Duke Collaborations with HBCUs

The Duke Endowment Award to further Duke’s partnerships with Black colleges and universities

Mark Anthony Neal (Duke), Adriane Lentz-Smith (Duke) and Brandon Winford (University of Tennessee, Knoxville) panel the discussion “Durham, Duke, NCCU and Scholarship in the Jim Crow South” at a joint Duke-NCCU symposium honoring the legacy of John Hope Franklin.
Mark Anthony Neal (Duke), Adriane Lentz-Smith (Duke) and Brandon Winford (University of Tennessee, Knoxville) discuss “Durham, Duke, NCCU and Scholarship in the Jim Crow South” at a joint Duke-NCCU symposium honoring the legacy of John Hope Franklin.

Part of the historic $100 million award from The Duke Endowment will help strengthen Duke University’s long-standing ties with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The gift will support Duke graduate students from HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions.

This builds on several ongoing Duke efforts to collaborate with scholars at HBCUs, part of the university's strategic vision to advance bold thinkers and build partnerships that address community needs.

The Duke Endowment Award

$100 million gift is largest in university history

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That relationship was embodied in legendary historian John Hope Franklin, a N.C. Central University graduate who taught for many years at Duke. This fall, a two-day symposium honoring his life and work brought faculty from across the nation, with one day at Duke and the other at NCCU. One panel focused on “Durham, Duke, NCCU and the Jim Crow South" (pictured above.)

Duke also has a strong relationship with minority-serving institutions such as the University of Maryland at Baltimore County. Many of UMBC's prestigious Meyerhoff Scholars, such as Drs. Damon Tweedy and Kafui Dzirasa, are either Duke faculty members or currently studying in the university’s graduate and professional programs.

Read six stories about the people and the work behind this partnership.