From the Duke News Service

October 14, 1999

Norman L. Christensen Jr., founding dean of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, plans to step down from his leadership post at the end of his second five-year term in June 2001 and return to teaching and research, the foundation of his 26-year career at Duke.

Christensen, a professor of ecology whose scientific interests range from the Southeast coastal plains environment to radar mapping of forest ecosystems, confirmed his intentions in a letter to Provost Peter Lange. He said leading the Nicholas School during its first eight years has "provided the most exciting and rewarding years of my life."

"While I know there are many challenges to be met, I am proud of our accomplishments and know that this effort has not only added great value to Duke University, but also to my own life."

In his letter accepting Christensen's decision, Lange praised Christensen says: "You have been a strong dean and have guided the Nicholas School of the Environment with effectiveness through difficult shoals in its formative years to its present position as a leading center of multi-disciplinary study of environmental issues."

Christensen has served as dean of the school since July 1991, when, under his leadership, it was formed to unite and expand upon existing programs at Duke's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies on the university's main campus and the Duke Marine Laboratory in coastal Beaufort.

In 1994, the school relocated to the new Levine Science Research Center, an $80-million facility specifically designed to encourage interdisciplinary research and learning.

The school was formally named the Nicholas School of the Environment in 1995 by the university's board of trustees following a $20 million gift from the family of Boston business executive and Duke trustee Peter M. Nicholas.

"In less than a decade, the Nicholas School has emerged as one of the jewels in Duke's crown and much of the credit for its initial success is a function of Norm's steady, guiding hand and ability to bring faculty, students, alumni, NSOE's Board of Visitors and central administration colleagues and the Board of Trustees together around a common vision," Lange said in a letter to the school's Board of Visitors officially informing them of Christensen's decision.

Christensen came to Duke in 1973 as an assistant professor in the department of botany after receiving his Ph.D. in biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Before becoming dean, he served as professor and chairman of the university's botany department.

Christensen has also been chairman of a National Academy of Sciences committee on environmental issues in forest management in the Pacific Northwest. In 1997, he was appointed by President Clinton to the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. In addition, he led an Ecological Society of America committee on ecosystem management, and has served on a number of other scientific panels.

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