Duke Leaders Talk With Alumni About Relations With Durham
Richard Brodhead, Eugene Washington, Valerie Ashby, Phail Wynn and Sterly Wilder of Duke Alumni Affairs celebrate at . Photos by Duke Photography
Triangle-area alumni heard from some of Duke’s newest campus leaders, who joined President Richard H. Brodhead for a conversation on “Duke, Durham, and Beyond” from Thursday night at the Cotton Room in Durham's Golden Belt.
Dr. A. Eugene Washington, chancellor for health affairs and CEO of the Duke University Health System; Valerie Ashby, dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences; and Phail Wynn Jr., vice president for Durham and Regional Affairs, shared personal experiences and professional insights in a conversation that touched on education, health care, economic development and diversity and inclusion, and other topics.
The event grew out of the recommendations of the Duke Proceed Committee, which was formed to carry on the momentum from the yearlong 2013 commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the enrollment of the first black undergraduates at Duke. Through that effort, local alumni expressed interest in learning more about Duke’s changing relationship with Durham.
Wynn said that in recent years, Duke has gone from being an “invisible hand” in Durham to a more active, visible community partner. Today, more than 2,700 Duke employees work in one million square feet of leased space in downtown Durham—a critical mass that has helped to attract restaurants and other businesses to downtown. Wynn also described the role Duke plays in early childhood education, supporting the Durham Public Schools to improve early literacy.
A North Carolina native who lived in Durham for 12 years before joining Duke, Ashby shared how her father, a math teacher, fostered in her a love of math that eventually led her to study chemistry, and she reflected on her approach to cultivating excellence among faculty in the 32 departments she oversees.
Ashby also suggested that Duke, with its faculty experts in the many dimensions of race in America, its engaged student body, and its history in Durham, could be a national leader in addressing issues of diversity and inclusion.
Washington said he sees the health and well-being of the Durham community as an important priority for the Duke University Health System. His penchant for asking employees at random if he could walk with them to their offices led him on one walk that took him to the basement of Duke Hospital and eventually to the loading dock, where he saw firsthand the process of bringing linens, food and supplies into the hospital. He said the visit gave an appreciation for the coordinated teamwork required.
Below: President Brodhead answers a question during the discussion.
