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$80 Million Gift From Duke Endowment Will Remake Duke’s Student Union, Other Landmark Facilities

Largest single philanthropic gift in Duke's history

Duke student Yi Zhang, Duke Endowment chair Neil Williams and Duke President Richard Brodhead share a light moment at the conclusion of an event announcing an $80 million gift to the university to renovate West Union, Page and Baldwin Auditoriums. Photo
Duke student Yi Zhang, Duke Endowment chair Neil Williams and Duke President Richard Brodhead share a light moment at the conclusion of an event announcing an $80 million gift to the university to renovate West Union, Page and Baldwin Auditoriums. Photo credit: Chris Hildreth

An $80 million gift from The Duke Endowment of Charlotte, N.C., will transform Duke University's student union and renovate two other landmark facilities that benefit the Duke and Durham communities, Endowment chairman Neil Williams announced Monday.

The grant from The Duke Endowment is the largest single philanthropic gift in the university's history and in the Endowment's 87 years. To be paid over multiple years, the grant will fund the first major renovation of West Union and Page Auditorium on the West Campus, and Baldwin Auditorium on the East Campus. All three buildings are part of the original campus construction that began following benefactor James B. Duke's creation of both the Endowment and the university in 1924.

"The Duke Endowment and Duke University have a shared history and a shared vision: to make this campus the most vibrant, compelling place for the most talented and ambitious students and faculty," Williams said. "We have a unique opportunity to renew these historic facilities so future generations of Duke students will be inspired to learn and create."

"The Duke Endowment has a history of supporting the very highest priorities of this university," said Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead. "A few years back, their generosity enabled the success of the Financial Aid Initiative, which makes a Duke education affordable to all. Their splendid new gift will allow us to transform Duke's central common spaces, creating rich new opportunities for community and engagement. All of us at Duke will benefit for decades to come from the gift announced today, which builds our momentum for even more ambitious fundraising efforts in the future."

West Union served as the principal student gathering and eating space for more than 50 years, until the opening of the Bryan Center in 1982. It will be completely remade on the interior to create new student social space and dining opportunities.

With its location at the center of Duke's main quadrangle, the new West Union will be a "Main Street" for students, faculty and visitors to campus. Together with more recent additions like the Bryan Center and The Plaza, the renovation will create a vibrant community space that draws students day and night.

"The Duke Endowment's gift will do so much to improve student life at Duke," said Duke senior Yi Zhang, president of the Duke University Union. "The gift will not only bring physical changes on campus, but I can also see it bringing a cultural change. As students utilize the improved venues as a common gathering place, their sense of community on campus will be strengthened.

"I'm extremely jealous that I'll have to wait for my reunion to see the new West Union, Page Auditorium and Baldwin Auditorium," Zhang added.

Located between West Union and the Duke Chapel, Page Auditorium is Duke's largest theater, with a capacity of 1,200 seats. It has been the site of thousands of performances and lectures since its opening in 1930 and has hosted presidents, some of the world's most recognized artists and musicians, and generations of student programs and performances. On Nov. 13, 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech in Page on the progress of the civil rights movement. The event drew a standing-room-only crowd, and others listened to the speech on loudspeakers placed outside the auditorium.

The planned renovation will update the interior, seating, acoustics, backstage and lobby spaces, creating a modern and accessible venue that accommodates the demand of student and cultural groups as well as professional concerts, theater and dance productions, and major speakers.

With its distinctive white dome, Baldwin Auditorium is the focal point of Duke's East Campus and the primary rehearsal and performance venue for numerous student ensembles, including the Duke Symphony Orchestra, the Duke Jazz Ensemble, the Duke Chorale, and the Duke Wind Symphony. The renovations, including acoustical improvements, new seats and other patron amenities, will make it the finest acoustic music venue at Duke, where student interest in music performance has increased dramatically in recent years.

The Duke Endowment is Duke University's largest private benefactor, supporting every part of the institution, including faculty development, scholarships, civic engagement and community outreach. In recent years, the Endowment has contributed $75 million toward Duke's successful Financial Aid Initiative, $50 million toward the construction of the new Learning Center for the School of Medicine and a new pediatric inpatient facility, and $15 million to create DukeEngage, which enables hundreds of Duke undergraduates to participate in immersive civic engagement opportunities over the course of a summer or semester away from Duke.

Construction work is expected to take place in phases beginning later in 2011 with Baldwin Auditorium. In the meantime, Duke officials are developing plans to provide dining services and relocate existing programs and activities during the renovations, which are expected to take several years.

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Named for the family of industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke, Duke University has received more than $1.2 billion from The Duke Endowment since 1924. Headquartered in Charlotte, The Duke Endowment seeks to fulfill the legacy of James B. Duke by improving lives and communities in the Carolinas through higher education, health care, children's services and rural churches. It is one of the nation's largest private foundations and the largest in the Southeast. In addition to Duke University, Mr. Duke directed support for Davidson College and Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina and Furman University in South Carolina.

For more information about The Duke Endowment, see http://www.dukeendowment.org/.