Keith Brodie, former president of Duke, died early Friday morning at the age of 77, the University announced.
President Richard Brodhead shared the news with the Duke community in an email Friday afternoon. Brodie served as president of Duke from 1985 to 1993. Under Brodie's leadership, Duke began to gain national recognition for its emphasis on interdisciplinary scholarship and medical research, Brodhead noted.
"We are shocked and saddened to hear this news about our longtime colleague, university leader and friend," he wrote in the email.
During his tenure, Brodie worked to expand applications to graduate and undergraduate programs and promote Duke's national reputation as a research university. He also increased efforts to improve racial and ethnic diversity in Duke's faculty.
Brodie graduated from Princeton University in 1961 and received his medical degree in 1965 from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Before coming to Duke in 1974, he served as an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at Stanford University and program director in the General Clinical Research Center at the Stanford School of Medicine.
At Duke, he worked as chair of the department of psychiatry and was named chancellor in 1982 before becoming president in 1985. After stepping down as president, Brodie continued his teaching and research at Duke.
While Brodie served as president Duke men's soccer won its first national championship in 1986 in men's soccer as well as two national championships in men's basketball in 1991 and 1992, Brodhead noted in his email.
“Duke University lost one of its long-standing pillars with the passing of a truly exceptional man, Dr. Keith Brodie, who I, along with so many others, loved dearly," said men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski in a Duke Today release. "He was a mentor and role model to many of us. Dr. Brodie’s guidance, wisdom, compassion and, most importantly, his deeply felt friendship had an immeasurable impact on countless people at Duke and within our basketball program."
The Keith and Brenda Brodie Recreation Center on East Campus is named after him and his wife.
"His love for Duke knew no bounds, and he was generous in offering advice to me," Brodhead wrote. "Our hearts are with his wife Brenda and their family."
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