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TEDx Ideas Worth Spreading

April 2 conference puts a clock on Duke faculty to wow audience on their favorite topics

Sam Wells, Dean of Duke Chapel, regularly delivers compelling Sunday
sermons from the pulpit. On April 2, he's been given free rein to speak on a
topic of his choice, with the caveat that it cannot exceed 12 minutes.

Wells is participating in "Just Imagine," a university-wide Tedx
conference
in the Bryan Center's Griffith Theater.  It features selected Duke students and some professorial
stars including Mark Anthony Neal, an expert in African-American culture, and behavioral
economist Dan Ariely.

TEDx is a college version of the popular
TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) international conferences started by
the nonprofit Sapling Foundation to disseminate "ideas worth
spreading."

"The thing about TED is
that it brings people from so many disciplines and backgrounds together," said Chelsea
Ursaner
, the junior who started Duke's "Just Imagine" TEDx.  "It's really about the attendees. We're
going encourage people to mingle as much as possible. You discover things you
didn't think you were interested in."

The public and the larger Duke community are invited to the
conference, which will also include some musical performances and a step
show.  Each segment will be
streamed live.  Not only are the
talks a bit shorter than the TED conference - cut from 18 down to 12 minutes --
but the day is as well, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.  "The shorter length of the talks appeals to a large audience,
even if you might not read a book on quantum mechanics or take a class in it,"
Ursaner said.   

Ursaner, president of the Public Policy Majors Union, applied for a
TEDx license after hearing about the program last year. "I knew this was going
to catch on," she said. "It's important for Duke to do this because Duke is a
leader that has so much talent to showcase. It will be a unifying event across
the entire campus."

She then recruited other students to create a new student group,
replete with adviser Mike Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and
government relations. Half of the $20,000 budget will come from the Office of
Student Activities and Facilities. Organizers kept travel costs down by
inviting local speakers.

Matt
Nash, executive director of Duke's Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship
(CASE), said the TEDx format works well in university settings. CASE hosted a national TEDx conference on social entrepreneurship education in
February. The Ashoka U Exchange included prominent social entrepreneurs
and innovative educators from around the world and attracted more than 300
people from more than 75 universities.   

Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education, said
he hoped Ursaner's TEDx would become an annual event.  "Showcasing some of the interesting ideas of our
faculty and students in this format is a great idea," Nowicki said.
"Universities are all about building intellectual communities and TED talks
bring people together in creative ways both online and in person."