Duke University Announces Three New Trustees
The terms of the three new members began July 1.
Three new members joined the Duke University Board of Trustees on July 1, the university announced Monday.
Beginning a six-year term on the governing body is Jeffrey Vinik, founder of the Boston-based Vinik Asset Management. Vinik also owns the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning and the Arena Football League's Tampa Bay Storm, and is a minority owner of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox.
Prior to founding Vinik Asset Management, he managed Fidelity's Magellan Fund. He was named the "Portfolio Manager of the Year" by Morningstar in 1993 and by Mutual Fund Magazine in 1995.
Vinik received a bachelor's degree in engineering and economics from Duke in 1981, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1985. He was awarded Duke's Distinguished Young Alumni Award in 1994.
Vinik and his wife Penny have given generously to Duke and are also active in a number of charitable organizations in the Boston and Tampa Bay areas. They have four children, including Daniel Vinik, a member of Duke's Class of 2013.
Kaveh Danesh, the undergraduate young trustee, will serve one year as an observer and two years as a voting member.
A Seattle native, Danesh graduated from Duke in 2012 with a degree in mathematics and minors in English, philosophy, Chinese, chemistry and neuroscience. Starting in September, he will be a Fulbright Scholar in China, where he will apply mathematical models to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment in rural villages while writing about his experiences.
As an undergraduate, Danesh served two years as student government vice president for academic affairs and held positions on 15 strategic university committees, three of which he created to bridge the gap between students and faculty. He also served as a student member of the Academic Affairs committee of the Board of Trustees and as a member of the First-Year Advisory Counselor board.
Dr. Malik Burnett, originally from Montego Bay, Jamaica, was selected as a young trustee by the Graduate and Professional Student Council. He will serve as an observer for one year, then as a voting member for one year. He is currently a general surgery resident at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine.
Burnett earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Duke in 2007, with minors in philosophy and chemistry. As an undergraduate, Burnett served as president of Duke's Black Student Alliance and co-founded a student group that helped educate Durham middle and high school students culturally and academically.
He recently completed a five-year joint medical degree and MBA at Duke's School of Medicine and The Fuqua School of Business. During that time, he served as president of the Duke School of Medicine Class of 2011 for one year. He also has served as the graduate student representative on the university's annual fund executive committee and as a member of the Student Health Advisory Council.
The Board of Trustees is the governing body of the university, responsible for the school's educational mission and fiscal policies. It has 37 members.