During a weekend that boasted the debut of the Nasher Museum of Art and Homecoming festivities, the Board of Trustees got down to business at its first meeting of the academic year.
The Board heard a presentation on Duke's upcoming financial aid campaign, which administrators hope will boost Duke's aid endowment by between $350 and $450 million.
"I think the Board's head is moving in one direction, and that's exciting," Board Chair Robert Steel said of the trustees' support of the campaign.
John Burness, vice president for public affairs and government relations, said the full campaign is set to kick off in December, but he noted the University is planning to announce a major gift soon.
Administrators also presented an update on the overhaul of Central Campus-a project that will involve destroying the current facilities and rebuilding them to include a mix of residential, social and academic spaces.
Provost Peter Lange said the University is currently seeking an architect for the project. It is accepting proposals from multiple firms and inviting them to campus to look at Central. Though no decision has been made, Lange said an architect will be hired in the next few months; he stressed that the University has yet to select a project design.
President Richard Brodhead gave a general report to the Board Friday, touching on issues from HIV research at the Duke University Medical Center to charitable works undertaken by the campus community. "Since coming to Duke, I've spent more time than ever thinking about universities as problem-solvers," he said.
He commended Duke's outreach in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, citing the acceptance of displaced students and faculty from Gulf Coast schools. He noted that the University will not offer the displaced students long-term enrollment because it would necessitate a full transfer admissions process and unduly diminish the damaged schools' populations.
"The last thing these universities need is attractive places taking students," he explained.
In a brief report, Graduate and Professional Student Council President Bill LeFew, a fourth-year applied mathematics doctoral student, said the University has done little to enhance graduate and professional student life.
"As I look at your professions and get to know you more and more, I can't imagine you being satisfied with where we are," LeFew said to the Board.
Steel said although creating ways for graduate students to "plug into the community" is complicated, the Board will address their concerns. "We, as the administration and trustees, will do better reacting to specific ideas," he said.
In other business:
The Board gave final approval to change the name of Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures to the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies.
It also approved renovating utilities systems in three buildings-Gerontology, Diagnostic and Treatment and Clinical Research Building I-as well as running a chilled water line to the Medical Science Research Building II and Global Health Research Building, which are both under construction. Total renovations to the buildings are not to exceed $9 million.
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