Duke may split independent house to name dorm after donor in near future

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Could Duke name a new dorm after a donor? 

During a January training, resident assistants were told that one half of Avalon, an independent house in Kilgo Quad, would be renamed after a donor, while the other half would keep the name. Multiple RAs independently confirmed the details to The Chronicle.

The Chronicle emailed Gonzalez to confirm that Avalon would be splitting in two and that there would be a dorm named for a donor and to ask who the donor is.

Gonzalez replied Sunday that “no changes are occurring for next year.”

“One of the university’s priorities is raising money to enhance the residential experience at Duke which would include opportunities to recognize donors, as is done with other buildings on campus,” he followed up in an email Monday. “As that happens, we are going to take special care to ensure that existing house names are preserved, and that any future namings are done in consultation with members of the house community.”

The Chronicle asked Gonzalez again whether Avalon will split in two, but he did not respond in time for publication.

Various on-campus buildings are named after donors, such as the Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center and the French Family Science Center. While it does not house students, McClendon Tower is attached to the 4D building in Keohane Quad and was built thanks to a 2002 donation from Kathleen Byrns McClendon and Aubrey K. McClendon. 

In other housing news, Duke plans to raise rates for 300 Swift apartments starting next year.


Stefanie Pousoulides profile
Stefanie Pousoulides | Investigations Editor

Stefanie Pousoulides is The Chronicle's Investigations Editor. A senior from Akron, Ohio, Stefanie is double majoring in political science and international comparative studies and serves as a Senior Editor of The Muse Magazine, Duke's feminist magazine. She is also a former co-Editor-in-Chief of The Muse Magazine and a former reporting intern at PolitiFact in Washington, D.C.


Jake Satisky profile
Jake Satisky | Editor-in-Chief

Jake Satisky is a Trinity senior and the digital strategy director for Volume 116. He was the Editor-in-Chief for Volume 115 of The Chronicle. 

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