After years of watching most Duke students leave the area for the bright lights of big cities like New York, Duke administrators are hoping to entice more students to stay in the Triangle area.
The region's draw seems to be rooted in its ample employment opportunities, especially for those in the high technology and biomedical arenas. And although many students are unaware of the full extent of the Triangle's resources, local residents attest that the region is a good place not only to work but also to live.
Now, Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, wants to know just how much Durham and the Triangle remain of interest to students once they graduate. He said that recent conversations with Reyn Bowman, president and CEO of the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Thomas White, president of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, have turned to the region's ability and efforts to retain students.
"We've been raising questions about 'brain drain' and whether we should be more assertive in encouraging students to stay in Durham or in the Triangle," Moneta said, noting that the issue has risen more out of curiosity than a sense of crisis.
To help with the assessment, Moneta has enlisted Todd Hoffman, president of Campus Visit, Inc., whose company has helped cities like Philadelphia become destinations rather than rest stops on a path to somewhere else. Hoffman said that once he has had a chance to speak with students "to get a sense of what's going on in Durham," his next step will be to help present the region's attributes in a way that appeals to students.
"We need to identify student zones--places where students would go but not necessarily where they live or study--and then we recast these places in a student's mindset," Hoffman said. "Is there a place to go shopping that's fun but not a mall? Is there something historical within a 45-minute drive? Where do students go for the experiences they yearn for at different times of the year?"
Hoffman noted that students must be engaged with the city from their very first visit to the area. "At institutions like Duke, most students come from outside the region, so we need to establish a connection to the region early on, beginning with the admissions process," he said. "Prospective students need to develop an appreciation for campus but also for what's beyond the campus gates."
Once students have decided to enroll at the University, Hoffman said, they must be further engaged through city interactions such as employment, the local music scene or service learning opportunities. "After they've gotten to develop a link and personal bond and fondness for the region, hopefully when it comes time to think about where they want to go when the graduate, the Triangle will be a place to consider staying in," he said.
Hoffman noted that Durham is smaller than other cities he has worked with but that this aspect could bring its own advantages. "There are fewer players to connect, so we can probably get more done faster," he said.
Both Hoffman and Bowman noted a gap between students' perceptions of Durham's resources and the true availability of the same--a factor that could discourage some students from staying in the region after graduation.
"There's a lot of misinformation that occurs during a student's time in Durham," Bowman said. "Some of it is just a natural tendency to think of things as greener on the other side of the fence, and some is a natural tendency to be a little condescending about the community a school is in, which is true nationwide. But our challenge is to provide better, more accurate information up front."
Bowman acknowledged that, even given better communication about the region's resources, many students will still want to leave. "Some folks want to live abroad; some want much larger cities," he said. "We just want to be appealing to everyone who's interested in this type of community."
Donna Harner, associate director of the Career Center, said a "surprising number" of Duke students stick around after graduation. Of last year's graduating class, 22 percent of those who got jobs went to New York and 12 percent to Washington, D.C. In a close third was North Carolina, which attracted 11 percent, beating out Georgia and California.
Although a number of students who stay in North Carolina travel to places such as Charlotte--one of the nation's financial capitals--Harner said most of those who stay in-state live and work in the Triangle area, where research opportunities abound for those considering graduate or professional school.
"There are a lot of opportunities around here for undergraduates coming out of Duke," Harner said. "When you have an opportunity to do research or work in the Research Triangle area, where some of the best opportunities for research are, it is unwise to go someplace else to gain experience that is not as good or competitive."
White noted that Durham is creating jobs at a high rate as it brings in more companies like Merck Pharmaceuticals and IBM. Despite Durham's ample job openings for recent graduates, Moneta said he saw room to improve opportunities for current students. "We don't do a good enough job at providing internship opportunities for students in the region," he said. "We could be doing a better job at leveraging our relationships with all these national agencies that are located in RTP, the byproduct of which could be that more people will want to stay here."
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