Manoj Mohanan Named Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Programs

Manoj Mohanan has been appointed vice provost for interdisciplinary programs, effective July 1, Provost Alec D. Gallimore announced Wednesday. 

Mohanan is the Creed C. Black Professor of Public Policy and has served as interim dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy since 2024. He also holds faculty appointments in economics and global health. 

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“I am delighted that Manoj Mohanan has agreed to take on this important new academic leadership role,” Gallimore said. “As Sanford’s interim dean, Manoj has worked to foster interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching across the university, and his deep knowledge of and commitment to Duke’s uniquely collaborative intellectual culture will be great assets as we continue to advance this aspect of our academic mission. Manoj is a natural connector, and I look forward to the ways his creativity, energy, and collegial spirit will build bridges across this university.”  

Mohanan joined the Sanford faculty in 2011 and previously served as senior associate dean for faculty and research before being named interim dean. As interim dean, Mohanan led Sanford to implement faculty governance reforms, navigate the university’s strategic realignment and cost reduction process, and secure robust fundraising, including Sanford’s highest ever Annual Fund total last year.  

Mohanan has also served as a member of Duke’s Academic Council and the Executive Committee of the Academic Council (ECAC). 

“I am honored and deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve as Duke's next vice provost for interdisciplinary programs,” Mohanan said. “Duke has been my intellectual home for 17 years, and I have benefited enormously from the interdisciplinary environment built by previous generations of Duke faculty and leaders. I am excited to work with colleagues across our schools, institutes, centers, and initiatives to steward and extend interdisciplinary approaches to research, teaching, and public engagement.” 

Mohanan’s own academic trajectory exemplifies his interdisciplinary interests. After earning a medical degree from the University of Mumbai in India, Mohanan left medicine to enroll at Harvard University, where he earned a master’s degree in public health from the T.H. Chan School of Public Health and then a Ph.D. in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences interfaculty program in health policy, specializing in economics.

Today, as an applied microeconomist, Mohanan focuses on health and health care in developing countries, including measurement of provider quality and performance, performance-based contracts, and accountability. He has led field experiments and developed policy interventions, with many of his current projects based in India.

Mohanan has been the recipient of numerous research grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Gates Foundation and the World Bank. He is currently the principal investigator for a six-year research project, funded by the NIH, on “Consequences of COVID-19: A longitudinal study of child health and mitigating factors in India.” He serves as a standing member of the NIH study section on Population Dynamics and Health and has also advised the Wellcome Trust (UK) and the World Bank on a broad range of topics. 

Mohanan will succeed Ed Balleisen, who has served in the role since 2015. Balleisen was recently named provost and executive vice president of academic affairs of the George Washington University.

Mohanan’s appointment follows an internal search by a committee chaired by Lisa Gennetian, Pritzker Professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy. 

“Manoj Mohanan distinguished himself throughout the search with his intellectual breadth, collaborative leadership, and compelling vision for strengthening Duke’s interdisciplinary ecosystem,” Gennetian said. “The committee had the privilege of engaging with an exceptional group of candidates. Manoj stood out for his ability to bring people and ideas together across disciplines and sectors. We are excited about the strategic perspective he will bring to his role and the opportunities ahead for Duke’s future.”

As vice provost for interdisciplinary programs, Mohanan will report to the provost and be responsible for advancing interdisciplinary research, teaching, and external engagement, specifically supporting work that crosses the traditional boundaries of schools and units. He will have strategic oversight of Duke’s 11 institutes, initiatives and centers, which are university-wide interdisciplinary units that receive core funding from the Provost’s Office. 

He will also oversee Bass Connections, a signature Duke program that offers students opportunities to work alongside faculty in problem-based, interdisciplinary research teams across six main themes as well as “pop-up” areas. Through intensive summer programs, semester-long courses, and student research grants, graduate and undergraduate students are able to help address major global and local challenges and put their Duke education in service to society.

Mohanan will also develop and oversee strategic initiatives to support interdisciplinary research, teaching, and engagement across Duke, including managing internal seed grant opportunities to support interdisciplinary research and connections such as the Multi-year Interdisciplinary Hubs and Intellectual Community Planning Grants. 

Over the past 50 years, Duke has established a strong commitment to interdisciplinary research and teaching as a strategic priority for the university. The Office of the Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Activities was first created in 1993, following a 1988 report that identified the need for innovative and collaborative scholarship that crossed traditional departmental boundaries. 

In 2025, Times Higher Education (THE) ranked Duke at No. 6 in the world for interdisciplinary science in its assessment of 911 institutions in 94 countries. Duke tied for first in the ranking’s “process” category in a nod to the university’s administrative structures that support interdisciplinary inquiry, including seed grants, collaborative research centers and hubs, and project management. 

In June, Duke is hosting the Schmidt Interdisciplinary Science Summit 2026, which will bring the Schmidt Science Fellows together with interdisciplinary scientists from Duke and other institutions in North Carolina.