Higher Ground: Ethics and Leadership in the Modern University.

HIGHER GROUND: ETHICS AND LEADERSHIP IN THE MODERN UNIVERSITY By Nannerl O. Keohane Duke University Press, dukeupress.edu; 2006; 304 pp; $24.95

THINGS COULDN'T BE MORE CONTROVERSIAL for Durham, N.C.-based Duke. White members of the men's lacrosse team are being accused of raping a black woman from North Carolina Central University. An independent study of the incident accused Duke officials of failing to understand the gravity of the situation when the incident was first reported to police. The upshot has been non-stop media coverage that has surpassed any received by a higher ed sports scandal in recent memory.

Enter former Duke President Nannerl O. Keohane. Her writings on leadership--created during her 11 years in office--have been compiled into a new book that, while not being able to calm the waters, will remind higher ed leaders about the importance of mission and decision-making.

While at Duke, Keohane launched the Women's Initiative, which reported on the stress for Duke's young women to be perfect--academically outstanding, fashionable, and attractive. This research, along with the new developments, makes some passages in the book especially poignant.

Keohane is a former president of Wellesley Cortege (Mass.). She is currently a distinguished visiting professor at the University Center for Human Values at Princeton.