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Blog
Sanford State of the School 2025
With orientations complete and classes in motion, Sanford students are stepping boldly into this year’s scholarly journey! I hope this season brings back fond memories of your own First Day of Classes at Duke.
Last week, it was a pleasure to present the Sanford State of the School 2025. In my presentation, I highlighted the many ways our faculty, staff, and students advanced the Sanford mission over the past 12 months. Even in a year marked by uncertainty, the Sanford community conducted remarkable research, taught and supported students, wrote influential articles, and hosted outstanding speakers, including Liz Cheney, Joy Buolamwini, and David Brooks. We remain an esteemed and top ranked public policy program at the undergraduate, graduate, and PhD levels.
It was easy to share examples of new heights and milestones reached by our Centers this year. A few examples include:
- Center for Child and Family Policy’s Child Policy Research Certificate Program graduated its largest cohort to date (22).
- DeWitt Wallace Center’s Journalism & Media minor graduated its largest class (30) in the program’s 20-year history.
- Hart Leadership launched the Laidlaw Scholars Research and Leadership Program, welcoming the first cohort of 25 scholars into this new, two-year leadership development sequence.
- World Food Policy Center produced 42 podcasts uplifting research on topics ranging from the microbiome to the history of food as a political tool to weight loss drugs.
Sanford amplified faculty research and scholarship via newsletters, social media, podcasts, news, media coverage and print pieces. For the academic year, there were more than 3,000 media clips featuring the Sanford school and faculty. Sanford also produced 14 episodes of Policy 360 on topics ranging from Greenland to the US Department of Education to civil discourse.
Every year brings change, but some of this year's changes hit particularly hard, including the loss of our co-founder, Joel Fleishman. As alumni well know, Joel’s contribution to the world of public policy and higher education broadly cannot be overstated, and we all remain the proud beneficiaries of his legacy.
Sanford’s resilience is evident. We have done our part in Duke’s strategic realignment. Now we are working together to define priorities, establish new processes, and step forward as a team. We do not need to solve every challenge in one leap. We need only to take the next step—and then to keep moving, together. We’ll continue to find innovations in teaching, research, administration and engagement that keep our work relevant and impactful. Our fluidity, our ability and willingness to keep going and to keep learning, is what defines the Sanford community.
The return of students brings new momentum to our steps. They have chosen Sanford to prepare for lives of service and leadership. Their decision is an act of hope- and a belief that better is possible.
So, we will meet their hope with our own persistence. With your help and counsel, we will focus on the next step—living our mission today, tomorrow, and each day after. Sanford’s strong alumni network is a critical part of helping our students realize their dreams—and in doing so, strengthen the possibility of a better future for all.
For highlights of the State of School, click here.
Warm Regards,
Interim Dean Manoj Mohanan, Sanford School of Public Policy