About

Graduate School Administration

Suzanne E. Barbour, PhD, Dean of The Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education

Scott Behm, MA, Associate Dean for Communications and Marketing

Shanna Fitzpatrick, MHA, MBA, Senior Associate Dean for Finance and Administration, Chief Financial Officer

John A. Klingensmith, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

Yan Li, PsyD, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs

Nicholas Alena, MS, Associate Dean for Graduate Admissions

Message from the Dean

Welcome to The Graduate School. Located in the Research Triangle (Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill), Duke stands in the center of a unique cultural environment that is rapidly evolving as a national hub for technological, educational, and research excellence. Students in The Graduate School collaborate with Duke peers, as well as colleagues at other universities, industry leaders, and others, enriching their educational experience and encouraging them to serve broader society outside of the walls of their classrooms and laboratories. The last several years have presented global, social, and academic challenges never before experienced, leading to significant changes in the educational landscape. Duke’s graduate students have risen to the occasion, leveraging their training to tackle the grand challenges that face our region, the nation, and the world.

Over the past year, my first as Dean of The Graduate School, I’ve immersed myself in Duke’s culture, formed connections with dedicated graduate faculty and staff, and worked on getting to know the amazing students enrolled in our programs. I will leverage this knowledge and these relationships to determine how I can best lead The Graduate School into the future. My emerging vision for The Graduate School is to provide a holistic graduate education that supports students through career development, mentoring, equitable and inclusive educational practices, and a strong focus on mental health and wellness that fosters resilience in the face of adversity. As the demographics of our student body shift to include more students from diverse backgrounds and those who are pursuing an increasingly diverse array of career paths, our policies, procedures, and institutional culture will have to change as well to ensure we both attract—and retain—a student body with diversity of thought, background, and culture.

In my short time here, I’ve learned that The Graduate School at Duke is a vibrant community and an international leader in graduate education. Our faculty and students are at the forefront of research and scholarship across the myriad disciplines represented in the School. The hallmark of graduate education at Duke is a rich blend of deep, specialized knowledge in a field of study, intersectional discovery in complementary fields, and a commitment to student health, wellness, engagement, and support. I can already say that I’m proud to be a part of such a community, and look forward to serving the students, faculty, and staff of this institution.

Suzanne E. Barbour, PhD
Dean of The Graduate School
Vice Provost for Graduate Education Duke University

Faculty

A full list of graduate faculty is maintained by The Graduate School here. Full profiles are available on Scholars@Duke.