For the first time in almost 40 years, Duke's presidential residence will be within easy walking distance of the University's main campus.
The Board of Trustees has decided to renovate the Hart House, at the corner of Cameron Boulevard and Duke University Road, so it can serve as both official function space and private living quarters for President-elect Richard Brodhead. Brodhead and his wife Cindy will move into the house once renovations are complete, probably around the end of 2004, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said.
"Its campus location and setting are ideal, and when renovated it will be a great facility," Peter Nicholas, chair of the Board of Trustees, said in a statement. "We believe it will serve future Duke presidents and Duke well."
Senior Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations John Burness, said there is a fair amount of work to do on the Hart House, a three-floor, brick and timber building constructed in 1933. He noted that Mary Hart, the last resident and wife of Duke's fourth president Deryl Hart, had little need for the types of facilities Brodhead will need when he succeeds President Nan Keohane July 1.
"The house suited the purposes of one or two people living there with relatively little social activity," Burness said, "but we'll probably have to make some changes like an upgrade to the kitchen." Trask said the renovations will be costly because the house still has its original wiring, plumbing and mechanical systems. In addition, the University must install air conditioning and ensure that the public spaces are accessible for visitors with disabilities. Other features will also face examination, such as vehicular access, landscaping and security.
Burness said the University will bring in outside engineers, designers and architects to help modernize the house and will seek Brodhead's input along the way. The project will be led by Trask, Vice President for Campus Services Kemel Dawkins and University Architect John Pearce. It will be funded through donations from Trustees.
Keohane, who currently lives in the Knight House, said she saw great potential for the Hart House as a presidential residence.
"I've been inside it once, and I think it's going to be a wonderful president's house," she said. "The rooms have a nice flow, and there is nice space for dinner parties."
She said she also saw the allure of having the president's house closer by, as her own house in the Duke Forest is about a mile from campus.
"When I was the president at Wellseley, I was right on campus and it was very easy for people to come by," she said. Burness noted that Brodhead, currently dean of Yale College, comes from an institution where the president's house is on campus.
Keohane stressed that she and her husband, political science professor Robert Keohane, have loved living in the Knight House and have been able to host a number of successful events there, despite the distance.
"I was at first concerned that people would have to drive or go through the forest to go to the Knight House, but people still made it," she said. "My hunch is that we would have had a bigger turnout for some events--such as events or parties for students--if people could just walk over, but I don't think we would have done different events than we've done."
The president's proximity to campus was not the only factor in the Trustees' decision to renovate the Hart House, Burness said. Also on their minds was the need to find a good use for the recently vacated building. The house was occupied by members of the Hart family until Mary Hart's death in July 2000.
Keohane said the Trustees' decision to renovate the Hart House for Brodhead also coincided with the wishes of the late Mary Hart, who had hoped her house would one day become a presidential house.
Burness added that the Trustees did not want to turn the house into administrative offices, as has been the case with other former presidential houses. The University's first and third presidents, Wiliam Few and Arthur Edens, lived on Campus Drive in what is now the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Robert Flowers, the second president, remained in his personal home at the end of Chapel Drive, now the Office of Alumni Affairs. Trask said the Knight House, which was also home to Duke's fifth and sixth presidents, Douglas Knight and Terry Sanford, will probably be used as it was during Keith Brodie's presidency after the Keohanes move out. Brodie, Keohane's predecessor, decided to live in his own home, using the Knight House as a University guest house and conference facility.
Brodhead said he looks forward to moving into the Hart House. "It's a particularly lovely building, and it means a lot to me that students and faculty will be able to walk to our home from campus," he said in a statement.
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