In its first official meeting of the semester, the Graduate and Professional Student Council heard from Durham Mayor Bill Bell about the state of the Bull City, its relationship with Duke and current initiatives to revitalize downtown areas.
Since becoming a Durham resident in 1968 and an elected official in 1972, Bell said he has held many different viewpoints about Durham as he has watched the community grow and change.
"The city of Durham has really made a transformation and transition," Bell said. "When I first came here, you could literally smell the tobacco. Tobacco and textile factories covered the city."
Bell explained how he campaigned and became more involved in Durham, now coined 'The City of Medicine.' He said Durham is fortunate to house the bulk of Research Triangle Park, which has provided the economic engine for the region.
"We've been able to maintain a lot of history, but on the same token, Durham has been transformed into a hi-tech and bio-tech economy," Bell said. "If you look around downtown Durham, you won't find a lot of new shiny buildings.... You instead see the tobacco factories still there... kept for their aesthetic beauty."
The changes have been made through a combined public-private effort to renovate and restore the historic buildings rather than tear them down in favor of replacing them with new facilities.
Bell said downtown Durham is currently in the middle of the largest renovation project in the history of North Carolina. City projects include tearing down drug-infested neighborhoods by the block and restoring them with single-family housing developments as well as condominium complexes, Bell said. An additional development includes a regional rail system-which will connect Durham to Raleigh-that is set for completion in 2008.
Bell called the projects a "balanced approach to development with respect to downtown neighborhoods."
Durham revitalization has been successful because the city makes up its own county, Bell added. Unlike most counties, which are made up of several cities whose local governments act separately, the Board of County Commissioners can easily work in sync with the mayor and City Council.
Bell said the system enables the groups to work on many civic ventures together. One upcoming project is the construction of a vocational school for Durham residents who opt to continue educational paths other than college.
Duke has been instrumental in the city's development, Bell said. The University has helped create wellness centers in local public schools and started many mentoring and tutoring groups that allow students to interact with the community.
"Duke is often noted as a school with poor 'town-gown relationships,' and I can tell you that this is not true anymore," Bell said, mentioning that Duke-Durham relations have come a long way in recent years.
He encouraged students to strengthen the relationship through more mentoring-type groups.
"Carving out even a little time each week can make a tremendous difference and open up vistas most people haven't even thought about," Bell said.
The Community Committee has started organizing a brochure aimed at giving graduate and professional students-many of whom are first-time Durham residents-information regarding such things as local doctors, dentists and restaurants.
In other business:
Scott Smith, GPSC treasurer and second-year M.B.A. student, announced major changes to the organization's budget. Changes include the allocation of $2,000 for a new lunch series that allows GPSC members to interact with the University's top brass, as well as a 10-percent increase in the budget for social events due to rising prices and an increased student population.
The Mentoring Committee is focusing on establishing greater ties with the Career Center to promote more events geared toward new and international students.
Current GPSC social events have brought in record numbers of students, such as a recent singles event at Shooters II that drew a crowd of 415.
GPSC is in the process of creating 5,000 Duke-labeled cups to be sold in an effort to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The cups will be sold for $2 at upcoming events such as Oktoberfest and basketball games.
The Young Trustee Board, which annually selects GPSC's Young Trustee member, will be elected at the next meeting.
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