The enactment of Duke's new service learning initiative will set the University apart from peer institutions while continuing to foster academic values already central to the University's strategic plan, administrators said.
"We're not trying to make Duke over," President Richard Brodhead said. "It's a way of dramatizing and centralizing something Duke very much is."
With an initial endowment of $30 million, DukeEngage will provide full funding and support for every undergraduate to participate in intensive civic engagement opportunities.
Finalization of the University's latest strategic plan-which emphasizes the idea of "knowledge in the service of society"-sparked conversation among students, faculty and administrators over an idea that evolved into the proposed initiative, Provost Peter Lange said.
"This isn't a new thing for Duke," he said, adding that approximately 60 to 80 students already participate in similar intensive service engagements annually.
Although DukeEngage reflects national initiatives and a general shift in educational philosophy regarding the role of service in higher learning, the University's ability to finance a wide range of endeavors sets DukeEngage apart from similar programs at other schools, Lange added.
Funding for DukeEngage stems primarily from $15-million contributions from the Duke Endowment and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
John Burness, senior vice president for government affairs and public relations, said DukeEngage will have the greatest impact on students receiving financial aid.
"The component of it that is unique is that Duke is willing to put the resources into paying for it," Burness said.
Brodhead said the extent of the the initiative will be more far-reaching because all students will receive some level of support-including travel expenses and a cost-of-living stipend-regardless of financial status.
He added, however, that the benefits of DukeEngage will extend beyond its financial resources, noting that intrinsic qualities of the University's academic character will allow the new program to flourish when it might have trouble gaining solid ground at another school.
"The two most striking institutional differences of Duke are the very high level of collaboration across schools and disciplines and the interest in having theory and practice educate each other," Brodhead said. "A program like this would be hard to establish elsewhere, except as an extracurricular activity."
Christoph Guttentag, dean of undergraduate admissions, said that by providing a way for Duke to distinguish itself from other schools, DukeEngage will likely benefit the University from an admissions perspective as well.
"It will make Duke more attractive and more appealing for students for whom a sense of civic engagement in addition to intellectual engagement is important," Guttentag said. "Over time, it will attract some students that in the past might have chosen to go elsewhere."
He added that all of this year's applicants will receive e-mails to inform them of the initiative and that he will begin discussing the program extensively with next year's potential applicants starting in the spring.
Brodhead said features of DukeEngage will draw upon service-based programs already in place at the University including the Hart Leadership Program, the Robertson Scholars program and the Benjamin N. Duke Scholars Program.
"We have a lot of people who are used to running these programs and are very knowledgeable about helping place students in the right circumstances," said Robert Korstad, director of the B.N. Duke Scholars Program. "These additional resources and opportunities are going to make what was once available to only a few students available to all students."
Brodhead noted that DukeEngage has received broad support from members of the Duke community, both within the service sector and in business-related fields.
"I'm a huge enthusiast of Duke's new program," John Mack, Trinity '68, CEO of Morgan Stanley and a former member of the Board of Trustees, said in a statement released Monday.
"It takes more than financial or business skills to succeed in the global economy," Mack added. "Graduates who have had the chance to work collaboratively on real problems across cultural and national boundaries will have an edge over those who don't."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.