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A Decade of Milestones

Looking back at key university events from the past 10 years

Part of the A Decade at Duke Series
Duke University from above

Vincent E. Price Formally Installed as Duke's 10th President
 

President Price poses for an impromptu portrait in the Gothic Reading Room.

On October 5, 2017, the university celebrated the inauguration of Vincent Price as our 10th president. Members from all parts of our community — students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends — helped welcome President Price to the Duke community.

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DUKE CAMPAIGN RAISES $3.85 BILLION TO EMPOWER
SERVICE TO SOCIETY

 

Duke University from above

Duke Forward — the largest fundraising campaign in university history — concluded in 2017 after raising $3.85 billion over seven years. The comprehensive campaign benefitted all 10 of Duke’s graduate and undergraduate schools, Duke Athletics, Duke Libraries, Duke Health and a range of university-wide initiatives and programs. It transformed the physical campus and funded priorities such as financial aid, faculty development, research and patient care, and hands-on learning opportunities for students.

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SOFTBALL PLAYS FIRST GAME IN PROGRAM HISTORY

Duke Softball Stadium at sunset

On September 30, 2017, the Duke softball program welcomed NC State to Duke Softball Stadium for the first competition in program history. Duke — which held its first official full team practice September 16 — announced it was adding softball December 16, 2013, with head coach Marissa Young hired July 29, 2015. Ground was broken for Duke Softball Stadium on May 23, 2016. 

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SALLY KORNBLUTH NAMED UNIVERSITY PROVOST

Duke University Provost Sally Kornbluth meets with undergraduate students who are participating in Spring Breakthrough, which is a five-day seminar-style program taught by Duke faculty during the spring break holiday.

Sally Kornbluth, a prominent cell biologist with long experience leading academic programs, was named provost at Duke University in 2014. As the university's chief academic officer, Kornbluth has broad responsibility for leading Duke's schools and institutes, as well as admissions, financial aid, libraries, information technology and all other facets of the university's academic life.

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QUAD DEDICATION BRINGS JULIAN ABELE 'OUT OF THE SHADOWS'

The plaque making the Abele Quad on Duke's West Campus

To recognize the contributions of Julian Abele — the African-American architect of Duke's original campus — the university named the main quadrangle encompassing the original academic and residential buildings Abele Quad. Four generations of Abele family members joined the Duke community at a 2016 ceremony.

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EUGENE WASHINGTON BECOMES DUKE’S CHANCELLOR FOR HEALTH AFFAIRS

Dr. Eugene Washington, new Chancellor of Health Affairs/President and CEO of DUHS, relaxes at the Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center for Health Education after his welcome reception, Fri. Jan. 23, 2015
 

A. Eugene Washington, M.D., became Duke University’s chancellor for health affairs and the president and chief executive officer of the Duke University Health System in 2015. Washington oversees one of the world’s leading academic and health care systems, including Duke’s medical school, nursing school and extensive programs for patient care, biomedical research and community service.

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COMMEMORATING 50 YEARS OF BLACK STUDENTS AT DUKE

ene Kendall, Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke, and Nathaniel “Nat” White Jr., the three surviving members of the first five undergraduate students to integrate, attended their class reunion in April 2012. Photo by Les Todd.
 

Beginning in January 2013, the university launched a nine-month, university-wide commemoration to highlight the school's 50th anniversary of integration. A series of events highlighted the five African-American undergraduates who broke the color barrier in 1963, as well as the impact of other pioneering black faculty, staff and graduate students who have since helped make the university more inclusive.

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Duke University and Health System Surpasses 40,000 Employees

Few Tower aerial looking toward Chapel
 

Over the past 10 years, Duke University and Health System has added nearly 10,000 positions. With over 40,000 employees, Duke is the largest employer in Durham County and the state’s second-largest private employer. In the past two decades, Duke’s search for innovation and research space led to downtown Durham, where roughly 4,000 Duke staff and faculty now work in around 1.4 million square feet of leased space.

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