Allen Building Closed on Tuesday, April 5

The Allen Building will remain closed for normal business on Tuesday, April 5, due to the continuing occupation by student protestors.  Faculty who are scheduled to teach in the building will receive guidance from the Dean’s Office.  If you are scheduled to attend a class in the Allen Building, please check with your instructor.  All employees scheduled to work in the Allen Building have been reassigned to other locations and will stay in a fully compensated status.

Earlier today, the University issued the following statement regarding the current situation:

The Duke administration has worked very hard with the students who currently occupy the Allen Building to enable productive discussions, including providing amnesty to the nine students in the building and offering solutions to several of their demands.  So far, the students have met with President Brodhead, Provost Kornbluth, Vice President for Student Affairs Moneta, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Wasiolek and Dean and Vice Provost Nowicki, as well as faculty leaders.

The negotiations have continued today (Monday), and it has become clear that reaching agreement on all the remaining demands will require far more extensive conversation, likely to include other members of the Duke community.

Closing the Allen Building while these negotiations go on has presented a significant disruption to students, faculty, staff and visitors, and cannot continue indefinitely.  As a result, the university will only continue negotiations after the nine students voluntarily leave the Allen Building.

The university is committed to completing these negotiations and reaching a mutually agreeable resolution in a peaceful and productive way.