Gas line break diverts traffic
Part of Science Drive in front of the Fuqua School of Business was closed to traffic Monday after construction work ruptured a gas line. At about 3:30 p.m., Facilities Management Department Supervisor Gary Teater reported to Duke police that a backhoe had punctured the line, causing a leak.
Police authorized the closure of Science Drive to vehicular traffic on either side of Fuqua as a precautionary measure until the gas line could be prepared. Maj. Robert Dean of the Duke University Police Department said such leaks have happened before. He could not say when the leak would be fully repaired.
McNamara named neurobiology chair
Dr. James McNamara, Carl R. Deane professor of neuroscience and professor of neurobiology, pharmacology and cancer biology, was named the new chair of the neurobiology department.
Dean of the School of Medicine Dr. Sandy Williams said that McNamara's focus will be on merging the studies of systems neurobiology and molecular neurobiology, a new trend in medicine. Williams said McNamara hopes to link the way humans and animals behave with the actual molecular composition of neurotransmitters.
McNamara, whose primary appointment was at one time in medicine, now has a primary appointment in neurobiology and a secondary appointment in medicine.
Kilmartin to perform
Duke Inquiries on Gender, the undergraduate component of President Nan Keohane's Gender Initiative, is presenting "Crimes Against Nature," a solo performance by comedian and Chris Kilmartin, a professor in the Department of Psychology at Mary Washington College.
The event-scheduled for today at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Theater in the Bryan Center-will take a closer look at stereotypes of gender and masculinity in contemporary culture.
Natsios to speak on development
Andrew Natsios, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, will discuss the United States and international development at 3:45 p.m. Nov. 7, in the Fleishman Commons of the Sanford Institute of Public Policy. The event is free and open to the public.
Natsios was sworn in May 1, 2001, as administrator of USAID, the lead U.S. government agency in providing economic and humanitarian assistance to transitioning and developing countries.
Panel focuses on Nixon legacy
A panel discussion at the School of Law Nov. 14 will explore the legacy of Richard Nixon, Law '37, the only Duke graduate to become president of the United States. The event, titled "The Nixon Legacy: Duke Law, the Nation, the World," will be from 6 to 8 p.m. in Room 3043.
The panelists include Edward Nixon, Trinity '52, the former president's brother and president of Nixon World Enterprises; Ole Holsti, the George V. Allen professor emeritus of political science; Philip Lacovara, who served as counsel to the Watergate special prosecutor and argued the Nixon tapes case before the U.S. Supreme Court; Raymond Price, former head of President Nixon's writing and research staff and special consultant to the president and current president of The Economic Club of New York.
David Lange, professor of law, will moderate the event. The panel discussion is sponsored by the Duke Center for Public Law, Duke Law Republicans, Duke Law Democrats, the Federalist Society, the American Constitutionalist Society, Lawyers as Leaders and the International Law Society.
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