Our Community Stories
Duke is fully invested in the future of Durham and everyone in it. We are proud to support the issues that matter most to our community, through decades-long partnerships with our neighbors, nonprofit organizations and more. Here are some of our stories.
A Celebration of School Days
The School Days event was created 25 years ago to encourage academically talented eighth-graders to attend college after high school. One alum looks back.
Read story.
Duke’s Hospital School Offers Normalcy to Kids
The school has provided instruction to young patients — from preschoolers to 12th graders — for nearly four decades. “Our goal is to keep that connection, to keep them learning, to keep them focused,” said Hospital School Principal Michael Somers.
Read story.
Durham Native Gets a Lifeline
Two years ago, a Duke doctor told Durham native Alfonzo Grafton he had stage 4 lung cancer, with a prognosis of two years to live. Then Grafton was offered a trial medication funded by a National Institutes of Health grant to the Duke Cancer Institute.
Read story.
Giving Back, the Duke Way
Before enrolling at Duke in 2023, Daya Brown went viral for being accepted to more than 50 colleges, with scholarship offers totaling more than $1 million. But it’s Brown’s community volunteering that has been invaluable – to both her and Durham.
Read story.
Partnership Fills a Health Care Gap
Durham Public Schools, Durham Tech, and Bloomberg Philanthropies joined Duke leaders last week in celebrating the new Durham Early College for Health Sciences. Students got hands-on practice with medical mobile health units.
Read story.
Making Home Ownership More Affordable in Durham
The Duke Centennial Habitat for Humanity house, in Durham’s Hayti District, is one of two built with Duke assistance in 2025 and just one example of how Duke and Durham teams have collaborated to create more affordable housing.
Read story.
A Day for Durham Heroes and Duke Football
The Durham Day football game Saturday in Wallace Wade Stadium is more than a competition. It’s also a time to celebrate Duke’s partnership with Durham and the service of local residents.
Read story.
The Heart of Community, Soul of Partnership
After 25 years leading Duke’s community efforts, Mayme Webb-Bledsoe leaves a legacy of building trust and fostering open communication.
Read story.
Community-Engaged Research
Duke scholars have been doing community-engaged research in local communities for decades. The new Duke Community Engagement Center aims to build on their work and put “a new level of investment and commitment behind that idea,” said Duke Provost Alec Gallimore.
Read story.
Durham’s Distinctive Black History
Duke celebrates African Americans’ historic achievements in Durham that were realized in concert with the university’s growth. The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company was founded in Durham in 1898 and was one of the first Black-owned insurance companies in the country.
Read story.
MLK Day of Service
Duke celebrated a Martin Luther King Day of Service, where students took part of a Unity Rally, the annual Rotary Club meal packing event and a backpacking event for local children experiencing homelessness.
Read story.
Building Stronger Community Partnerships
Community groups need a resource to connect with Duke programs. Duke faculty, staff and students need a way to connect with community groups. A new platform offers a way to serve both.
Read story.
The Wall Family Legacy
The dedication of the Wall Family Center for Student Life was more than a renaming of a campus building. It was an occasion for Duke and Walltown residents to celebrate the history of a predominently Black community that has enhanced life in Durham and at Duke.
Read story.