Duke Faculty Club Membership Open to Staff

Twice a week, Stephanie Alt Lamm works up a sweat at a fitness class at the Duke Faculty Club before heading to her office. In the afternoons, she returns to the club to pick up her daughter from tennis practice and son from summer camp. She's even pitched a tent on the lawn as part of the club's annual family campout.

"The Faculty Club is like a second home for our family," said Lamm, assistant director of the Master of International Development Policy Program at the Sanford School of Public Policy. "We take advantage of just about everything they offer, and we have made wonderful friends along the way."

The Duke Faculty Club, a private swim and tennis club tucked in the woods near the Washington Duke Inn, offers membership to all full-time staff and faculty of Duke University and Duke University Health System. Membership comes with access to 10 tennis courts, three outdoor swimming pools, junior swim and tennis teams, a game room, fitness classes, summer camps and monthly social events. 

Annual memberships are $695 for an individual or $910 for a family, which covers spouses or partners, children and anyone living with the employee at least six months of the year. In addition to the annual fee, each member pays a one-time $700 or $1,000 initiation fee. 

The club caters solely to the Duke community with 800 membership slots for employees and 100 for Duke alumni. 

"The strong tie to Duke provides a sense of community that is often missing at other clubs," said Eamonn Lanigan, club director. "We are all Blue Devils here."

In September, the club will begin renovating its 41-year-old facilities as part of a $6.2-million capital improvement project. Plans include a new clubhouse and fitness center, second lap pool, new playground, improved tennis courts and expanded patio, parking and play areas. The renovations should be complete by May 2014.

Scott Selig, member of the Duke Faculty Club board and Duke's associate vice president of Capital Assets and Real Estate, said the renovations will help the club continue as an important recruiting tool for the university.

"When new faculty and staff are considering coming to Duke, they want to know what recreation facilities there are for themselves and their families," Selig said. "The Duke Faculty Club gives them a lot of options and an almost instant community."