Message from President Price Regarding Synagogue Shooting; Flags Lowered on Campus

Dear Duke Colleagues:

The terrible mass murder in Pittsburgh – a senseless and heinous attack on Jewish men, women and children in a house of worship – leaves us all horrified.  Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those who have felt the impact, particularly members of the Jewish community and those with family and friends in Pittsburgh.

At this time of such sorrow and pain, let us reach out to support those in need.  I encourage anyone in distress to contact our counseling and mental health professionals, who will be on call throughout this difficult time.

Let us also resolve to find ways to end this scourge of hatred.  Our nation, like our university, finds great strength in our rich diversity. We are proud that our community encompasses individuals of many faiths, backgrounds, races, sexual orientations and creeds who come together to live with, learn from, and support each other. These abhorrent attacks, sadly so frequent in our divisive world, strain but cannot be allowed to break these bonds of community.  Now is the time to connect ever more tightly through our common humanity, and for each of us to live it daily through empathy, compassion, understanding and mutual respect.

Vincent E. Price

President