The new Financial Aid Initiative was the cornerstone of discussion at the Board of Trustees meeting this weekend, as President Richard Brodhead kicked off the public phase of the campaign. Officials hope to raise $300 million in endowed aid over the next three years.
In addition, the Board gave the official go-ahead for the next stage of planning the overhaul of Central Campus, discussed the development of the health system and approved a new doctoral program in theology.
Prior to a large gala celebrating the launch of the FAI, the Financial Aid Initiative Development Committee, which is comprised of 34 trustees, faculty and other figures, held its first meeting Thursday to discuss the trajectory of the Initiative and consider ways to reach out to potential donors.
"Hopefully this resonates with students," Board Chair Robert Steel said of the FAI Saturday. "There are a lot of things we could do with our time and with our energy and with our money, and basically, under President Brodhead's leadership, this has become central to the mission [of Duke]."
The University has already raised $148.6 million for the FAI.
Brodhead said there are two components to the Initiative: raising the money and publicizing its existence to potential students. "When people see the price tag of higher education, they think, 'That's a luxury good,'" Brodhead said. "Our effort is to disassociate the question, 'Can I get in based on intellectual achievement?' from the question, 'Can my family afford it?'"
The Board also authorized the University to continue planning the redevelopment of Central Campus. Officials can now define Phase I of the project, which is expected to include the construction of new housing, office spaces and academic facilities.
In May, University administrators pushed back the target completion date for Phase I until Fall 2008. Last month, they selected the Boston-based firm Elkus Manfredi as the lead architect for the project.
"This is the last short discussion we will have about Central Campus," Steel said, echoing Executive Vice President Tallman Trask, who presented the project to the Board. "We are getting close to dealing with the nitty-gritty issues."
Steel added that the matters at hand largely include the infrastructural needs-such as roadways and water pipes-of facilities and space on the 200-acre campus.
The trustees also heard a presentation on strategic planning for Duke University Health System. Steel noted that development for the School of Medicine is integrated with strategic planning for academics throughout the University's various schools.
Emphasizing that the DUHS plan is only in a draft stage, Brodhead added that an important theme of development will be attracting researchers of "high quality and creativity."
The Board also approved the creation of a doctoral program in theology in the Divinity School. Officials hope to enroll between 12 and 15 students each year in the Th.D. program, which will take four to five years for students to complete.
In other business, the trustees authorized the construction of a second module at the off-campus Library Service Center, which is nearing 90-percent capacity.
The new $6-million facility will double the space available for housing books and archival materials. Plans are already in the works for a third module.
The Board also approved a $4-million project that will keep Duke's coal-fired steam plant in compliance with the Federal Clean Air Act and authorized changing the name of the Ph.D. program in bioinformatics and genome technology to the Ph.D. program in computational biology and bioinformatics.
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