The Class of 1995's sophomore year was a tumultuous one as the University implemented several changes, developed long-range goals and coped with a series of tragedies.
In December, Nan Keohane was named the eighth president of the University. After an eight-month national search, the Board of Trustees unanimously selected Keohane, who had served for 12 years as president of Wellesley College. She succeeded Keith Brodie July 1, 1993.
Keohane's selection was announced the day after James B. Duke professor of English Reynolds Price delivered a scathing condemnation of intellectual life on campus at Founder's Day.
The University community also suffered a series of tragedies during the fall semester. In October, a Guilford County Jail fugitive held several University employees hostage for almost two hours. A police marksman ended the crisis when he killed the escapee.
In November, Trinity freshman Amy Geissinger was killed when she fell through the rear doors of a Duke Transit bus. Durham Police and University officials determined that a design flaw in the bus doors had caused the tragedy. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that there was no problem with the bus, and that the accident "was a result of a combination of unfortunate circumstances."
The "T" word became a focus of controversy when assistant political science professors Timothy Lomperis and Darryl Roberts were denied tenure. Although then-President Keith Brodie supported Lomperis' application, Brodie said he did not have the power to recommend Lomperis for tenure.
While rival school University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill dealt with the ramifications of opening a new Black Cultural Center, the University had its own hands full with racial tensions; or at least that's what 60 Minutes reported in a story in aired in April.
Meanwhile, the Black Student Alliance pressured the University to meet the goals of the resolution on black faculty. Passed by the Academic Council in 1988, the resolution required each of the University's 56 departments to hire at least one black faculty member by 1993 or document why it could not.
In February, George Wright was named director of the Afro-American studies program. Praised for his work at the University of Texas at Austin, Wright was hired to lead a program that had floundered for two decades.
A Medical Center survey revealed that non-faculty employees also felt uncomfortable with the University's race relations and suffered from low morale.
The University's undergraduate student government had to cope with racial issues as well. Cultural groups were awarded line-item status, increasing funding possibilities for a variety of programs. ASDU also spent time debating whether or not to fund a speech by Leonard Jeffries. The Afro-centric scholar and controversial speaker came in March with a $233 donation from ASDU to help fund the $1,183 visit.
And in April, students voted to replace ASDU with Duke Student Government in an effort to decrease bureaucracy.
Jesse Jackson also visited the campus in the spring, and he urged students to become activists. Many students heeded the call: Some protested the policies prohibiting student access to the faculty commons, while an unidentified group painted graffiti on fraternity benches.
Spring lacked the excitement of NCAA basketball action as the men's basketball team failed to reach the Final Four for the first time in five years.
The Board of Trustees took the first step in the residential life revolution by approving plans to build a 380-bed dorm on East Campus in May to eliminate overcrowding and close Hanes Annex.
Residential change started in the fall when, after years of warnings, the University dissolved the infamous Bunch of Guys living group. To fill BOG's space and diversify housing on West Campus, the University granted housing to the black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, the multicultural group Spectrum, and Cleland, the University's first all-female selective dorm.
The University also passed a new, binding honor code for undergraduates and established a new campus-wide sexual harassment policy. In May, the University banned Thursday night kegs.
Former University president Terry Sanford, after losing his bid for Senate reelection, announced he would be returning to the faculty of the University.
In March, the University mourned the passing of "Uncle" Harry Rainey, leaving a legacy of campus eateries, food in Krzyzewskiville and fond memories across campus.
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