Driven to Personalize Duke Pride in Up To Eight Characters

Staff and faculty turn vehicle license plates into tributes to careers, basketball and family legacies

An illustration shows three vanity license plates
Graphic illustration by Serenity Hicks

Brian Gilbaugh has a standing clause in his marriage: if Duke basketball legend Christian Laettner ever magically appears in their lives, he’ll step aside.

Gilbaugh’s wife, Kristi, is such a devoted fan of Laettner’s that she had a life-sized poster of the All-American Blue Devils player from his 1990s heyday plastered on her bedroom wall throughout her college days at Gonzaga.

Brian Gilbaugh, a Program Manager for Duke Health Technology Solutions, is such an adoring husband that he leaned into her first love when the two moved to North Carolina in 2016. “DLV32” reads the specialized Duke license plate on the back of the Gilbaugh’s Volkswagen Atlas – a shortened reference to “Duke Love” and Laettner’s number, 32.

a collage of photos of a woman with Christian Laettner memorabilia, and posing with her husband, along with an illustration of a vanity license plate.
Brian Gilbaugh, bottom left, got a special license plate that honors his wife Kristi's love for Christian Laettner. Photos courtesy of Brian Gilbaugh, illustration by Serenity Hicks, Charmaine McKissick-Melton Communications Fellow

“It was a big deal for her to get the Duke license plate and get Christian Laettner’s number on there,” Gilbaugh said. “And 27 years later, I’m still the luckiest man in the world because Christian Laettner missed his chance.”

Gilbaugh’s homage to Laettner is one example of how staff and faculty have made Duke the centerpiece of their lives by featuring their employer or profession on their license plate.

The exact number fluctuates, but around 300,000 personalized license plates are cruising the streets of North Carolina, with owners paying an extra $30 for a vanity plate. The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles’ license plate form encourages applicants to “Be original, be creative!” in the eight characters permitted.

an illustration of a vanity license plate reads MED-PHYS
Mark Oldham, Director of Duke Medical Physics Graduate Program, has a license plate that honors his profession. Illustration by Serenity Hicks, Charmaine McKissick-Melton Communications Fellow

In those eight characters, Mark Oldham declares his love for “MED PHYS” – or medical physics – “a most fascinating field I feel very fortunate to be in,” he said. Oldham is Director of the Duke Medical Physics Graduate Program and a Professor of Radiation Oncology Physics.

Jennifer Solomon, a Nurse Practitioner, was able to capture the essence of her career and a lifetime in just seven characters: “R1 DUKE.” The plate is a layered play on words, referencing both her Rivian R1 electric vehicle and a simple declaration: “Rated No. 1 Duke,” is Solomon’s alternate interpretation.

a photo collage shows a woman and her parents sitting at a Duke basketball game, combined with an illustration of a vanity license plate that reads R1 DUKE
Jennifer Solomon, bottom right with her mother and father at a Duke basketball game, says her vanity license plate has two meanings. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Solomon, illustration by Serenity Hicks, Charmaine McKissick-Melton Communications Fellow

“I was born here and my parents worked at Duke and went to Duke, so I was born to be a Duke Blue Devil,” Solomon said. “I had no choice.”

Solomon’s mother, Mary Ann Peter, served as a Director of Nursing at Duke University Hospital. Her father, Robert “Jess” Peter, was a Professor of Cardiology and Interventional Cardiologist who remained closely connected to Duke throughout his life. He died earlier this year at age 90, and was an early owner, himself, of a Rivian who encouraged his daughter to purchase the electric vehicle.

Though Solomon spent years traveling the country as a nurse, working in seven different cities, she found herself drawn back to Durham – and now her car declares exactly why when she’s driving around town.

“I always came back,” she said. “It’s a great hospital and university, and it’s home.”

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