Duke faculty skeptical of the university’s plan for a China campus

Chronicle of Higher Education : Duke University is building a branch campus in Kunshan, a city of 1.6 million people in East China’s prosperous Jiangsu province. Although Kunshan is footing most of the bill, some members of Duke’s faculty are skeptical of the prospects for the joint venture. As the Chronicle‘s Ian Wilhelm reports, doubts have arisen about how Duke will pay for its share of the campus, given that the current recession has forced the university to trim its budget. Also in doubt is whether Duke Kunshan University, as the campus is known, will be able to attract both international faculty and elite Chinese students, who prefer to study in the West. Under the current plan, Duke Kunshan University will begin offering MBAs in 2012 followed by a comprehensive range of graduate and undergraduate degrees.