The Sanford Institute of Public Policy broke ground this morning for a new two-story building, which officials said will help accommodate the institute's past and future growth.
The ceremonial groundbreaking took place at 8:45 a.m. Friday, in time for the fall meeting of the Sanford Board of Visitors. The timing of the ceremony was due in large part to a $5 million lead gift from David Rubenstein, a 1970 magna cum laude graduate of Duke whose recent donation put the Sanford Institute over its fundraising goal for the project.
"Part of what students like about the institute is the sense of community, and the new building will give us an enhanced capacity to create this community for students and faculty and others," said Bruce Jentleson, director of the Sanford Institute. "It's not just about the physical building. It's about enhancing our capacity to fulfill our mission, which combines teaching, research and policy engagement."
The new $12 million, 46,000-square-foot building will be located across the lawn from the institute's existing building--a currently wooded area next to the Sanford parking lot. Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said the new building, which has been under discussion for several years, will double the institute's space. The building is expected to be completed before Fall 2005.
Jentleson said the Sanford Institute has three goals for the new building--to catch up with growth that has already occurred, prepare for future growth and provide new facilities for Arts and Sciences and as well as the University as a whole.
"Right now, parts of Sanford are on Main West and a whole bunch of pieces are off campus, so separated from the main part of the institute," Jentleson said, noting that the existing building could not accommodate the institute's increasing numbers of faculty and research centers. "In the future, we'll try not to be in the situation of the past few years where we're trying to have lots of internal synergies but the pieces are scattered everywhere."
The new facility will house several Sanford programs that are currently spread both on and off campus, including the Center for Child and Family Policy; the Center for Health Policy, Law and Management; and the United States-Southern Africa Center for Leadership and Public Values.
Provost Peter Lange said the new building will allow the institute to expand its center and program initiatives in a way that will contribute directly to its teaching and basic research programs, which Jentleson said continue to grow with the institute's expanding graduate programs and continued popularity amongst undergraduate students.
"The new building will make a critical contribution to the Sanford Institute's ability fully to realize its ambitious plans to become the public policy hub of an extensive number of collaborations with other academic units and programs across the campus," Lange said.
The structure will include classrooms, seminar and flexible meeting space, as well as the Susan Bennett King Multimedia and Instructional Technology Center, which was funded by a $1 million gift from the Coca-Cola Foundation earlier this year. It will complement the old structure, which was designed by the same firm, Architectural Resources Cambridge of Cambridge, Mass.
During its October meeting, the Board of Trustees gave the project its final approval, contingent on the institute's success in raising the funds for the new structure. With Rubenstein's $5 million gift, Jentleson said, the institute was able to break ground during the Board of Visitors' semi-annual visit.
Jentleson said part of the total funding came from the University, but that the Sanford Institute raised $7 million, including Rubenstein's donation, on its own.
"It takes a community to implement a project of this magnitude," said President Nan Keohane in a statement. "Fortunately, true believers in our 'outrageous ambitions' for the Sanford Institute have stepped forward. We are extremely grateful to David Rubenstein and other generous supporters who share our vision for the many exciting teaching and research opportunities this new building will provide for our faculty and students."
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