November 3, 2000

How Nan Keohane Is Changing Duke

With a focus on building consensus, she is transforming the university

By Julianne Basinger

Nannerl O. Keohane, president of Duke University, jots down a few notes as she listens, with a forthright and assessing gaze, to a group of students who are talking over lunch about the institution's honor code. She laughs and talks easily as the group downs chicken sandwiches and iced tea.

She has come to seek their advice on how Duke should enforce the code. When one young woman talks about the dangers of forcing students to report on one another, Ms. Keohane breaks the tension with