Since January, the city of Durham has had a seat at the table of the University's top administrators-a place occupied by Phail Wynn.
Wynn, former president of Durham Technical Community College, joined Duke seven months ago as vice president for Durham and regional affairs, a position charged with strengthening the relationship between the University and the Bull City.
Durham Mayor Bill Bell said the creation of Wynn's position conveys much about Duke's commitment to Durham.
"I think the fact that Duke has chosen to create the position is in itself a statement," Bell said. "It just remains to be seen how much progress can be made, but I'm hopeful."
Wynn began his term by evaluating the ways in which Duke currently reaches out to Durham, and he said he discovered that much of the work done by departments on campus was undocumented.
"Duke's impact on Durham was much greater than people suspected," Wynn said. "We're moving right along and I think that before long... I'll be able to better align our resources and better coordinate the efforts we have with the identified needs [in the community]."
From that initial assessment, Wynn has begun to embark on a number of projects of his own-many of which have a scholastic bent.
This year, under Wynn's guidance, the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership has placed an emphasis on academic enrichment and youth development. Thirty incoming kindergartners and 15 struggling first graders will develop critical learning skills this summer at E.K. Powe Elementary School as part of "Stepping Stones," a program sponsored by the partnership.
Wynn is also meeting with administrators at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central University to address the causes of gang- and youth-related violence, the solution to which may be education, he said. Wynn acknowledged that the issue is timely in the wake of several highly publicized student murders, but emphasized that education is central to his overarching goal of improving community life.
"We feel that in working to help promote the quality of life, the key to success is ensuring that kids get a sufficient amount of education so they can have meaningful and rewarding careers," Wynn said.
Wynn's position was created in May 2007, after a tumultuous year in Duke-Durham relations mired by the lacrosse scandal.
But Wynn said that from his dealings with community members, he senses that the wounds inflicted by the scandal have healed.
"I think that as far as this community is concerned, [lacrosse] is behind us," he said. "They see it as a wonderful opportunity now, particularly with me in this position, to develop a mutually beneficial relationship between Duke and Durham."
Bell said the media overstated town-gown tensions to begin with and added that he thinks the future of Duke-Durham relations is bright.
"I've had an opportunity to work with four Duke presidents, and in each case I've seen an improvement in town-gown relations," he said. "I expect that to continue."
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