Duke Delays Kunshan Campus

The opening of Duke University’s campus in Kunshan, China has been delayed.

Dave DeWitt: Duke Kunshan is a partnership between Duke, the city of Kunshan, Wuhan University, and the Chinese Ministry of Education. It’s been a source of controversy on the Durham campus since it was first publicly proposed in 2009. Some faculty have complained that the plans have not been fully developed and that administrators have not been upfront about costs and issues like academic freedom. Now, delays in construction and in the review by the Chinese government have pushed the opening back to the fall of 2013. A conference center is expected to be the first facility to open on the six-building campus, with degree programs through the Fuqua School of Business opening later in the year. Duke officials say they will spend about $36 million on the Kunshan campus over the next six years.