Collison brings varied experience

This is the first of a three-part series profiling this year's finalists for undergraduate young trustee.

Like many Duke students, Taylor Collison was originally drawn to the University for the basketball and the academics. In fact, Duke has been in Collison's blood since his pre-teen days, when he participated in basketball camp and the Talent Identification Program on campus. Now, as then, the Winter Park, Fla., native sleeps, eats and drinks 'Blue Devil'--a quality he hopes to continue as young trustee.

Although he graduated from Trinity College in December with a degree in public policy studies, Collison cannot--or will not, distance or remove himself from campus.

As Finance Chair of the Duke University Union, Collison has been spending his weeks raising money for the student group as it prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Examples of Collison's work abound at Duke--everything from the course evaluation website he helped organize as a freshman to the cultural showcase he planned his junior year as Craven Quadrangle president. Norman Wallace, residential coordinator for Craven Quad, spoke highly of Collison's presidency.

"He was in a fraternity, and I worried that the fraternity issues would be on the forefront, but that wasn't the case," Wallace said. "He was very even-handed with all of the residents; he was very fair."

Looking forward, Collison said he is focused on the unique position the school currently is in, as it will see new leadership, a new pool of funding from the recently completed Campaign for Duke and the redevelopment of several key areas of campus.

"As the administration fundamentally changes, we need to remember that what decisions we make now affect students," he said. "Duke is a 75-year-old project and has become one of the best places in the country. We've got all of the pieces of the puzzle and all of the resources.... Now you've just got to put it all together."

Collison said Central Campus's redevelopment will be particularly important in tempering student life in the future, and is an issue to which the Board of Trustees should pay particular attention.

"Central Campus could be a huge part of our social life on campus," he said. "But even more than that, the pricing [of living on the redeveloped Central] is going to be more expensive. What is that going to do to students who [currently] choose that option because it's cheaper?"

Collison said the University must also carefully consider the effect Duke's redevelopment will have on the community at large.

"Central Campus isn't just a development issue; it's a Duke-Durham relations issue," he said. "Durham and Duke's campus are going to be permeable. It now makes Duke a very legitimate part of the Durham community."

With the Campaign for Duke recently completed, Collison said the influx of green will be key. He touched upon this topic in his young trustee application, saying he feels that certain academic departments on campus lack the resources to fulfill their potentials. He cited as an example the film department, which has promising intellectual resources but lacks a proper facility.

"There is a disparity between where Duke wants to be and the resources provided to get there," Collison said.

Similarly, he sees the expansion of the Pratt School of Engineering--with new buildings and a soon-to-be expanded student body--as an issue to be dealt with carefully. "We need to make sure that Pratt students have their voices heard too," he said.

Collison said he is determined to fulfill a commitment he has made to himself about his time at the University--a commitment to leave a lasting impression on the school.

"My motivation [to run for young trustee] is that I came into Duke, but I am not finished yet," he said. "I'd like to leave Duke saying this is the footprint I left."