Durham, NC - A Duke University program that promotes undergraduate education and research on business values and ethics has received a $1.75 million gift from the BB&T Charitable Foundation, Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead announced Tuesday.

The BB&T gift will support the university's Program on Values and Ethics in the Marketplace (VEM) for seven years. Specifically, the BB&T grant will provide funds for the Power of Ideas Focus Program, lecture series, visiting faculty and post-doctoral students who serve as mentors to undergraduates.

"Duke appreciates BB&T's generous support for a program that exposes students to the practical consequences of important ideas in ethics," Brodhead said. "Such support truly enriches the undergraduate experience."

VEM is part of Duke's Markets & Management Studies certificate program, an interdisciplinary, liberal arts approach to undergraduate business study. VEM offers courses on the images of business in 20th-century American literature, on U.S. history from 1790 to 1850, and on modern theories of the marketplace and its role in society's culture, among others. VEM's director is Gary Hull, a sociology instructor who for many years has taught philosophy and business ethics classes.

BB&T gave a $1 million gift to VEM in December 2002 and has made other contributions in the past to support the program.

"As a mission-driven organization guided by our own clearly defined set of values, we're proud to continue to support this worthwhile Duke University program," said BB&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Allison. "In life and in business, people will always benefit greatly from fundamental, unchanging principles to guide their actions."

Duke sociology professor Ken Spenner, director of the Markets & Management Studies program, said that "BB&T is now entering its 10th year of support for values and ethics education initiatives in the Markets & Management Studies Program. On behalf of Duke undergraduates, we deeply appreciate BB&T's continued support."