Summary: Justin Klein spent his undergrad years as a Blue Devil, returned for medical school and is now a finalist for the position of graduate student Young Trustee.
Justin Klein carried his enthusiasm for Blue Devils basketball all the way from his days as a Duke undergraduate to the Duke School of Medicine, where he introduced his new classmates to the venerable tradition of camping out for admission to basketball games. Friends describe Klein, who is now one of three finalists for the graduate and professional student Young Trustee position, as one of Duke’s most loyal activists.
The third-year medical student will also complete his law degree at Harvard University in June. Prior to entering medical school, Klein spent a year working in health care administration for Duke University Health System handling special projects and consulting for Student Health Services.
“Justin convinced us to hire him by negotiating several projects that administrators and physicians would fund,” said Brenda Nevidjon, associate clinical professor at the School of Nursing. “Everyone found his work outstanding and would have continued his employment had medical school not been in his future.”
Often joking that he may seem to be a “professional student in more ways than one,” Klein said he takes the potential responsibility of Young Trustee with grave seriousness. “My leadership at Duke has been deep, but it has also been very broad because of my diverse experiences here and outside of the University,” he said. “I can serve as a member of the Board of Trustees offering unmatched insight into the issues facing all of the constituencies of our community.”
First on his agenda is the development of the next strategic plan for the University. “At this stage in Duke’s development, with the exception of the 20-year Central Campus initiative, we are concluding the facilities and hard infrastructure investment phase,” Klein said. “The next phase should be to invest in our people.”
Klein will advocate for improved graduate student fellowships and better financial aid packages for all students in order to bring a more diverse student body to campus. “We also need to invest in our faculty’s recruitment and retention, as well as develop strategies to encourage the intellectual development of undergraduate and graduate life outside the classroom,” Klein said.
He said graduate students play an integral role in enhancing the University’s intellectual vitality through structured interaction between Trinity College and the graduate and professional schools.
“I want to elevate the Board’s appreciation for the critical role that graduate and professional students can play in the missions of the University,” Klein said. “I believe that once the Board’s awareness of our value is heightened, many of the perennial issues that graduate students face, such as residential planning, social space, Central Campus renovations and improved financial aid packages, will then be better addressed.”
This kind of synergistic approach is characteristic of Klein’s platform, which also includes further internal and external integration of the Health System. Klein hopes to better align Duke’s clinical information systems, patient care and quality standards to serve the community.
Duke’s development of a signature interdisciplinary program is of premier importance to Klein. Citing the rising cost of the Duke educational experience, Klein said it is important for the administration to look at new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration both internally and with other institutions.
Klein has taken his own advice to heart—far from restricting himself to an ivory tower, he has explored the private sector and has ambitious plans to apply his medical and law degrees to a career in health care venture capital.
“I think his best quality is his leadership and the fact that he always takes initiative,” said Karen Joynt, one of Klein’s medical school classmates. “He showed us all what it was like to cheer for Duke.”
Duke has always been Klein’s first choice. “When I set foot on campus during a high school visit, I knew instantly that Duke was the place I wanted to be,” Klein said. “Of course, I didn’t know I was going to be here for 10 years and two degrees, but the University has really become a home.”
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