so that we can ensure the common good
1
Wittenberg University was founded in 1845 by American Lutherans in Springfield, Ohio. It remains affiliated with the ELCA though it is
controlled by an independent Board of Directors. It has about 1800 traditional undergraduates almost all of whom live on campus for all four
years. There is also a School of Community Education that serves about 200 non-traditional students and adult learners. While founded as a
liberal arts college, Wittenberg has always had strong pre-professional programs. Our largest departments are Business, Biology, Education,
Communication, English and Psychology.
of the community and enable each person within it to explore and use his or her own gifts and talents to
their fullest for their good and the good of the world. The concept’s chief watchword is flourishing and its
most important ideal is fullness. The task of a leader then is not to take the community somewhere, but to
help it realize its own essential nature and goodness as completely as possible.
To do this requires that we lead from a position of love and generosity and by embracing each person and
each voice as fully as the next. It demands that we champion inclusivity, deep interpersonal respect for
others, and that we cultivate an abiding spirit of empathy. It rejects hierarchy even while it acknowledges
that the work of each of us will be different based on what we are able to contribute. It also means then
that we must take diversity and pluralism seriously, not as a political ideal, but as a requirement to do our
work well.
At the broader level of my orientation I start with an image from George Schuster who once wrote of an
approach to work that you would find in what he called “genuinely Christian times” by suggesting that
there “. . . the shoemaker [would have] confidence that every peg he drives is a song in celestial ears,
because it incarnates the humble creative activity in which his natural, personal gift is placed at the
service of—is sacrificed for—men and women.” This is how I try to view each facet of my own work
whether it is as a teacher, a scholar, or as an administrator—treating as much as possible each task I
undertake, from the smallest and quietest acts to the largest productions, as such a song. Some days, of
course, I am better than others at remaining true to that ideal. But, this is the approach I try to model and
inspire in others through both my words and actions.
Private Higher Education
The current landscape for private colleges and universities that depend on tuition dollars for much of their
revenue is challenging to say the least. Knowing the history of many institutions like Avila, however,
means knowing that it has always been challenging in one way or another. Creative fidelity has been our
mantra and will continue to be for as long as I can imagine. Avila like many similar schools has no doubt
had to adapt and adjust to the changing marketplace with new academic offerings, with creative pedagogy
and with innovative enrollment and retention strategies. The future will hold more of that for all of us.
During my time as Provost, I have been on the front lines of that change and led a number of initiatives
resulting in the creation of 15 new majors, minors and programs in the last three years. We have also had
to make some tough decisions about where to invest less and to reallocate resources for the greater good.
None of this is easy, but I have discovered that a firm dedication to an inclusive, transparent and honest
process makes it possible to do difficult work well. Additionally, we have developed and widely shared
relevant data and numbers with the campus community so that we all have access to the kinds of
information needed to be fully cognizant participants in the conversations at hand.
The good news, however, is that despite the myriad challenges and seemingly endless talk of “crisis,” we
are still here and still performing a vital and sacred service to the students, families and communities we
serve. While we are struggling with our “business model,” we are not in most cases struggling with our
quality. The teacher-scholars and staff I have worked with at a number of institutions remain dedicated
and hardworking and the levels of satisfaction and the accomplishments of our students remains
incredibly high. If I had to choose between a weak “product” and strong business model and a
problematic business model and a strong and sound product, it is an easy choice. I fully believe that if we
remain true to our missions and our values and produce educated, thoughtful, and caring men and women
that we will be able to solve our other problems as they come.
Financial Management and Strategic Planning
While most academics do not become professors because they want to spend a lot of time worrying about
finance, this is now an extremely important part of the job and I have had to become well versed in this
aspect of academic administration. Just as we have come to know that enrollment and retention is
everyone’s responsibility, we have all had to become junior-CFO’s to do our work. As the saying goes,
without market and margin there can be no mission. However, if we abdicate our mission there is no
reason to be in the marketplace to begin with. This is why mission-centric strategic planning is critical to
our long-term success and proper stewardship of scarce resources. Such work begins with a thorough and
detailed analysis of what we have, how we spend it, why we spend it the way we do, and then asking
whether or not those things are all consistent with one another. In other words, we should not spend what
we do not have, we should know exactly what we are getting for our money, and we should be able to
explain why spending on this or that is good for the institution and consistent with its mission, values and
identity. Where there are gaps, we need to move as quickly as feasible to align those three elements
without doing greater damage in the process. Beyond this, we then need to engage the full membership of
the community to the extent possible in a process of looking forward and setting realistic priorities that
will guide decision making about resource allocation. We then need to assess whether the decisions and
choices we make have worked the way we intended or not. In the Catholic social tradition the basic
formula was Think—Judge—Act—Reflect. While it looks simple, such a process needs to be intentional
and done with discipline and constancy to be effective. In my various roles, I have engaged in work like
this in a number of ways.
At Wittenberg, using a highly inclusive process, we have produced a strategic planning and academic
initiative document laying out the goals and objects for the academic and co-curricular programs for the
next 3-5 years. The theme of the document is “the liberal arts: for the world of work and the work of the
world.” The working title is Reflection and Reform for Realization: A Shared Vision and Agenda for the
Academic Program 2012-2017.
Enrollment and Student Success
As alluded to above, the key drivers of our ability to fulfill our mission come in the form of stable and
increasing enrollments and the retention and graduation of our students. Since my time as a department
chair at the University of Dayton, I have worked extensively with enrollment management and
admissions in helping build strategy, set goals and targets, and in discussions about branding and
marketing. I have also traveled widely to meet and speak with prospective students and families for many
years. This has involved working big rooms of 400 as well as living rooms with 3 people. During my time
as Provost I have remained intimately involved with enrollment and admissions as well as helping
marshal the faculty to do significant outreach and promotion themselves.
Of course, bringing students in is only the first step. Once we have, I believe that we have entered into a
covenant with them and their families. While we cannot guarantee success, I believe we are morally
required to create the greatest possibility we can for those students to persist, flourish, graduate, and find
meaningful work. Like enrollment, retention has moved to the forefront of many university’s agendas for
what should be obvious practical reasons as well as ethical ones. At Wittenberg, I have moved financial
and human resources into student success initiatives and helped create a more robust division of academic
services. This has meant the creation of strong early alert systems based on data driven modeling and the
formation of early intervention programs. We have also made great strides in exploring pedagogical
changes that respond to newer learning styles. While many of these efforts are relatively new, we have
already seen an increase in retention and reductions of failure rates in traditionally high D, F, and W
courses where faculty have piloted new approaches to learning and evaluation. Recently, we were
awarded a significant grant to hire additional student success coaches based in large measure on the work
and results we have already produced. As such, I firmly believe that our progress in this area will continue
to increase.
Additionally, this shift has meant that we have had to bring the curricular and the co-curricular sides of
the house into conversation and partnership with each other in more intentional ways than ever before.
Though there are a number of examples of this, two deserve mention. First, our Center for Student
Success is co-directed by an Associate Provost and the Associate Dean of Students who work together on
education programs for faculty and students, on developmental advising models and a number of other
key areas geared toward retention and completion. A second example comes in the form of our new First
Year Program in which each advising section for new students is co-taught by a member of the faculty, a
member from Student Development and another member of the professional staff, as well as utilizing
peer-mentors.
A dimension of this position that I also find very exciting is the return to a university with significant
graduate programs. At Duquesne, there were seven Ph.D. programs and eleven Master’s programs in the
College and I served as Graduate Dean as well as Dean of the College. The vibrant conversations and
intellectual engagement that these programs brought to the campus was palpable and deeply enriching.
The current programs at Avila in areas like Business and Nursing provide exactly the sort of continuing
education needed to meet the demands of the current economy and returning students and I would work
with the faculty to enhance and expand on those as the VPPA.
Curriculum
As important and essential as each of the areas mentioned above are for securing the institution and its
mission, it is the curriculum itself where the mission and vision of a university is embodied and made
manifest. While primary control of this part of the university resides with its faculty, it is crucial that like
the other aspects that we ask the right questions and have good reasons for the choices we make
concerning what we teach and how we teach. For many years now I have worked in the trenches of
curriculum development. I have done this in my discipline, but more importantly, I have done this work at
the level of what is called general education or the core. For a university like what I believe Avila is, it is
imperative to start with the broad questions of who we want to help our students to become, what we
believe they should be able to do, and most importantly what values do we want them to live out in their
lives. To be clear, I am not talking about education as indoctrination, but I am also not talking about a
world in which everything is treated as just another choice. Boldly what I mean would be something like
the following which I have adapted from a great mentor. When he was asked what as President would you
like our students, faculty and staff to be like he answered:
“I want them each to be people who are fully alive in God.”
“I want them to be builders and sustainers of community.”
“And, I want them to be forces in the world for service, justice, peace, beauty and truth.”
What he wants, I want. The question is how do we create learning outcomes and goals as well as
pedagogical strategies that will help realize that vision? This is tough work and I have been involved in it
for many years now. Perhaps my most important work on this front is only now coming to fruition at the
University of Dayton where a document that I helped author: Habits of Inquiry and Reflection with its
learning goals of Scholarship; Faith; Diversity; Community; Practical Wisdom; Critical Evaluation of
Our Times; and Vocation is now being implemented across the entire university.
Advancement and Mission
I understand and embrace the reality that the VPPA will be involved in fundraising for the university and
that this is a critical role. I have had significant success in this area in previous positions and believe that
I have a good grasp of how to approach this important work. During my time at Duquesne, for example, I
was responsible for one of the largest gifts from a living donor in the institution’s history that included the
creation of an Endowed Chair and the acquisition of an important center and library. While my current
President is the face of the institution and takes the lead in most of the serious fundraising at Wittenberg, I
have played supporting roles in a number of gifts. During my time as Chief Operating Officer, I spent
significant time on the road with our VP for Advancement cultivating important donors who have since
delivered millions of dollars to the institution for facilities, programs and centers. This is an area that I
believe I have the capacity to excel in given what I believe are transferable skills that I have used
extensively in recruiting across the country. I know how to tell an institution’s story in compelling and
enticing ways. I believe that this work revolves first around the institution’s mission and in the cultivation
of strong relationships and partnerships centered on nurturing alumna and friends of the school toward
investment in people, projects and programs that will strengthen, broaden and extend our capacity over
time to deliver on Avila’s promise and allow those donors to realize their own passion and purpose in the
process.
Conclusion
As important as the internal conversations at Avila would be to me if asked to serve, there is an even
larger conversation that I want to participate in concerning the nature, purpose and future of Catholic
higher education itself. I believe that Catholic higher education itself is at a crossroads. The two most
prominent models today are those universities who have more or less “secularized” and view their
missions in much the same way that many private schools and public universities see themselves. The
other model is more insular and for lack of a better term overtly “sectarian.” Personally, I would be more
at home in the former than the latter—but the truth is I am not truly at “home” in either. The question that
others have raised in conversations, I here take for myself, namely is there a “third way”? A way where
faith and reason, and theory and practice can co-exist symbiotically as part of a larger and fuller vision of
the world, knowledge, education and truth itself? A place, metaphorically, where we are neither asked to
sacrifice the heart to the head nor the head to the heart? It is this “third way” that as VPPA I would be
committed to giving form and substance to at Avila.
Finally, while I have tried to provide a full list of accomplishments and initiatives that I have participated
in during my career thus far in my vitae, I would like to suggest that if the three central roles of a faculty
member are teaching, research, and service I have performed quite solidly in each area. I have been
blessed along the way by supportive colleagues and administrators, as well as wonderful students. Since
starting my career in 1992, I have published two books, 23 refereed articles in professional journals, 13
book reviews, four book chapters, and presented numerous conference papers at professional meetings. I
have also published articles in Commonweal magazine and local newspapers. I am currently bringing my
third book tentatively titled: Radical Conversion: The Catholic Social Tradition and the American Liberal
State, to a conclusion with one more substantive chapter to write. During my nine years at
Mississippi State, I won two departmental teaching awards, three university-wide teaching awards, and
one national teaching award for innovation. In the area of service at MSU, I was responsible for the
creation of a highly successful and nationally visible unit to work with talented and service-oriented
students. That unit produced a number of Truman Scholars, Madison Scholars, Goldwater Scholars, and
three Rhodes finalists (last year the unit finally produced a Rhodes recipient). During my 25 years in the
academy I have always taught and continue to do so in my current role. I have missed only two semesters
in the classroom in all that time.
Throughout my career, I have participated at every level at full speed and worked in some way with every
possible university constituency from students to the presidents and board members of each university, to
deans, to faculty, to parents, government officials, alumni, the media, and so on. Typically with positive
and lasting results, and mutual respect. I believe that I know well how to work in an environment marked
by a plurality of individual and collective goals and objectives with diverse and passionate people. I have
strong organizational skills, and the ability (I hope) to communicate clearly, and above all, a love for what
we do.
To give a name to what I believe I bring to the table, it is the absolute awareness of, and the ability
through tireless effort to foster and nurture social capital and its formation; whether it is within a unit,
between units, in the wider university, or the community itself. I accomplish this in part by being the first
to arrive, the last to leave, and through a willingness to participate at whatever level I can be of service.
This means taking the lead when others won’t and knowing when to follow and promote those who are
better suited to a particular task than I. From my faith, I have learned that the first question should always
be “what is it you ask of me” and then push myself to be open to the possibility that it may not be what I
expected or even desired. It is that openness and willingness to serve that I believe gives us credibility
when we must ask others to do difficult and important things and when we must make tough choices.
In our tradition, we speak of educating the whole person—mind, spirit, and body—and of producing
servant leaders. This is a role that I have attempted to adopt myself and that I would seek to expand and
make more vivid and visible. For the record, I am a practicing Catholic whose deeper formation has been
greatly shaped by the charism of the Marianist brothers of the Society of Mary and the Daughters of Mary.
Thank you again for your consideration of my application and good luck with this critical decision.
Sincerely,
Christopher M. Duncan
Provost and Professor
23 September 2014
Curriculum Vitae
CHRISTOPHER M. DUNCAN
Work:
Wittenberg University
Recitation Hall
cduncan@wittenberg.edu
Phone: 937.207.1226
Home:
125 Ardmore Rd.
Springfield, OH
45504
Phone: 937.207.1226
Duncan6126@gmail.com
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT
2011- Present
Provost, Wittenberg University
Jan. 2012- July 2012
Chief Operating Officer, Wittenberg University2
2011- Present
Professor of Political Science, Wittenberg University
2009- 2011
Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts,
Duquesne University
2009-2011
Professor of Political Science, Duquesne University
2001- 2009
Professor and Chair of Political Science, University of Dayton
2
This was a temporary appointment held jointly with the Chief Financial Officer created by the Board of Directors until the
completion of our presidential search. The position was described by the Board as follows: Subject to the direction of the Chair
and Executive Committee of the Board, the COO has the power and authority to perform all administrative and managerial duties
necessary for the proper operation of the University heretofore vested in the office of President of the University. Those powers
and authorities shall include, but not be limited to, strategic planning; budgeting; tuition pricing; branding and marketing;
negotiating and executing contracts; employing, disciplining or terminating faculty and other employees; modifying the
compensation, benefits or other terms or conditions of employment of faculty and other employees; participation in faculty
governance (including matters of faculty tenure and promotion); investing University funds and acquiring or disposing of real
estate or other assets of the University.
1997 - 2001
Coordinator of Distinguished External Scholarships,
Mississippi State University
1997 - 2001
Associate Professor of Political Science, Mississippi State
University
1992-1997
Assistant Professor of Political Science, Mississippi State
University
EDUCATION
Ph.D. (Political Science [political theory])
M.A. (Political Science [political theory])
B.A. (Philosophy and Political Science)
Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
University of Michigan, Dearborn, Michigan
1992
1989
1987
ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS & SERVICE
Wittenberg University:
Provost
2011- Present
The provost’s position is a line position with responsibility for the day to day operations of the
educational enterprise of the university. This includes an extensive reporting structure that gives
the provost responsibility for 141 fulltime tenured or tenure-track faculty members, over 40
department chairs and program directors on the traditional academic side of the institution. There
are no traditional Deans. Additionally, the following offices and personnel ultimately report to
the provost: Athletics, First-Year Experience, Study Abroad, International Education, the Honors
Program, Community Service, Service Learning, Upward Bound, Career Services, the Library,
the Writing Center, the Math Workshop, the Oral Communication Center, the Foreign Language
Learning Center, the Registrar, the School for Community Education, the Wittenberg Series, the
International and East Asian Business Institute, the Office of Institutional Research. My
immediate staff includes two Associate Provosts and one Assistant Provost for Academic
Services. I am responsible for multiple budgets that total close to thirty-million dollars.
The provost serves on a number of standing committees including the President’s Cabinet, the
Educational Policies Committee, the Budget and Compensation Advisory Committee in addition
to overseeing both the hiring and the tenure and promotion processes. The range of duties and
responsibilities includes strategic planning, hiring, tenure and promotion, budgeting,
advancement and fund-raising, alumni relations, student recruitment and retention, course
scheduling and curriculum oversight, assessment, program review, accreditation, merit and
performance evaluation, space allocation, equipment maintenance, equipping classrooms and
overseeing student advisement. Additionally, the provost staffs the Board of Directors
Committee on Academic and Student Life as well as the Academic Program and Curriculum
Sub-Committee.
Initiatives and Accomplishments:
New Majors and Programs
Serving on the Educational Policies Committee, I worked directly with the faculty and students
on the committee and the various departments and faculty to form and gain passage from the
faculty as-a-whole for the following new majors, minors, and programs:
1. Accounting (Major)
2. Sports Management (Major/Minor)
3. Environmental Science (Major)
4. Marketing (Major)
5. Entrepreneurship (Major)
6. Management (Major)
7. Finance (Major)
8. Bachelors of Science in Nursing Completion Program (BSN degree/major)
9. Accounting Completion Program (Major)
10. Criminology Completion Program (Major)
11. Cinema Studies (Minor)
12. Archeology (Minor)
13. Creative Writing (Minor)
14. Graphic Design (concentration)
15. Exercise Science (Major/Minor in progress)
Nursing Pathways Program (1-2-1 w/Clark State Community College)
This innovative program/partnership created a “1-2-1” process whereby students entering
Wittenberg will simultaneously earn their BSN from Wittenberg and their RN from Clark State
Community College at the end of four years. This program allowed us to recruit traditional
Nursing students to Wittenberg immediately.
Year Experience Seminar
The Wittenberg First Year Seminars (FYS) were designed to meet the advising and transition
issues for first-year students. A noted “high impact” practice, the seminars meet during a
common hour each week across two semesters, led by a seminar team comprised of a faculty
advisor, a peer mentor, and a Student Development or professional staff member. Each seminar
carries one academic credit each semester, for a total of two credits. The seminars are linked to
fall semester first-year only ‘advising sections’ that 1) meet a General Education learning goal,
and 2) enroll 25 or fewer students. In the spring semester, the seminars continue to meet at the
same day and time. These seminars are associated with increased retention and better student
performance in the first-year.
Liberal Arts in Action: A Celebration of Learning
Began an annual (now two years old) alternative day of learning that involved student poster and
paper presentations, panel discussions, artistic exhibits and performances to showcase
undergraduate scholarship, research and creative work.
On-Line Education Initiatives
Exploring Implementation of Hybrid Learning Through Inter-Institutional Collaboration (funded
15k).
Along with three other schools (Alma College, Augustana College, and Kalamazoo College) we
received a planning grant from the Teagle Foundation. We were asked to apply for the planning
grant after our initial submission to the foundation was deemed promising but not yet fully
developed enough for a full grant. This planning grant funds a meeting of institutional
representatives to develop a full proposal for a multi-year project in response to the “Hybrid
Learning and the Residential Liberal Arts Experience” Request for Proposals. We intend to
build on these connections and create a new collaborative effort, beginning at a meeting in Fall
2014, that will integrate intra-institutional work by faculty and staff to develop four hybrid
courses, one at each institution, that will be taught through all four institutions.
Cross-Institutional Program/Course Sharing
I am working with our CIO and partnering with other private colleges in Ohio through the
Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio (AICUO) on this project. The
group’s purpose is: To expand academic and administrative collaboration across AICUO
member institutions and to combined resources to provide learning experiences for the students
being served.
Online Pilots at Wittenberg
Working with the Dean of the School of Community Education we have commissioned and are
in the process of piloting the first online courses offered at Wittenberg in the traditional
undergraduate program. These included three asynchronous and one synchronous courses
offered in the summer and fall terms of 2014.
Academic Program Restructuring and Reshaping
Due to persistent enrollment shortfalls and budgetary losses, I have had to undertake a campuswide process designed to reshape and resize the academic program and plot a future course that
is economically viable and sustainable. This process has been anchored around the theme of
mission, market, and margin. I have engaged the faculty through key committees, including the
Educational Policies Committee, the Faculty Executive Committee, and the Budget and
Compensation Advisory Committee extensively and secured significant buy-in across campus
for a plan moving forward. Despite very contentious issues, this process has remained both
highly civil and respectful, as well as producing genuine results.
Office of Student Success and Retention
In partnership with the Office of Student Development we have created a new Office of Student
Success and Retention. Jointly administered our goal is to provide the necessary advising,
mentoring and intervention and counseling strategies to increase the likelihood of student
persistence from matriculation to graduation and then through career planning and placement.
Great Lakes College Success Grant. We were awarded a this highly competitive grant to
improve the success and retention of students of color and those who are Pell-grant eligible
through the hiring and training of three academic success coaches/advisors. The award was for
$194,000 and we will begin implementation in Fall, 2014.
Integrated Planning and Budgeting Committee
A large committee co-chaired by the Provost and the CFO that includes numerous stakeholders
from each unit on campus, this committee’s tasked with creating the university’s budget,
planning and prioritizing resource allocations and fostering an ongoing strategic planning
process to sustain the university’s mission foster both innovation and long-term financial
stability.
Chief Financial Officer Search Chair 2013
The President asked me to lead the search for our new Chief Financial Officer and we concluded
a successful national search in November with an outstanding hire.
Academic Program Shared Vision Document
Using a highly inclusive process we have produced a strategic planning and academic initiative
document laying out the goals and objects for the academic and co-curricular programs for the
next 3-5 years. This is now completed and in use. The theme of the document is “the liberal arts:
for the world of work and work of the world.” Its title is Reflection and Reform for Realization:
A Shared Vision and Agenda for the Academic Program 2012-2017.
Productivity and Cost Analysis
We produced a highly useful and easily understood systematic analysis of departmental
productivity and costs over a five-year rolling average that allows us to make data driven
strategic decisions. This data has been shared across departments and units with complete
transparency in an attempt to make sure that we are all using similar categories and terminology
around the questions of workload and resource allocation. This document has been produced
annually now for three years.
Athletics Benchmarking and Productivity Analysis
We constructed a peer-group analysis using 39 similar institutions to measure the costs of
individual teams and sports by gender over-time to serve as an initial basis for strategic planning
and resource allocation decisions as well as to have proper measurements for conversations
around the issue of gender-equity and workload distribution. This level of quantification had
never been undertaken before at Wittenberg.
Annual Reports
We have adopted an annual reporting process and completed our first round of collection and
analysis for the first time in Wittenberg’s history. This information provides the qualitative
counterpart to the statistical and data driven analysis of the productivity and cost analysis so that
we can ensure that the larger mission of the institution is not usurped by simple market or margin
considerations.
Evaluation of General Education
We are now in the process of systematically analyzing the extensive general education program
to assess its costs and organizational validity to make sure that we are making sound curricular,
scheduling, and resource allocation decisions. This process follows on a series of curricular
mapping exercises and the revision of our stated learning outcomes.
Ohio Transfer Module and Articulation Agreements
Working with the faculty, we have managed to have the OTM adopted to make the recruitment
and matriculation of transfer students from Ohio state community colleges and universities to
Wittenberg as seamless as possible. In the wake of this we have now signed four articulation
agreements with the leading community colleges in the region.
3 + 2 Programs with Miami University
Working with the graduate school at Miami University of Ohio, we have signed an articulation
agreement that allows students from 10 departments/majors to be simultaneously accepted into
the undergraduate program at Wittenberg and the Master’s program at Miami University. They
can complete both degrees in five years under this agreement.
Bullock Math Academy
Working with the Department of Math and Computer Science and Advancement, we secured an
initial gift of 125k to create a center on campus to provide enhanced and integrated mathematics
education for local junior high school students and high school students in the local community.
Inter-Faith Worship Space
Created dedicated space on campus for inter-faith and multi-faith worship to facilitate the
religious practices of the non-majority faiths on campus.
Duquesne University:
Dean, College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
2009-2011
The Dean’s position is a line position with the responsibility for the day to day operation of the
College. At Duquesne, the College consists of eleven departments, four centers, and offers over
thirty different degrees including a number of master’s degrees and six separate Ph.D. programs.
The Dean of the College administers both the undergraduate programs and serves as the
Graduate Dean. There are 20 direct reports associated with the position and a multi-million
dollar set of budgets and funds that the Dean administers. The College is home to 1586
undergraduates and almost 700 hundred graduate students. There are 170 tenure or tenure-track
faculty members and close to 200 contingent faculty members in the College.
The range of duties and responsibilities includes strategic planning, hiring, tenure and promotion,
budgeting, advancement and fund-raising, alumni relations, student recruitment and retention,
course scheduling and curriculum oversight, assessment, program review, accreditation, merit
and performance evaluation, space allocation, equipment maintenance, equipping classrooms and
overseeing student advisement.
Initiatives and Accomplishments:
National Institute for Newman Studies Affiliation
Sought and negotiated a successful affiliation agreement between the National Institute for
Newman Studies and Duquesne University that resulted in a 2.5 million dollar gift to fund the
creation of a professorship in the College of Liberal Arts titled: The Chair for Newman Studies
and the Director of the National Institute for Newman Studies at Duquesne University, and a
permanent designation of the Institute as part of Duquesne University. Additionally, the
University now also overseas production of the Journal of Newman Studies.
Director of Healthcare Ethics
Actively recruited and hired Henk ten Have, MD, PhD (one of the leading Catholic bioethicists
in the world today) as the new Director and Professor of Healthcare Ethics. Have studied
medicine and philosophy at Leiden University, the Netherlands. He received his medical degree in
1976 from Leiden University and his philosophy degree in 1983. He worked as a researcher in the
Pathology Laboratory, University of Leiden (1976-1977), as a practicing physician in the
Municipal Health Services, City of Rotterdam (1978-1979), and as a Professor of Philosophy in the
Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Limburg, Maastricht (19821991). From 1991 he was a Professor of Medical Ethics and the Director of the Department of Ethics, Philosophy and History of Medicine in the University Medical Centre Nijmegen, the
Netherlands. In September 2003 he joined UNESCO as Director of the Division of Ethics of
Science and Technology. His published work includes 27 books and over 300 articles.
Justice Peace and the Integrity of Creation Program
The College in partnership with the Spiritans facilitated and housed a newly created program of
study for front-line workers in social justice ministries around the world. The program was
piloted in the summer of 2010 by three different religious communities from three countries,
including Zimbabwe, South Africa and India. Interest in the praxis based program has already
spread throughout the world.
African Studies Program
Drafted and gained approval from the President and Provost to begin a new program in African
Studies in order to better align the College with the mission of the university and the new
strategic plan. This included the creation of an endowed chair.
Young Alumni Mentoring Program
Working with the Young Alumni Association (those out of school ten years or less) we created a
mentoring program for first year students that linked them with an alum for the year in order to
ease the transition into college and hopefully aid in retention.
College Workload Policy
Conducted a year-long highly consultative and inclusive process and conversation across the
fulltime faculty to devise the first College Workload Policy. The policy was adopted at a meeting
of the full faculty by a margin of 91% to 9%.
Revised College Travel Policy
Through the reallocation of internal resources to encourage and facilitate greater faculty
productivity in the area of scholarship, funding was made available for up to a third of faculty
travel to present professional papers. This effectively raised all active department’s travel funds
by 33%. The results were faculty presentations in 22 states and 13 different countries and
increased levels of publication overall.
Created Department Chair Evaluation Policy
Formalized and quantified an evaluation policy and process designed to help Chairs in their
professional development and to provide feedback for improvement.
Academic Council 2009-2011
The academic council consists of the Provost, the Deans and the Associate Provosts and serves
as the primary decision making body for Academic Affairs at the University
Advisory Board Member for The Center for the Study of Catholic Social Thought 20092011
The Center is charged with encouraging research and teaching initiatives in the areas of Catholic
social thought and social justice. It sponsors conferences on relevant topics, provides grants for
faculty development, and brings noted and renown speakers to campus.
Advisory Board for Mission and Identity 2009-2011
The board is charged with providing advice and analysis to the University’s Vice-President for
Mission and identity regarding initiatives and policies related deepening, furthering, and
promoting the University’s mission and identity as Catholic and Spiritan university.
Advisory Board for The Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center 2009-2011
Duquesne holds one of the largest collections of phenomenological research materials in North
America. In addition to the library collections and physical space, the Center regularly hosts
visiting scholars, produces regular lectures and talks on related topics, and hosts an annual
international conference on select topics in the area of phenomenology broadly understood. The
advisory board chooses the Director, and approves all speakers, conference topics and helps
provide logistical support and guidance for long-term planning and acquisitions.
Academic Affairs University Strategic Plan Implementation Committee 2009-2011
Charged and chaired by the Provost, this committee was primarily a working group directed to
make recommendations to the President regarding the steps for implementing and realizing the
broad goals of the new university-wide strategic plan in the area of academic affairs.
Institutional Effectiveness Committee 2009-2011
Chaired by the Associate Provost, this committee was charged with overseeing the university’s
assessment process for the purpose of aligning that work with the requirements and policies of
our accrediting body.
University Graduate Council 2009-2011
The Dean of the College of Liberal Arts also serves as the Graduate Dean. As such, I sat on the
University-wide Graduate Council as the representative from the unit. We were charged with
reviewing and making policy recommendations regarding graduate education at the university.
First-Year Experience Conference 2010
Attended a five day conference devoted to the first-year experience and attended meetings and
workshops on deep learning, developmental programming, first-year experience courses,
learning communities, service learning, and student engagement and programming for social
justice.
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities Meeting 2010
A three day conference devoted to issues, trends and questions surrounding Catholic higher
education , curriculum, leadership, legal issues, and planning.
University of Dayton:
Chair, Department of Political Science
2001-2009
The Chair’s position is a line position with responsibility for the day to day operation of the
department, strategic and long range planning, management of the general fund budget and
various designated accounts, hiring, managing and evaluating faculty and staff, graduate
assistants, and part-time faculty, assigning merit and equity increases on an annual basis,
overseeing and participating in the continuous assessment of tenure-track faculty and the tenure
and promotion process, scheduling courses, assigning space, purchasing equipment and
maintaining and improving designated classroom space, monitoring and adjusting the curriculum,
representing the department to the upper administration, the community and the general public.
At Dayton, the Chair has constant interaction with current students, prospective students, parents
and alumni. The position also requires the continuation of classroom teaching and scholarship
along with other significant service responsibilities throughout the university and the community.
- Marianist Educational Associate 2006-2009
This is a select group of administrators, faculty, and staff who enter into a year-long process of
education, conversation, personal reflection, and discernment regarding the history, traditions,
and practices associated with Marianist higher education. At the conclusion of the formation
period, each member makes a personal commitment and agrees to serve the community by
witnessing and extending the missions and charism of the order in their role at the University and
in the wider community. During 2006-07, I also served on the MEA Leadership Team and
helped plan the entire year’s activities including weekly gatherings and monthly lunches, dinners
and reflection opportunities for the two cohorts.
-Chair, Search Committee for the Vice President of Student Development 2006-2007
The University of Dayton has an undergraduate population of just under seven-thousand and is
96% residential. When the current Vice-President announced his retirement, I was asked to lead
a 15 person search committee and conduct a national search to replace him. This involved the
creation of a job description, advertising strategy, the construction of databases and the
management of all nominations and arrangements for candidate evaluation, interviews and
selection. Logistically this means putting in place numerous processes for generating a large,
deep and diverse candidate pool, managing the initial dossier evaluation process, arranging and
conducting phone interviews, airport interviews, and multi-day campus interviews as well as the
subsequent evaluative process and recommendation phase of the search. The committee itself
decided not to utilize a search firm. This search resulted in the hire of our first choice candidate.
- Marianist Education Working Group 2005-2007
This appointed committee was comprised of faculty charged with addressing the curricular and
co-curricular implications of more intentionally addressing the question: What is a Marianist
education at the University of Dayton and how is that going to be manifested in the “formal” and
“lived” curriculum and practices of our students and faculty? The result of a two year process of
study, campus-wide engagement and conversation was the production of a highly regarded
document titled Habits of Inquiry and Reflection: A Report on Education in the Catholic and
Marianist Traditions at the University of Dayton (2006). The curriculum was eventually adopted
and has recently begun implementation.
- American Association of Colleges and Universities Meeting on Curricular Reform
Participated with my curriculum development team in a week-long series of lectures, workshops
and team-work at this meeting in Newport, Rhode Island May, 2005.
- University of Dayton Rector’s Council 2005-2009
Currently serving as an appointed member of the Rector’s Council. The council is charged with
aiding the Rector in his duties to strengthen and maintain the Catholic-Marianist identity,
charism, and character of the university, and engaging in various educational initiatives and
promotional efforts for the members of the university community and the public related to those
responsibilities.
- Hiring for Mission Retreat Team 2002-2009
Over six years I worked with a small faculty team led by Father James Heft, S.M. to conduct ten
separate hiring for mission retreats. These involved taking various groups of administrators and
faculty off campus for a two day retreat and conversation on mission-centered hiring.
- Enrollment Management Recruiting Team 2003-2009
Starting in the winter of 2003 I began traveling with the Enrollment Management Division of the
University to various states and cities where UD recruits prospective students. I have given over
twenty-five keynote addresses to well over a thousand students and parents and over a hundred
guidance counselors on the nature and benefits of a UD education in an effort to persuade
families to choose UD. These trips typical took an entire weekend and I did an average of four
presentations each winter term over a five year span in Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis,
Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Detroit, Rochester, Milwaukee, and elsewhere.
- University of Dayton Academic Senate 2006-2009
Elected as the social science representative to the Academic Senate, this position entailed serving
on the chief policy making body for the University in all areas related to the academic program,
faculty work-life, policies, programs, regulations and initiatives. Issues of note include, the
undergraduate curriculum revisions, tenure and promotion, post-tenure review, workload policy,
student honor code, and the academic calendar. I Chaired of the Academic Policy Committee
within the Senate.
- Chaminade Scholars Program 2003-2009
The Chaminade Scholars program was funded by a long-term grant from the Lilly Endowment to
support and create curricular and extra-curricular structures for students interested in pursuing
their education through the lens of vocation. Among the chief roles I played in the program was
as the creator and professor for the required Senior Year course: Christianity, Citizenship and
Society. I team-taught this course each Fall with Brother Raymond Fitz, S.M. past President of
the University of Dayton and currently the Ferree Professor of Social Justice. I also served
annually on the Scholar Selection and Interview Committee.
-Co-Creator of the Dayton Civic Scholars Program 2004-2009
This program awards stipends to a selective group of fifteen second-year students interested in
pursuing careers or graduate study in the social sciences with an emphasis on the issues and
questions facing urban America. These students are cohorted and take a series of course in
common as well as meeting with an advisor for monthly sessions of related interest.
- Truman Scholarship Program.
Successfully engaged the University with the Truman Foundation and served as Faculty
Representative for the prestigious national program. In the first year, the University of Dayton
had two students named Truman Finalists. In 2006, we nominated four exceptional young
women and produced two more Finalists and the university of Dayton’s first Truman Scholar,
Emily Nohner. In 2007, we had yet another finalist, Danielle Kusner.
-Marianist Universities Meeting Representative 2008
One of a select group from the University of Dayton asked to attend in participate in a four-day
strategic planning version of the Marianist Universities Meetings at the University of Dayton.
-Marianist Universities Meeting Representative 2006
Selected as one of twenty-five members of the University of Dayton team led by President Dan
Curran to the annual week-long meeting of the Marianist Universities at Chaminade University
in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Marianist Universities Meeting Planning Team 2005
Part of a nine person planning team to organize and produce the collective yearly meeting of the
three Marianist universities at the University of Dayton. The event draws over a hundred
participants and lasts through the bulk of a week.
-Marianist Universities Meeting Representative 2003
Selected as one of twenty-five members of the University of Dayton team led by President Dan
Curran to the annual week-long meeting of the Marianist Universities at Chaminade University
in Honolulu, Hawaii.
- “Marianist Studies Minor”
Member of a committee charged with exploring the curricular and theoretical issues of forming a
minor in Marianist studies and social transformation, 2003-05. Minor approved in 2005.
- Vice-President of Enrollment Management Search Committee 2003.
Member of a select committee of faculty and administrators who conducted a year-long search to
select the Vice President for Enrollment Management. The successful search resulted in the
hiring of the first African-American V.P. in Dayton’s history.
- Academic Affairs Committee 2002-2006
(Elected) Committee is charged with overseeing the development and approval of new courses,
programs, and programmatic changes in the College of Arts and Sciences.
- Gaudium Et Spes Commemorative Conference 2003
Conference Planning Committee that organized a national week-long conference of scholars and
students to commemorate this seminal papal encyclical’s 40th anniversary (Pastoral Constitution
of the Church in the Modern World).
- “Human Rights Week at UD” 2004-2009
Initiated and supported annual week long conferences involving a number of guest speakers,
performers, teach-ins, and research presentations by students. The first week culminated in an
academic conference on “The Challenges of Global Justice,’ that included scholars from around
the nation and international speakers including Thomas Pogge and Henry Shue. This group is
now primarily led by a group of dedicated undergraduates.
- Learn, Lead, and Serve
Appointed Member of Awards Committee charged with the evaluation and distribution of
research and project grants for undergraduates and their faculty mentors, 2001-2004.
-Criminal Justice Studies Director Search, 2005.
Internal search committee to select the Director for Criminal Justice.
- Roesch Endowed Chair in the Social Sciences 2002, 2006
Member of the Criteria & Selection Committee for the first holder of this newly created Chair.
Subsequently on the selection committee for the second holder of the Chair.
-Member of the Criminal Justice Studies Advisory Committee 2001-Present
-Member of the International Studies Advisory and Evaluation Committee 2002-2004
-Member of the International Studies Curricular Review Team 2004
Departmental Service:
- Recruiting and Hiring
Drafted position descriptions, actively recruited, and successfully hired eight new full-time
faculty members (including the first, second, third, and fourth women hired in over twenty years
and the first African-American man in such a position ever in the unit—though he subsequently
moved to Rutgers).
- Human Rights Study B.A.
Initiated the process and worked as the lead writer on a faculty team along with Dr. Mark
Ensalaco to create the first undergraduate degree in Human Rights Studies in the United States.
This liberal arts-grounded, pre-professional degree is both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary despite being housed in the Department. It includes core faculty and courses from
Communication, History, Languages, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Sociology,
Anthropology, and Social Work. It was approved unanimously by the Academic Affairs
Committee in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Board of Trustees in October of 2007. It
accepted its first class in the Fall of 2008.
- Masters of Public Administration Accreditation
Actively pursued and achieved permission and resources that allowed the department to seek
accreditation for its 40 year-old Masters in Public Administration Program from the National
Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) Subsequently, I was one
of two principal authors of the Self-Study. The Self-Study earned the department a site visit in
the Spring of 2007 and resulted in accreditation.
- Departmental Bylaws
Successfully undertook major revisions of the departmental bylaws, generated a departmental
tenure and promotion policy, created a comprehensive and transparent annual review process for
untenured and tenured faculty members, and aided in the formation of a peer-review process for
the evaluation of teaching with the unanimous consent of the members of the Department.
- Systematic Exit Interviews
Developed and implemented an exit interview protocol for departmental graduates and oversaw
the creation of a data base of our graduates for the purposes of assessment, strategic planning,
alumni relations and tracking tied to the results of those interviews and documents.
-Chair, MPA Director Search Committee, 2005.
Successfully conducted a national search for a senior scholar to administer the department’s 40
year-old Masters in Public Administration Program.
- Washington Internship Program
Successfully revamped the department’s Washington Internship Program and served as campus
liaison for the Washington Center. The department averaged between 10-20 students a year in
Washington, D.C. for an academic semester.
Community Service:
-Board Member for Catholic Central Schools in Springfield, Ohio (2014-present)
Catholic Central School is a private, Roman Catholic school in Springfield, Ohio. Part of the
Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Catholic Central provides education for grades PreK-12 at three
campuses.
- Board Member for the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Community Service and
Engagement (2011-present)
The Hagen Center is an endowed center at Wittenberg charged with delivering service and
service learning to the larger Springfield community. Additionally, the Center also houses our
required community service program that all Wittenberg undergraduates must complete as a
requirement for graduation.
- Holy Rosary Community School Project Facilitator 2007
Served as the facilitator of a two year conversation between Holy Rosary Catholic School, the
Mathile Foundation, Children’s Hospital, the YMCA, the Old North Dayton Community, Boston
College, and the University of Dayton to strategically plan and implement the Community
School model at Holy Rosary school.
- Raymond L. Fitz Center for Leadership in Community 2001-Present
Participated as a full team member in the in the area of curriculum development and as a
professor in the annual seminar offered under its direction in conjunction with the Department of
Political Science along with Brother Raymond Fitz, SM, Richard Ferguson (Executive Director),
and Don Vermillion. I also periodically represented the Center at various functions and
gatherings in the community and on campus as a speaker for service groups, and in leadership
programs run by the Center.
- Citylinks 2002-2004
Member of the Planning Committee and breakout session leader for the annual Conference:
Building Communities: Fresh Starts for the citizens and neighborhood associations of the City of
Dayton, Winter 2002. Planning committee for the Dayton Bus Tour for new Faculty, Fall 2002.
Planning Committee for the annual Citylinks conference: Dayton’s New Urban Leaders, Winter
2003 (this corresponded with the installation of Dr. Curran).
- Kids Vote
Organized the participation of over 100 students in the nationally recognized civic education &
community outreach program (Fall 2002, 2004).
COURSES TAUGHT
The Politics of Jesus: Christianity &
American Civic Engagement
Catholicism and American Civic Engagement
(Ph.D. Seminar in Religious Studies)
Catholic Social Teaching and American Public Policy
(Osher Life-Long Learning Institute, Spring 2007)
Christianity, Citizenship & Society
Seminar in the History of Western Political Theory (M.A.)
Seminar in Theories of Justice (M.A.)
Normative Analysis of American Public Policy (Ph.D.)
Ancient & Medieval Political Thought
American Political Thought
The American Legislative Process
Seminar: Leadership in Building Community (MPA)
Democracy: Theory and Practice
Ethics & Public Policy
Political Ideologies
American Government
Modern Political Theory
Irish Political Development (Dublin)
Intro to Political Theory
Law and Politics
Freshman Experience
The American Chief Executive
"A Constitutional Convention"
20th Century Political Thought
PUBLICATIONS
Books:
Duncan, Christopher M. 2000. Fugitive Theory: Political Theory, The Southern Agrarians, and
America. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Duncan, Christopher M. 1995. The Anti-Federalists and Early American Political Thought.
DeKalb, Illinois: Northern Illinois University Press.
Refereed Publications:
Duncan, Christopher M. 2012.“The Christian Right’s Postmodern Turn: Sometimes Satan Comes
as a Man of Peace.” Listening: A Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture Vol.
47 (1): 5-31.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2012. “Rejoinder to Jerome C. Foss’ ‘In Defense of Religious Freedom’.
Listening: A Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture Vol. 47 (1): 92-100.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2011. “Virtue and Vocation: Habits for the Journey.” Vital Speeches of
the Day (Dec.) Vol. LXXVII, no. 12: 414-19.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2010. “Into Africa.” Spiritan Horizons Issue 5, Fall: 58-68 (invited).
Duncan, Christopher M. 2008. “Catholicism, Poverty and The Pursuit of Happiness.” Journal of
Poverty: innovations on social, political &economic inequalities Vol. 12 (1): 1-28.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2007. “Community and the American Village on Paradise Drive.”
Public Voices Vol. IX, No. 2: 83-91.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2006. “Got Community?” Marianist Soundings Vol. 10, no. 2 (Spring)
pp. 3-16.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2004. “A Question for Richard Rorty.” The Review of Politics Vol. 66,
No. 3: 385-413.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2004. “Lincoln’s Theocentric Turn.” Politics and Policy Vol. 32, No. 3:
508-39.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2003. “Liberalism and the Challenge of Fight Club: Notes Towards an
American Theory of the Good Life.” disClosure: a journal of social theory #12: (in)civilities pp.
119-44.
Duncan, Christopher M. (with Diane B. Moore) 2003. “Catholic and Protestant Social Discourse
and the American Welfare State.” Journal of Poverty: innovations on social, political
&economic inequalities 7 (no. 3):57-83.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2002. “Christianity, Secularism, and the American Public Square.” The
McNeese Review 28-39.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2002 (with David Breaux, John Morris, and Denise Keller). “Welfare
Reform-- Mississippi Style: TANF and the Search for Accountability.” Public Administration
Review 62:86-97.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2001. “The Southern Agrarians, Progress, and the Tragic Voice.”
Politics and Policy 29:3-46.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2000. "The Blues Voice of Houston Baker, Jr. as Political Theory: An
(Other) AMERICAN Paradigm?" The New Political Science: A Journal of Politics and Culture
22: 231-48.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2000. “A Constitutional Convention.” Journal of the Art of Teaching
Vol. VII: 71-83.
Duncan, Christopher M. 1998. (with David Breaux, John Morris, and Denise Keller). “Blazing
the TANF Trail: The Southern Mind and the Politics of Welfare Reform in Mississippi,”
American Review of Politics 19: 175-89.
Duncan, Christopher M. 1995. "Civic Virtue and Self-Interest," American Political
Science Review 89: 147-151.
Duncan, Christopher M. 1995. "Democratic Posturing and Peculiar Liberalism: Leo Strauss, his
Students, and AMERICA," Southeastern Political Review 23: 281-311.
Duncan, Christopher M. 1994. "Men of a Different Faith: The Anti-Federalist Ideal in Early
American Political Thought," Polity 26: 387-415.
Duncan, Christopher M. 1990. "Plato’s Paradox? Guardians and Philosopher Kings," American
Political Science Review 84: 1317-1319.
Duncan, Christopher M. 1991-1992. "Tyrants and Witches in the American Cold War," The
Michigan Journal of Political Science 14: 1-17.
Book Chapters:
Duncan, Christopher M. (forthcoming, 2014). “Antifederalists” in Gibbons, Michael ed.
Encyclopedia of Political Thought (1500 words). Boston, MA: Wiley-Blackwell Pubs.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2010. “Presidents and Educational Reform” in Thomas Hunt, James
Carper, Thomas Lasley, II, C. Raisch eds. Encyclopedia of Educational Reform and Dissent Vol.
2, pp. 719-23. Sage Publications.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2005. “Anti-Federalist” in John P. Resch ed. Americans at War:
Society, Culture, and the Homefront Vol 1: 1500-1815. New York: Thomson Gale.
(encyclopedia).
Duncan, Christopher M. 2000. “To Privatization and Back: Welfare Reform Implementation in
Mississippi,” with David Breaux, John Morris, and Denise Keller in Sarah F. Liebschutz ed.
Managing Welfare Reform in Five States: The Challenge of Devolution. New York: Rockefeller
Institute Press.
Magazines:
Duncan, Christopher M. 2011. “Dropped Call,” Commonweal (November 4, p.30).
Duncan, Christopher M. 2009. “Pulling Punches,” Commonweal (April 24, p.31).
Duncan, Christopher M. 2006. “Faith-based Candidates: No Shortage in Ohio,” Commonweal
(Sept. 22, 2006, pp.10-11).
Duncan, Christopher M. 2005. “Conscientious Objector,” Commonweal (Aug. 12, 2005, pp.1213).
Newspaper Editorials:
Duncan, Christopher M. 2003. “Sincerity Works to Bush’s Advantage.” Dayton Daily News
Thursday, March 13, A13.
Technical Reports:
Duncan, Christopher M. 1999. “Privatization and Welfare Reform Implementation in
Mississippi,” with David Breaux, John Morris, and Denise Keller. In Managing Welfare Reform:
Updates From Field Research in Five States. The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government,
The State University of New York.
Duncan, Christopher M. 1997. “State Capacity Study: The State of Mississippi,” with David
Breaux, John Morris, and Denise Keller. The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government,
The State University of New York.
Book Reviews:
Duncan, Christopher M. (forthcoming). Edmund Burke in America: The Contested Career of the
Father of Modern Conservatism (Cornell University Press). The Journal of American History.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2009. Democracy’s Prisoner: Eugene V. Debs, The Great War, and The
Right to Dissent. By Ernest Freeberg (Harvard University Press). The Review of Politics 71:51618.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2008. Welfare and Charity in the Antebellum South. By Timothy James
Lockley (University Press of Florida, 2007). The Journal of American History (Dec.) p. 48.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2003. Ratifying the Republic: Antifederalists and Federalists in
Constitutional Time. By David J. Siemers (Stanford University Press, 2002). The Review of
Politics 65:281-83.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2002. Calhoun and Popular Rule: The Political Theory of the
Disquisition and Discourse. By H. Lee Cheek, Jr. (University Press of Missouri, 2001).
American Political Science Review 96:609.
Duncan, Christopher M 2002. The Southern Agrarians and The New Deal: Essays after I’ll Take
My Stand. Edited by Emily S. Bingham and Thomas A. Underwood (University Press of
Virginia, 2001). Journal of Mississippi History.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2001. The Covenant Connection: From Federal Theology to Modern
Federalism. Edited by Daniel J. Elazar and John Kincaid (Lexington Books, 2000). American
Political Science Review 95:716-17.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2001. The Other Founders. By Saul Cornell (University of North
Carolina Press, 1999). The Review of Politics 63: 146-48.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2000. The Myth of Liberal Individualism. By Colin Bird (Cambridge
University Press, 1999). The Journal of Politics 62: 945-47.
Duncan, Christopher M. 2000. By Nature Equal: The Anatomy of a Western Insight. By John E.
Coons and Patrick M. Brennan (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999) Perspectives on
Political Science 29:117.
Duncan, Christopher M. 1999. Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence: Origins, Philosophy, &
Theology, by Allen Jayne (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1998). Perspectives on
Political Science (Winter) 28:56
Duncan, Christopher M. 1999. Unraveling the Right: The New Conservatism in American
Thought and Politics. Edited by Amy E. Ansell (Boulder: Westview Press, 1998) Perspectives
on Political Science (Summer) 28:157.
Duncan, Christopher M. 1997. Political Partisanship in the American Middle Colonies 17001776, by Benjamin H. Newcomb (Baton Rouge: Louisiana University Press, 1995, pp. 258)
Mississippi Journal of History.
Work in Progress:
Radical Conversion: The Catholic Social Tradition and the American Liberal State (a book
length manuscript).
Work on Review
“Hauerwas and the Hartz Thesis: Doing Post-Liberal Political Theology in the Land of the
Irrational Locke,” (Revise and Resubmit) Perspectives on Political Science.
Conference Papers and Posters:
“Program Prioritization: Reframing the Conversation,” presented at the Annual Meeting of the
Council of Independent Colleges Meeting for Chief Academic Officers in Pittsburgh, PA,
November 2013.
“Testing the Limits and Capacity of Shared Governance in a Time of Economic Turmoil:
Wittenberg University 2012-13 as a Case Study,” presented on a panel titled: Pressures on
Shared Governance at the Annual Annapolis Deans Meeting in Annapolis, MD, June 2013.
“Hauerwas and the Hartz Thesis: Doing Post-Liberal Political Theology in the Land of the
Irrational Locke,” presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science
Association in Boston, MA, August 2008.
“Sometimes Satan Comes as a Man of Peace: Religion’s Apostatic Bargain With Post-Modernity”
presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association in Philadelphia,
PA, August 2006.
“Catholicism, Poverty and The Pursuit of Happiness.” Presented at A Symposium on Religious
Perceptions of Poverty and Welfare Policy at Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of
Religion in Cincinnati, OH, May 7-9, 2005.
“Community and Culture: Reflections form Contemporary Resources.” Presented at the Annual
Meeting of Marianist Universities at the University of Dayton in Dayton, OH, June 6-9, 2005.
“Unreliable Allies: Catholics, Catholic Social Teaching and the American Left.” Presented at the
Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association in Philadelphia, PA, August 2003.
“The Historical Development of the Concept of Political Culture.” Presented at the Annual
Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association in Savannah, GA, November 2002.
“A Tale of Two Critics: Dorothy Day, Michael Harrington and the Catholicism of the American
Left.” (poster) Presented at the Annual Meeting of The American Political Science Association
in Boston, MA August 2002.
“A Question for Richard Rorty.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of The American Political
Science Association in San Francisco, CA, August 2001.
“Communalism in Antifederalist Thought.” Presented at a conference sponsored by German
Historical Institute titled: “Grassroots Democracy? A Comparative History of Communities and
State Building in New England and Germany, 16th-19th Centuries.” Washington, D.C. Feb.
2001 (invited/funded).
Explaining Variation in Welfare Reform Across The Fifty American States: The Utility of
Political Culture,” with David Breaux and John Morris. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the
Southern Political Science Association in Atlanta, GA November 2000.
“Welfare Policy in Southern States,” with David Breaux and John Morris. Presented at the
Citadel Symposium on Southern Politics in Charleston, SC March 2000.
“Catholic and Protestant Social Discourse and the American Welfare State” with Diane Moore.
Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western Political Science Association in San Jose, CA
March 2000.
“Apostolic Politics in Tocqueville’s America: Orestes Brownson and American Political
Thought.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association in
Savannah, GA 1999.
“The Correlates of Welfare Policy: A Comparative State Analysis,” with David Breaux and John
Morris. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association in
Savannah, GA 1999.
“The Holy Spirit in American Political Thought: An Introduction.” Presented at the Joint
Meeting of the Meeting of the Mississippi and Alabama Political Science Associations in
Jackson, MS 1999.
“Privatization and Personal Responsibility: Who’s Responsible?” with David Breaux, John
Morris, Denise Keller, and Byron Price. Presented at the Southeastern Conference on Public
Administration in Pensacola, FL 1999.
“The Holy Spirit in American Political Thought: An Introduction.” Presented at the Annual
Meeting of the American Political Science Association in Boston 1998.
“Welfare Reform-Mississippi Style: Administrative Politics and TANF,” with David Breaux,
John Morris, and Denise Keller. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Political
Science Association in Atlanta 1998.
“The Policy Implications of Rising Republicanism: Social Welfare Reform in the Deep South,”
with David Breaux, John Morris, and Denise Keller. Presented at The Citadel Symposium on
Southern Politics March 5-6, 1998, Charleston, SC
"Fugitive Theory: The Southern Agrarians, Progress, and the Tragic Voice," presented at the
annual meeting of the Southern Political Science Association in Atlanta, GA November 1996.
"Fugitive Theory: The Southern Agrarians, Progress, and the Tragic Voice," presented at the
American Political Science Association annual meeting in San Francisco, CA August 1996.
"An American Machiavellian Moment: The Rise of the ‘Social’ in the Era of Substantive Due
Process," presented at the annual meeting of the Western Political Science Association in San
Francisco, CA March 1996.
"Fugitive Politics and Jeffersonian Dreams: The Southern Agrarians in American Political
Thought," presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in New
York, NY August 1994.
"Fugitive Politics and Jeffersonian Dreams: The Southern Agrarians in American Political
Thought.” Presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association in
Chicago April 1994.
"SDS and Discourses of Public Happiness in American Political Thought.” Presented at the
American Political Science Association annual meeting in Washington, DC September 1993.
"Accidental Liberals: Leo Strauss, his Students and AMERICA," presented at the Midwest
Political Science Association annual meeting in Chicago, IL April 1993.
"Another Rational Voter," with Mary Herring, presented at the Southwestern Social Science
Association annual meeting in New Orleans, LA. March 1993.
"Last Man or Forgotten Man: The Straussians and the Question of AMERICA," presented at the
Mississippi Political Science Association annual meeting in Jackson, MS February 1993.
"Men of a Different Faith: The Anti-Federal Ideal in Early American Political Thought,"
presented at the American Political Science Association annual meeting in Chicago, IL.
September 1992.
"Another Rational Voter," with Mary Herring, presented at the Midwest Political Science
Association annual meeting in Chicago, IL. April 1992.
"The Blues Voice of Houston Baker, Jr. as Political Theory: An (Other) AMERICAN
Paradigm?" presented at the Midwest Political Science Association annual meeting in Chicago,
IL. April 1991.
"Tragedy and Community: Ancient and Modern," presented at the American Political Science
Association annual meeting in Washington, DC August 1991.
"Defending Democracy: The Role of Judicial Review," presented at the Michigan Academy of
Arts, Science, and Letters annual meeting in Ypsilanti, MI. 1991.
Other Conference Participation
Discussant on a panel titled: “Reconsidering the Foundations of Liberalism,” at the American
Political Science Association Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, August 2006.
Discussant on a panel titled: “American Institutions and the Management of Difference: Race,
Religion and Immigration,” at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting in
Philadelphia, PA 2003.
Roundtable Participant on Calhoun and Popular Rule: The Political Theory of the Disquisition
and Discourse. By H. Lee Cheek, Jr. At the Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science
Association in Savannah, GA November 2002.
Chair on a panel titled: “Interests and Domination” at the Annual Meeting of the Western
Political Science Association in Las Vegas, NV March 2001.
Chair and Discussant on a panel titled: “The Rhetoric of Slavery and Civil Rights in America,” at
the American Political Science Association annual meeting in Washington, D.C. 2000.
Participant in a Roundtable on Welfare Reform in Mississippi at the Joint Meeting of the
Meeting of the Mississippi and Alabama Political Science Associations in Jackson, MS 1999.
Discussant on panel titled: "Presidential Leadership and the Rule of Prudence," at the
Southwestern Social Science Association annual meeting in New Orleans, LA 1993.
Discussant on panel titled: "War in Modern Political Thought," at the Midwest Political Science
Association annual meeting in Chicago, IL April 1993.
Invited Lectures/Community Service:
“Don’t Forget About the Big Picture: The Quest for the Radical Ordinary,” address for the Ohio
Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators annual meeting. Columbus , Ohio
(December 2013).
“Christian Service and the Communitarian Imperative,” session for the R.A.P (service learning)
initiative at Wittenberg University. Springfield, OH (March 2013).
“Wittenberg Year One.” Address for the Springfield Kiwanis. Springfield, OH, June 26, 2012.
“Life is Not a Standardized Test,” Keynote Address for the 128th Annual Norris Pig Dinner for
the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Springfield, OH April 14, 2012.
“Virtue and Vocation: Habits for the Journey.” Convocation Address for Wittenberg University.
Springfield, OH. August 31, 2011.
“Knowledge, God and the Tragic Sensibility,” Duquesne University Keynote Address for the
Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium, March 30, 2011.
“Creative Fidelity and the Liberal Arts in A Catholic- Spiritan University,” Duquesne University
Dean’s Address, Fall 2010.
“Whose Excellence?”, Duquesne University Dean’s Address, Spring 2010.
“The Sacrament of Work,” Duquesne University Dean’s Address, Fall 2009.
“Sacramental Education, Philosophy’s Corpse, and the American University,” for Phi Kappa Phi
Induction Ceremony at Duquesne University. Pittsburgh, PA, March 28, 2010.
“Virtue and Vocation: Habits for the Journey,” for Communication and Rhetorical Honorary
Society at Duquesne University. Pittsburgh, PA, March 18, 2010.
“The Trinity and Human Rights,” for Catholic Internet Television. Dayton, OH, October 23,
2009. Recorded and available on the web in support of the Dayton Catholic Worker House.
On air guest on the presidential elections for the Scott Sloan Show on WLW 700 am which airs
in 38 states.
During the final weeks of the 2008 Presidential Campaign I was interviewed on television by
Nightline, Australian Public Broadcasting, Thailand Public Television, and The BBC. I also gave
numerous newspaper interviews and radio interviews for WYSO Public Broadcasting and
WMUB Public Broadcasting in Ohio.
On Election night 2008, I was on air at two local television stations, local ABC and CBS
affiliates in Dayton, OH.
“Politics: What are the Candidates Really Saying,” for the University of Dayton Black
Professional Association Brown-Bag Series, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, October 21,
2008.
“What’s What” with Michael Cole Radio Talk Show (AM 1580 WVKO, Columbus, OH). The
Republican National Convention.
Provided weekly on-air television commentary for Channel 22 (ABC) on the 2008 Presidential
Elections from August-November 2008 Dayton, OH.
“Catholics, Politics and Public Policy,” lecture for the Social Justice Committee, St. Charles
Parish, Kettering, Ohio, April 5, 2008.
“Catholics, Politics and Public Policy: A Guide for the Perplexed,” lecture at Incarnation church
in Centerville, OH, August 18, 2008.
“Forming Consciences for American Citizenship,” lecture at St. Luke’s church in Beavercreek,
OH, September 23, 2008.
“Catholics, Politics and Public Policy: A Guide for the Perplexed,” lecture at St. Susanna church
in Mason, OH, September 23, 2008
“Catholics, Politics and Public Policy: A Guide for the Perplexed,” lecture for the Osher Life
Long Learning Institute at the University of Dayton, OH, October 15, 2008.
“The 7th Commandment, Human Rights and Catholic Social Teaching” lecture for a panel at the
R.I.S.E. Symposium titled “Human Rights Are Everybody’s Business,” University of Dayton,
Dayton, OH, March 29, 2008.
“The 2008 Presidential Election: Candidates and Issues,” for the University of Dayton Black
Professional Association Brown-Bag Series, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, March 31, 2008.
The Mike Scinto Radio Talk Show (AM 1210 WDAO, Dayton). The 2008 Presidential Primaries.
On-Air commentator throughout the 2008 presidential primaries and general election for T.V.
Channel 7 (CBS).
“Pushing Bricks, Building Cathedrals and Stopping Hate: What’s Love Got to Do With It?”
Keynote Address for Stop Hate Week at the University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, September 28,
2006.
“The Perils and Possibilities of Christian Citizenship,” lecture for the Osher Lifelong Learning
Institute at the University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, June 14, 2006.
“Got Community? Liberalism, Catholicism, and The Search for Community in America,” The
College of Arts and Sciences 2006 Marianist Education Lecture, April 27, 2006 University of
Dayton, Dayton, OH.
“The Trinity and Human Rights,” lecture for Human Rights Week at UD, January 31, 2006,
University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.
“The Perils and Possibilities of Christian Citizenship,” Speech for the Third Friday Club of
Cleveland, OH, October 6, 2005.
Commentator for WYSO Program on Bush’s Plan for Victory in Iraq, with Valerie Edwards Dec.
2005.
Commentator for Radio Call-In Show: “The Bottom Line with Brian Ferra” Ann Arbor, MI, Nov.
2004.
During the 2004 Presidential Election I served as a weekly on-air commentator for Channel
22/45 (NBC/FOX) TV. On election night I served as the on-air “expert” for both stations.
During the Presidential Election I was widely quoted in the press on the campaign on issues
ranging from Ohio’s particular status and role to the electoral college to Catholics, religion and
voting. Many of these stories were reprinted in multiple outlets including European Stars and
Stripes, the Catholic News Service, the Dayton Daily news and so on.
“Learn, Lead and Serve: So What?” Invited Lecture for the Berry Scholars Summer Retreat,
University of Dayton, Dayton, OH July 8, 2004.
“The Lost Voices of American Political Discourse and the Tragic Sensibility,” Keynote Address
for the Omega MU Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha Induction Ceremony at Cedarville University,
Cedarville, OH April 15, 2004.
“Reflections on the Ministry and Martyrdom of Monsignor Oscar Romero,” University of
Dayton, Human Rights Romero Award Ceremony honoring Radhika Coomarasamy, Dayton, OH
February 27, 2004.
“Political Theory and Community,” presentation for the Dayton Early College High School,
Dayton, OH September 8, 2003.
“Learn, Lead and Serve: So What?” Invited Lecture for the Berry Scholars Summer Retreat,
University of Dayton, Dayton, OH July 8, 2003.
“Superpower Responsibility and the War in Iraq,” presentation for the Kettering Senior Citizens
Monthly Current Affairs Group. June 24, 2003.
“Health Care and Privacy in HIPAA” presentation for the Dayton League of Women Voters,
Sinclair Community College, September 18, 2002.
WHIO Interview (radio) “Representative Trafficant and Expulsion” Dayton, OH 2002
WHIO Interview (radio) “Treason.” Dayton, OH 2001.
WHIO Interview (radio) “The President’s War Powers.” Dayton, OH 2001
“Social Capital,” two lectures for the course Leadership in Community taught by Brother
Raymond Fitz, University of Dayton 2001.
“The Revolution and the Constitution,” presentation for the Sons of The American Revolution,
February 2001, Starkville, MS.
“Ethics, Honesty, and Professional Conduct,” presentation for the Graduate Teaching Assistant
Workshop at Mississippi State University, August 2000.
“The Politics Administration Dichotomy,” presentation to the State Executive Development
Institute sponsored by the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, May
2000 (with John Morris).
“The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” Daughters of the American Revolution
September 1999.
“TANF and Mississippi,” Starkville Religious Leadership Conference, 1998.
“Religious Diversity: Toleration or Conversion,” Freshman Experience Course 1997, 1998.
"Justice Thurgood Marshall: Always the Outsider, Always Defiant: A Response to Howard
Ball," paper presented as part of the Department of Political Science’s Stennis Lecture Series,
April, 1997.
"Democracy and the Post-Bureaucratic Paradigm," presentation to the State Executive
Development Institute sponsored by the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State
University, May 1997.
"Democracy and the Post-Bureaucratic Paradigm," presentation to the State Executive
Development Institute sponsored by the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State
University, May 1996.
"The Philosophical Roots of Fascism," Guest lecturer in Rick Travis’ Western European Politics
class Fall 1995.
“Religion, Politics and Voting.” Organized and moderated a public forum for over 400 students,
faculty and members of the local community (Fall 2004).
“Presidential Candidates and the Issues.” Moderated a public forum for over a hundred students
and faculty (Fall 2004).
“The Question of War with Iraq.” Organized and Chaired a public forum on for over 300
students and faculty (Fall 2002).
Enrollment Management Recruiting Addresses
2012-14
Keynote speaker for a number of regional receptions for students and parents to recruit the new
student class at Wittenberg. These events bring over five-hundred students and their parents to
various locations each year.
2008
In April I spoke to H.S. counselors from across the country in Dayton. I presented to over 400
students and parents in Chicago, IL (Jan. 27-29); over 50 students and parents in Indianapolis, IN
(Feb. 10).
2007
I spoke to National H.S. counselors, Dayton (March 27). I presented to over three-hundred
prospective students and parents in St. Louis, MO. (Jan. 20-21), over 100 students and parents in
Indianapolis, IN (Feb. 24-25); and close 100 prospective students in Rochester, NY (March 1718).
2005-06
I gave the keynote talk on recruiting a recruiting trip to Milwaukee, WI and then on campus to
H.S. counselors from all over the country. In 2006, I presented to over three-hundred prospective
students and parents in Chicago, IL (Jan.22-24). I presented to almost four-hundred prospects in
St. Louis, MO. (Feb 12th)
2004
I made four separate recruiting presentations for the University of Dayton in conjunction with
Enrollment Management including trips to Indianapolis, IN (Feb. 7-8); Rochester, NY (Feb. 2829); Detroit, MI (Feb 21-22) and at UD for Guidance Counselors (March 22nd).
2003
I made four separate recruiting presentations for the University in conjunction with Enrollment
Management including trips to Rochester, NY (Feb1-2); Washington, DC (April 5-6);
Indianapolis, IN (April 11-12); and at UD for Guidance Counselors (March 24th). These
presentations were for prospective students and parents.
AWARDS
“Virtue and Vocation: Habits for the Journey.” Was named the “Speech of the Week” by Vital
Speeches of the Day. Convocation Address for Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH, August
31, 2011.
The Associated Church Press 2009 Award of Excellence for “Pulling Punches,” Commonweal
(April 24, 2009, p.31) [Personal Experience/First-Person Account: Short Format].
Phi Alpha Delta Professor of the Year, 2002-03. University of Dayton.
First Annual Alumni Guest Scholar: Research Day at Wayne State University, April 10, 2003.
Mississippi State University Honors Professor of the Year, 2001.
Mississippi State University Alumni Association Upper-Division Teaching Award, 1999. Award
$1,000
Rowman and Littlefield Award for Innovation Teaching in Political Science. Honorable
Mention Citation, 1997.
Golden Key National Honor Society Outstanding Faculty Member of the Month (February 1998)
Lambda Sigma Teacher of the Month (November 1998).
Mississippi State University Department of Political Science Outstanding Professor of the Year,
1996-97.
Inducted into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, 1997.
Voted Mississippi State University Department of Political Science "Outstanding Lecturer" for
Graduate Teaching, 1997.
Nominated for Mississippi State Outstanding Humanist, 1996.
Mississippi State University John Grisham Faculty Excellence Award. Award $2,000.
Mississippi State University Department of Political Science Outstanding Professor of the Year,
1993-94.
Mortar Board Professor of Eminence at Mississippi State University, 1994
Member of Pi Sigma Alpha
GRANTS and CONTRACTS
The City of Dayton Community Block Grant program for a project called Edgenet—to fund the
existence of a computer training center located at the Edgemont Neighborhood Coalition in
Dayton, OH. $26,000.
The Stennis Center for Public Service Center for "State Capacity Study: Devolution and
Welfare," 1997. Funded at $31,520. With David Breaux, John Morris, and Denise Keller.
CRISS fund at Mississippi State University for "The Holy Spirit in American Political Thought,"
1996. Amount Requested $5,800. Funded.
Pew Evangelical Scholars Program for "The Holy Spirit in American Political Thought," 1996.
Amount Requested $35,000. Not Funded.
The Earhart Foundation for "Fugitive Politics and Jeffersonian Dreams," 1995. Amount
requested $8330. Not Funded.
Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation for "Fugitive Politics and Jeffersonian Dreams," 1994.
Amount Requested $13,315. Not funded.
National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend Program for project titled "Fugitive
Politics and Jeffersonian Dreams," Summer 1994. Amount requested $4,750. Not funded.
"A Proposal to Enhance the Student Computer Lab in the Department of Political Science," to
the Sanderson Fund for Excellence, with David Breaux. Fall 1992. Amount requested $17,708.
Not funded.
Mississippi State University Research Initiation Grant 1992-1993, Project Title: Communities of
Intellect in Twentieth Century American Political Thought," award: $5,910.
Mississippi State University
Coordinator, Distinguished External Scholarship Program
1997-2001
- Proposed and created the Office of Distinguished External Scholarships at Mississippi in which
I served as the first Coordinator with an administrative assistant and an initial budget of 100k.
- Began systematic early identification programs throughout the university, worked extensively
with students in the preparation of materials and in mock interviews, recruited faculty selection
and preparation committees, put on workshops, planned and hosted large scale events, and
participated in promotional and public relations activities regarding the program.
- In our first year of operation, we had a Truman Scholar and won a Truman Institutional Honor
Award (the other winners in 1998 included the University of Chicago, Columbia University,
Claremont, and Dartmouth), and nominated our full allotment of students for each scholarship
program as well.
- In our second year, we had two Truman Finalists and three Goldwater Scholars. (To put that
last item in context, prior to the institution of this program and my involvement, Mississippi
State had had only one Goldwater winner in its history). Only one other university in the nation
had three winners that year. Even more unique, however, was the fact that all three of our
winners were women-- a group traditionally under-represented in this scholarship competition.
- During the first three years we also had the first two Madison Memorial Fellowship winners
and the university’s first two Udall scholars, and had another young woman win a Goldwater.
Although we did not have a Rhodes Scholar, we did have two students make it to the state
interview for the first time and one was asked to go on to the national finals the second year out,
and the third year three of our four nominees were asked to interview at the state level.
- Among roles I played in the scholarship program was that of helping our students gain the sorts
of educational and service experiences outside of the classroom that would help them develop
and mature as both students and human beings. With my funds I managed to send students to
conferences, and helped them participate in service based learning experiences. I had one young
man placed on a classical dig about an hour outside of Jerusalem for the summer and another
working at a Rumanian orphanage for the summer. Other students have attended the Center for
the Study of the Presidency Conference in Washington, the Washington Internship Program, and
the Model United Nations programs in Atlanta and New York. In 1999 we had a student selected
to attend a conference at the Hague for two weeks and another was selected by the U.S.-Japan
Student Association to spend a semester at Sophia University in Japan.
SERVICE ACTIVITIES: Mississippi State University
- Faculty Representative, Mississippi State University Harry S. Truman Scholarship, Rhodes
Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship, Goldwater Scholarship, James Madison Fellowship 1997 present.
- Criss proposal Review Panel (internal competitive grant)
- Vice-President of Phi Kappa Phi 2000
- Schillig Scholarship Selection Committee 1999
- Faculty Senate of Mississippi State University (elected) 1994-1997; 1999- 2001
- Chair, Student Affairs Committee 2000-2001
- Ad hoc Committee on University Governance 1999
- Executive Committee
- Academic Affairs Committee
- Parliamentarian of the Senate 1999- 2000
- University Scholarship Committee 1999-2001
- Scholars Recognition Day Committee 1999-2001
- Alumni Service Award Selection Committee 1998.
- Graduate Student Association Outstanding T. A. Selection Committee 1996, 1997
- Student, Faculty, and Staff Organization Committee 1997-2000
- Mississippi State University Provost Search Committee (elected) 1998-99
- Phi Eta Sigma Scholarship Selection Committee 1998.
- Pew Higher Education Roundtable Participant for Mississippi State University, March 25-26,
1997 and April 26, 1997.
- Mississippi State University Harry S. Truman Scholarship Mock Interview Team, 1996.
- The Robert Belton Holland Memorial Faculty Senate (elected), 1994-1997.
-Academic Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate
- Internal Review Committee for the Department of Philosophy and Religion, 1997.
- Mississippi State University Teaching Evaluation Committee (elected), 1997 - 1998.
- CRISS Library Fund Screening Committee, 1997.
- Ad Hoc Committee on the University Value Statement, 1996-1997.
- Ad Hoc Committee on University Governance, 1996.
- Dean’s Advisory Council College of Arts and Sciences (elected), 1994.
- College of Arts and Sciences Colloquium Series Committee, 1994-1999.
-Chair 1998- 1999
- Ad Hoc Indirect Cost Committee, 1995.
- Inter-disciplinary Master’s Degree Committee, 1993 - 1995.
- Faculty Advisor for Delta Chi Fraternity, 1993-1996.
Departmental Service:
- Pi Sigma Alpha Coordinator, 1992 - 2001.
- Undergraduate Committee, 1992 - 2001.
- M.A. Committee, 1992 - 2001.
- Graduate Admissions Committee, 1992 - 2001.
- Ad Hoc Tenure and Promotion Revision Committee 1999 (Chair)
- Ad Hoc Committee on Public Policy Section Revision for the Ph.D. Program 1999
(Coordinator)
- Comparative Politics Search Committee, 1992
- Financial Awards Committee, 1992 - 2001.
- Department Head Search, 1995.
- Chair, Undergraduate Curriculum Revision Committee, 1995-96.
- Stennis Scholar Selection Committee, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
- Chair, Collins Scholar Selection Committee, 1996.
- Barbour Scholar Selection Committee, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
- Discovery Day Representative, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
2006 (Summer) University of Dayton Study Abroad Program in Dublin, Ireland. Served as site
coordinator and taught two courses for students at the site.
2005 (Summer) University of Dayton Study Abroad Program in Dublin, Ireland. Taught two
courses and participated in the overall programming for students at the site.
2004-05 Selected in a competitive process to participate in a year-long program titled Leadership
UD a university-wide leadership training and development program at the University of Dayton.
2004 Liberty Fund Conference on the American Constitutional Tradition, (invited participant)
Chattanooga, TN March 25-28.
2003 Participant in Collegium, a week-long retreat for faculty at Catholic universities to explore
the spiritual and intellectual traditions of Catholic higher education held at St. John’s University
in MN June 6-13.
2003 WYE Faculty Seminar: “Citizenship in the American Polity,” a national competitively
selected week long seminar for scholars interested in the question of civic engagement, education
and participation held at The Aspen Institute in Queenstown, MD July 26- August 1.
1996 "The Unpleasantness in the Colonies" Week-long seminar on the American Revolution at
Trinity College in Oxford, England titled sponsored by the University of Virginia Summer
Institute.
GRADUATE STUDENT COMMITTEES
Ph. D. Committees:
Maryl Roberts 2010. (Communication and Rhetoric) “Agrarian Movements and the Importance
of Ground within the Philosophy of Communication.” (minor professor).
Diane Moore (Political Science) minor professor
Mark Cheatham (History) minor professor
Denise Keller (Political Science) minor professor
M.A. Thesis:
Thesis Director for Mike Lee M. A. 2001. “Whatever Happened to the Tenth Amendment?”
Thesis Committee Member for Francis Corby (English) M.A. 2001. “Allen Tate: Embattled and
Unreconstructed.”
Thesis Director for Kim Hunt M.A. 1994 title: "James Madison and the State of Nature: A
Foundation of Government."
Minor Professor for Ray Mikell, Jr. M.A. 1999 title: “Cure for the Delta Blues? A Case Study of
the Mid-Delta Empowerment Zone, 1994-Present.”
Minor Professor for Andrew Wargo M.A. 1997 title: “Barriers to Social Policy Integration in the
European Union.”
Minor Professor for Ronita Malkani Smith M.A. 1996 title: "Does India Need a Universal Civil
Law?"
Non-Thesis:
Minor Professor for Dennis Dauphin M.A. 1999.
Major Professor for Nathan Mills M.A. 1998.
Minor Professor for Kelvin Owens M.A. 1997.
Minor Professor for Heather Emerson M.A. 1996.
Minor Professor for Gary Varsel M.A. 1995.
Major Professor for Kimberly Tuberville M.A. 1993.
Minor Professor for Michael Hess M.A. 1993.
Committee Member for Marcus Garner M.P.P.A. 1993 (Directed Research) titled: "Infill
Development: A Feasible Asset to Urban Renewal."
Senior Honors Thesis:
Director for Greg Calhoun B.A. 2008. “ Affirming Virtue: Christianity in the Public Square
Revisited.” University of Dayton.
Director for Christopher Gomillion B. A. 1999. “Variety and Vitality in Conservatism:
Disproving Perceptions of Simplicity.” Mississippi State University.
Committee Member for Matthew Allen B.A. 2000. “Competing State Strategies for the
Recruitment of International Industry: The Case for Mississippi.” Mississippi State University.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Reviewer, Journal of Violence Against Women, 2008
Reviewer, The Review of Politics, 2004
Editorial Review Board for The Journal of Poverty 2002-Present
Reviewer, American Journal of Political Science, 2002
Reviewer, American Political Science Review, 1990, 1991, 2000
Reviewer, Presidential Studies Quarterly 1999a, 1999b
Reviewer, The Journal of Politics, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000
Reviewer, Southeastern Political Review, 1995, 1996
Reviewer, Polity, 1993, 1994, 1995
Reviewer, Political Research Quarterly, 1993, 1994, 1995
Reviewer, American Government Text: The Play of Power, St. Martins Press, 1995
Proposal Reviewer, The Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education, 1995
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Lutheran Chief Academic Officers Group
Annapolis Deans Group
American Political Science Association
Religion and Politics Group
AVILA UNIVERSITY
VICE PRESIDENT for ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
NAME:
Christopher M. Duncan
CURRENT TITLE:
Provost (on sabbatical) FORMER TITLE: Dean of Liberal Arts
INSTITUTION: (current) Wittenberg University (former) Duquesne University
PHONE: Cell: 937-207-1226
Home:
Office:
EMAIL ADDRESS: cduncan@wittenberg.edu
How did you hear about this position? Higher Education Jobs online
What is/was the size of enrollment at your current and previous institutions
#
2000 UG /
40 GRAD (current position)
#
8000 UG /
3000 GRAD (previous position)
Staff size: 400 est. (current position) 2000 est. (previous position)
How many people are direct reports: 35 (current) 17 (previous)
Size of faculty: 141 (current position) 120+ (in the college) (previous position)
What is the budget of your institution:
$ 58 m (current)
What is the endowment:
$ 100m (current)
Do you sit on the President’s/CEO’s Cabinet/Council?
XX Yes
No
If not, to whom do you report (title)?
Have you had experience with the following programs? accelerated XX Yes
certificate XX Yes
No
online XX Yes
graduate XX Yes
No
degree completion XX Yes
UG
XX Yes
No
doctoral
Evening and professional studies
XX Yes
XX Ye s
No
No
No
No
No
Have you had experience with recruitment and retention? XX Yes
No
Extensive
Have you had experience with decisions on promotion, rank and tenure?
Extensive
Have you had experience with program development and assessment?
Extensive
Have you had experience with international programs?
Both as a professor abroad and in a supervisory capacity .
XX Yes
XX Yes
XX Yes
No
No
No
Have you had experience with:
Faculty evaluations? XX Yes
No
Faculty contracts?
No
XX Yes
Have you had a faculty appt?
XX Yes
No Rank:
Professor w/tenure
Are you responsible for building & spending of the budget? XX Yes
Have you done fundraising or grant writing for your institution?
No
XX Yes
No
Detailed in letter and vitae
What has been your role in strategic planning, accreditation and institutional assessment? I am
the
Chief Liaison Office for Accreditation. I have done strategic planning as both a leader and
participant. I oversee assessment and have done much work in this area.
What is your understanding of and/or experience with a private independent college with
undergraduate, graduate and accredited programs? I have significant experience in all areas as
detailed on my vitae.
How would you work for, support and advance the mission and traditions of a Catholic higher
education institution? I have been deeply involved for many years in questions around Catholic
higher education; I have taught undergraduate and graduate courses on Catholic Social Teaching,
and I have served as a lay Marianist.
What is your understanding of and/or experience with:
first generation college students? I was a first generation student. I have had extensive
experience at all my institutions with first-gen students.
international populations? I have worked with international students, but not extensively.
non-traditional students? I have worked quite bit with non-traditionals in various roles at
multiple institutions.
diverse populations? Wayne State University has the highest percentage of African American
students in the country outside of traditional HBCUs. I have worked with many different
students across variables of race, gender, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, nationality and
creeds.
What are your thoughts and experience with online and hybrid learning in today’s educational
market?
I believe that hybrid courses are part of the future in terms of “flipped class” pedagogy. I believe
that there is a place for online courses, but that they must be of high quality and not simply seen
as a solution to the revenue stream problems (which they are not).
What are the 3 most important faculty related issues across campuses today:
I am always nervous about generalizing re. large groups of people. The issues will often depend
on which faculty we are talking about, i.e., Tenured or untenured, early, mid or late career,
adjunct, lecturers etc. However, the following seem to be concerns that capture many of the
categories:
1. Having the resources needed to do their work well.
2. The lack of preparation for college level work of many of their students and the amount of
remediation they are often expected to do.
3. The growth of what we might call the “hidden workload” that has occurred as fulltime faculty
ranks have declined and the amount of service required for our institutions and student services
have grown.
What are the 3 most important student related issues across campuses today:
1. Without meaning to be overly dramatic there is a certain “soul-sickness” that has led to high
rates of drinking, drug use, and other forms of behavior that strike me as evidence of something
missing in their lives. Yet they remain incredibly pleasant people.
2. Clearly access and affordability remain high priority items for students.
3. A lack of preparedness for college level work in many cases.
4. Concerns over the ability to find work and especially meaningful work upon graduation.
What organizations have you or your institution been affiliated with that are not included on
your resume?
None that I can think of.
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