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Message from President Price and University Leadership Regarding Recent Events

Dear Duke Colleagues,

Over the past year, we have experienced a series of events that have been exhausting and hurtful for many, most recently students from China who were criticized for using their native tongue in a social space. These events are not restricted to one school or group – to a disturbing degree, they are widespread on our campus.

We are a community deeply committed to building an inclusive and welcoming environment for every member of the Duke family, regardless of their home, heritage, beliefs or language. So today, as academic leaders, we make a simple pledge:

First, we restate our commitment to the values embodied in Duke’s Statement of Diversity and Inclusion:

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Second, we emphatically affirm our promise to value the identities, heritage, cultures, and languages of every individual at Duke. Everyone at Duke deserves to be here.

Our excellence is built on the experiences and perspectives of each person, and all of us – leaders, students, faculty and staff – must hold ourselves accountable for strengthening this community so it lives up to its great promise.

Vincent E. Price
President

Sally Kornbluth
Provost
Eugene Washington
Chancellor for Health Affairs
Tallman Trask III
Executive Vice President
Richard Riddell
Senior Vice President and Secretary to the Board of Trustees

Kerry Abrams
James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke Dean, School of Law
Valerie Ashby
Dean, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences
Ravi Bellamkonda
Vinik Dean, Pratt School of Engineering
William Boulding
Dean, Fuqua School of Business
Marion Broome
Dean, School of Nursing & Vice Chancellor for Nursing Affairs
L. Gregory Jones
Dean, Divinity School
Judith Kelley
Dean, Sanford School of Public Policy
Mary E. Klotman
Dean, School of Medicine
Paula McClain
Dean, Graduate School/Vice Provost for Graduate Education
Toddi Steelman
Stanback Dean, Nicholas School of the Environment

Pamela J. Bernard
Vice President and General Counsel
Kyle Cavanaugh
Vice President for Administration
Tracy Futhey
Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
Leigh Goller
Chief Audit, Risk and Compliance Officer
Larry Moneta
Vice President for Student Affairs
John J. Noonan
Vice President for Facilities
Luke Powery
Dean, Duke Chapel
Benjamin Reese
Vice President, Office for Institutional Equity
Michael J. Schoenfeld
Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations
David L. Kennedy
Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development
Tim Walsh
Vice President for Finance and Treasurer
Kevin M. White
Vice President and Director of Athletics
Stelfanie Williams
Vice President for Durham Affairs

Edward Balleisen
Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies
Abbas Benmamoun
Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement
Gary Bennett
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
Lawrence Carin
Vice Provost for Research
Jennifer Francis
Executive Vice Provost
Deborah Jakubs
Vice Provost for Library Affairs
Scott Lindroth
Vice Provost for the Arts
James S. Roberts
Vice Provost